Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 Digital SLR Pricing and Availability

[Ben Stafford]

Panasonic has announced pricing and availability for their new digital SLR, the Lumix DMC-L1.  It will be available in the US in September for a suggested retail of $1999 (body with Leica D Vario-Elmart 14-50mm lens).  It will be available in Japan sometime in July.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 (view medium image) (view large image)

We got a chance to see a prototype of the L1 back at PMA and we were really impressed with the design effort that has gone into the camera.  With a shutter speed dial and manual aperture ring on the Leica lens, the camera has really "vintage" feel that will appeal to a lot of people.  With the combination of vintage looks and higher price, the L1 seems to be pretty squarely aimed at the market segment right above the folks looking for an entry level digital SLR.

The body is constructed of a magnesium alloy and the lens area is constructed of an aluminum alloy.  The L1 will accept lenses made for the Four Thirds system.  The Live MOS imaging sensor is able to produce a Live View image on the LCD so that you can do your framing on the LCD and not just the viewfinder. 

The DMC-L1 is also equipped with the Supersonic Wave Filter system for shaking dust off of the imaging sensor.

Panasonic's MEGA OIS image stabilization system, along with the Venus Engine Plus LSI processor in the lens, allows you to shoot at slower shutter speeds and still control blur from hand shake.

(view medium image) (view large image)

Full Specifications Sheet:

