Panasonic Lumix

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 ($899, with lens) is a compact interchangeable lens camera that uses the Micro Four Thirds standard. When Panasonic introduced their first Micro Four Thirds camera, the DMC-G1, many folks (myself included) were disappointed that it was fairly large, and not the compact model we hoped the MFT format would deliver. Olympus upped the ante with their E-P1, which has a compact, retro-styled body that is a lot closer to what many people expected in the first place. Unfortunately, that camera was plagued by slow autofocus, no built-in flash, and the lack of a viewfinder (with the exception of the one mated to the 17 mm pancake lens).

Panasonic's new DMC-GF1 takes everything that made the DMC-G1 (and the GH1, for that matter) so appealing, and puts it into a more compact body. It's not quite as stylish as the Olympus E-P1, but it offers faster autofocus, a pop-up flash, and support for an optional electronic viewfinder which that camera lacks. Other features include a high resolution 3-inch LCD, full manual controls, an Intelligent Auto mode, and an HD movie mode.

Since a lot of people are going to be comparing the GF1 and the E-P1, I've created this chart to illustrate the differences: buy