Panasonic’s Four Thirds SLR:

The perfect ratio

By The Vann’s Editorial Team

Remember the days when you would pack up your trusty 35mm SLR, a couple rolls of film and hit the highway looking for good shots? It was all about adventure and creativity. And there was a certain luxury in the 35mm process: trying different apertures and shutter speeds, playing with depth of field, and obtaining the most precise focus. Then came the advent of the digital SLR camera and with it, the ability to capture, edit, and print photos digitally. But the technology was expensive — the first digital SLR, released in 1991, only produced 1.3 megapixels and cost $30,000! And still many features were strictly automatic. But with Panasonic's new digital SLR, the DMC-L1, manual features are back in the game, letting you take control again.

Let's Take A Look At The DMC-L1

A first for the digital SLR industry is the live-feed LCD. Panasonic's full-time Live View function lets you compose your photo by viewing the very nicely-sized 2.5" LCD screen. Now you can compose your SLR photos with the same ease as a point-and-shoot digital camera. The LCD provides 100% view field coverage (you see the same image that the photo sensor sees-there's no cropping) and gives you on-screen live histogram and white balance information. Best yet, the Live View can be utilized in either Auto Focus or Manual Focus modes.

One advantage of the digital SLR, or any digital camera, is the use of Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.). O.I.S. utilizes gyroscopes or gyrosensors and a floating lens element within the lens to counteract camera motion, and henceforth, the three dreaded causes of blurred photos: hand shake, motion blur, and shutter shake. For the DMC-L1, Panasonic uses not only the MEGA O.I.S., which detects camera movement at a rate of 4,000 times per second, but also the Venus Engine Plus image processing LSI. The DMC-L1 even comes with two modes of O.I.S.: in Mode 1, the hand-movement compensation function remains active at all times, so the image in the Live View LCD is clear and easy to compose. In Mode 2, the system activates only when the shutter button is pressed, which provides a more precise compensation performance. With O.I.S., you should be able to shoot photographs two f-stops slower than without it. So though it won't eliminate the need for a tripod in all situations, it does take some of the worry out of the process if you don't have one handy.

The DMC-L1 also utilitzes a Four Thirds-type 7.5 megapixel, high-resolution, energy-saving Live MOS sensor. This CCD sensor produces crisp, clear, beautiful images with delicate gradation and wide dynamic range (it makes your whites whiter and your brights brighter), yet with its dedicated processing system, it maintains low energy consumption. Maximizing performance is the Venus Engine III image processing LSI. The LSI produces images with outstanding resolution, superior color and detailed gradation.

The DMC-L1 comes with the new Four Thirds System Leica D Vario-Elmarit lens. The 14-50mm/F2.8 ASPH lens has a focal length range equivalent to the 35mm SLR standard of 28mm to 100mm and provides a 29cm minimum shooting distance across the entire zoom range for macro shots. The lens uses 16 elements in 12 groups and features two large-diameter, glass-molded aspherical lenses, providing superior optical performance.

The Four-Thirds System: A whole new take on digital SLR technology

The DMC-L1 isn't just a new angle on the old digital SLR, it's a whole new technology. And it's not just Panasonic doing the work, it's a whole consortium made up of consumer electronics giants Panasonic, Olympus, Leica, Kodak, Matsushita, Sanyo, and Sigma. This group is taking huge strides to standardize digital SLR technology. What they have created is called the Four Thirds (4/3) System. This system allows any camera, lens, or component created under the Four Thirds standard to be interchangeable. Their goal is to increase image quality, keep SLR cameras and their components small, and create a platform that will be able to expand to its fullest potential. See, the Four Thirds System isn't based on 35mm standards. It's completely new and independent of 35mm technology.

What Exactly Is The Four Thirds System?

The Four Thirds System utilizes a 4/3-type CCD or CMOS image sensor. This sensor is smaller than the 36mm x 24mm full-frame sensor, which emulates the 35mm technology. Yet it maximizes both image quality and lens adaptability. Though full-frame sensors allow interchangeability between 35mm lenses and digital SLR cameras, there are still inherent differences that make this technology less than desirable. 35mm film is made to receive light from many angles, not just straight on. Digital photo sensors are made to capture light straight on. When using a 35mm lens with a digital photo sensor, there is a loss in image quality. To compensate for these differences, sensors must be made larger, camera bodies must be made larger, and lenses must be made larger. And it all costs more.

Why The Four Thirds System Is Better

On a camera developed under the Four Thirds System, the lens mount is twice the diameter of the image circle (the area that actually lets light onto the image sensor). This makes it more adaptable to different sensors and different lenses. Developed exclusively for use with digital photo sensors, this new design allows light to hit the sensor straight on, like it needs to, producing exceptional image quality. The other benefit of the Four Thirds System is that it can accomplish more with less. The Four Thirds system requires half the focal length that a traditional 35mm lens does. This means the zoom achieved with a traditional 200mm 35mm lens can be achieved with a 100mm Four Thirds System lens. This gives you the same zoom capability in half the physical length. That makes the lens lighter and easier to manipulate. This really is beyond groundbreaking.