		DMC-L1
TYPE	Type	Interchangeable Lens Digital SLR Camera
	Recording Media	SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, Multimedia Card
	Image Sensor Size	17.3 x 13.0 mm
	Mount	Four Thirds mount
IMAGE SENSOR	Type	Live MOS Sensor
	Total Pixels	7.9 Mega-pixel
	Camera Effective pixels	7.5 Mega-pixel
	Aspect Ratio	3:4 (Vertical : Horizontal)
	Color Filter	Primary color filter
	Dust Reduction System	Supersonic Wave Filter
RECORDING SYSTEM	Recording File Format	JPEG(Design rule for Camera File system, based on Exif 2.21 standard),
		DPOF corresponding, RAW
	Aspect Ratio	4:3, 3:2, 16:9 (3:2,16:9 with Live view only)
	File Size	4:3 Aspect Ratio: 3136 x 2352 pixels, 2560 x 1920 pixels, 2048 x 1536 pixels
		3:2 Aspect Ratio: 3136 x 2080 pixels, 2560 x 1712 pixels, 2048 x 1360 pixels
		16:9 Aspect Ratio: 3136 x 1760 pixels, 1920 x 1080 pixels
	Color Space	sRGB, Adobe RGB
VIEWFINDER	Type	Eye level Porro Mirror type Optical View Finder
	Field of View	Approx. 95%
	Magnification	Approx. 0.93x
	Eye point	Approx.18mm (-1[m-1])
	Diopter Adjustment	-3.0 ~ +1 [m-1]
	Focusing Screen	Fixed type
	Mirror	Quick Return Mirror
	Depth-of-Field Preview	Enabled with Aperture Preview button (with Live view only)
	Eyepiece Shutter	Detachable
AUTO FOCUS	Type	TTL Phase Difference Detection System
	Focusing Mode	AFS/AFC/MF
	Focusing Area	3 points
	Focusing Area Selection	Auto / 1fixed point, left / 1fixed point, center/ 1fixed point, right
	AF Detective Range	EV0-19 (ISO100)
	AF Assist Lamp	YES
	AF Lock	AFL/AEL button or Shutter button halfway pressed in AFS mode
EXPOSURE CONTROL	Light Metering System	TTL Full Aperture Light Metering by
		49 Zones Multi-pattern Sensing system(Optical view finder )
		256 zone Multi-pattern Sensing system (Live view mode)
	Light Metering Mode	Intelligent Multiple/ Center Weighted/ Spot
	Metering Range	0 - 20EV with Optical view finder), 0 - 16EV with Live view mode (with F2.0 lens, ISO 100)
	Exposure Mode	Program AE / Aperture Priority AE/ Shutter Priority AE / Manual
	ISO sensitivity	Auto/100/200/400/800/1600
	Exposure Compensation	1/3EVStep 2EV
	AE Lock	AFL/AEL Button or Shutter button halfway pressed
	AE Bracket	3frame 5frame 1/3~1EV Step 2EV
WHITE BALANCE	White Balance	Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / Flash / White Set 1,2 / Color temperature setting
	White Balance Adjustment	blue/amber bias, magenta/green bias
	Color temperature setting	2500K to 10000K in 31steps
SHUTTER SYSTEM	Type	Focal-plane shutter
	Shutter Speed	1/4000 ~ 60 and Bulb (up to approx. 8minutes)
	Self Timer	10 sec / 2sec
	Remote Control	Remote control with bulb function by DMW-RSL1 (Optional)
BURST SHOOTING	Burst Speed	3 frames/sec or 2 frames/sec
	Number of Recordable	6 pictures (when there are RAW file),
		Unlimited consecutive shooting (when there are no RAW file)
		(depending on memory card size, battery power, picture size, and compression)
BUILT-IN-FLASH	Type	TTL Built-in-Flash, GN10 (ISO100,m), Built-in Pop-up, Bounce flash
	Built-in Flash	Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction,
		Slow Sync., Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced On/Off
	X-Sync speed	Less than 1/160 second
	Flash output adjustment	1/3EVStep 2EV
	Flash synchronization	1st. Curtain Sync. and 2nd Curtain Sync. (Selectable)
	Hot Shoe	TTL Auto with FL360/FL500 (Optional)
LCD MONITOR	Type	Low temperature Polycrystalline TFT LCD
	Monitor Size	2.5inch
	Pixels	207K pixels
	Filed of view	Approx. 100% in LIVE VIEW MODE
	OSD language
LIVE VIEW	Type	YES (LCD monitor can be used as view finder, with Live MOS sensor set to monitor mode.
	Digital zoom	2x, 4x (with Live view only)
	Extra Optical zoom	Max.1.5x (With Live view only. Not effective with full pixel recording. Magnification ratio depends on the recording pixels.)
FILM MODE	Color	Standard / Dynamic / Nature / Smooth Color
	Black and White	Standard / Dynamic / Smooth Color
PLAYBACK	Playback Mode	Single / 9, 25-thumbnail display, Calendar display,
		Zoomed playback (16x max.), /image rotation (except for RAW)
		Slide show (duration is adjustable, also manual controllable),
		Playback of favorite pictures/ Resizing (selectable number of pixels)
		Trimming / Protection / Aspect conversion / DPOF print setting
PROTECTION / ERASE	Protection	Single / Multi or Cancel
	Erase	Single / Multi / All
DIRECT PRINT	Print	PictBridge(Print size, Layout, Date setting is selectable )
INTERFACE	Digital	USB 2.0 (High speed)
	Analog Video	NTSC/PAL Composite (Switched by menu)
POWER	Battery	Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 1500mAh) (Included)
		Battery Charger/AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Included)
	Battery Life	Approx. 450 images (CIPA Standard)
DIMENSIONS / WIGHT	Dimensions (W x H x D)	145.8 x 86.9 x 80mm
	Weight	Approx. 530g(Body only)
OPERATING CONDITION	Operating temperature	0? to 40?
	Operating humidity	10% to 80%
STANDARD ACCESSORY	Software	LUMIX Simple Viewer, PhotofunStudio -viewer-
		SILKYPIX DEVELOPER STUDIO
		Quick Time
		USB Driver
	Standard Accessory	Battery Charger/AC adaptor, Battery Pack, Eyepiece Cap, Body Cap,
		Video Cable, USB Connection Cable, AC Cable, DC Cable, Strap, CD-ROM

 

	EICA D VARIO-ELMARIT 14-50mm/F2.8-F3.5 ASPH.
Lens Construction	16 elements in 12groups (2 Aspherical lenses)
Mount	Four Thirds mount
Optical Image Stabilizer	YES
	On/Off (selectable Mode1 /2 with only DMC-L1)
Focal Length	f=14mm to 50mm (35mm film camera equivalent 28mm to 100mm)
Aperture Type	7 diaphragm blades / iris diaphragm
Aperture Range	F2.8(wide) - F3.5(Tele)
Minimum Aperture	F22
Closest Focusing Distance	0.29m at all focal lengths
Maximum magnification	Approx. 0.32x (35mm Equiv)
Diagonal Angle of View	75 (W)~(T)
Filter Size	72mm
Max. Diameter	f78.1
Overall Length	102.8mm
Weight	490g
Standard Accessory	Lens Cap, Lens Hood, Lens Rear Cap, Lens Storage Bag

[Mike22]

Wow, looks like an amazing camera
So does now put it above the FZ30 as Panasonics top of the range camera?

[Ben Stafford]

Well, it definitely puts it at the top of their price list. It's still a different class of camera though, with interchangeable lenses. And, it's not necessarily a super-zoom, like the FZ30, depending on your lens.