In June, Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-GH1 Micro Four Thirds Hybrid digital camera will go on sale for around £1300. The camera, only a fraction the size of a digital SLR, provides the user with a selection of interchangeable lenses – although currently somewhat limited – alongside high definition video recording options. The hotly anticipated launch follows the well-received unveiling of the model at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show in Las Vegas, March.

The Panasonic GH1 is the successor to the Panasonic G1, which was released in November 2008. Smaller than a regular digital SLR, the G1 is still the most compact camera with interchangeable lenses to date (20% lighter than the Panasonic L10 and occupying only 52% of the L10’s footprint). The diminutive size has been achieved by the omission of the mirror box and optical viewfinder found on digital SLRs. Instead, the G series of cameras feature electronic viewfinders, which, with their 60fps refresh rates, are fast enough and accurate enough to lower those scoffingly raised eyebrows.

The move into the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) market, indeed the very creation of the Micro Four Thirds market, was a very bold move on behalf of Panasonic, as whether a new breed of camera was what consumers wanted was anyone’s guess, and the dwindling of the world’s economy was bound to slow down the purchase rate.

The move wasn’t a blind leap of faith, however, and Panasonic had done its research. The company estimated that there were around 113 million compact camera owners in the world, and that 23 million of these users would upgrade to a digital SLR if they were smaller, lighter and easier to use.

“We are filling a void that has existed for a long time in the digital camera market, because consumers wanted the power of an SLR, but previous models were bulky and inconvenient,” said David Briganti, Panasonic’s National Marketing Manager for Imaging. “The Lumix G answers this challenge as consumers can benefit from the flexibility of changing lenses; a quick Auto Focus; and a sensor that produces high-quality photos, in an extremely compact body with easy-to-use features familiar to point-and-shoot users.”

The 12.1Mp G1, costing around £600 at the time of its launch, available in black, blue and red liveries and currently compatible with four G series lenses, was described by one expert as being “the most important innovation in camera technology since the introduction of the opto-mechanical image stabilisation”.

At the time of the G1’s launch, there were already confirmed rumours about the development of a version with HD video recording capabilities. It was also confirmed that Olympus was working on an MFT model, which, upon its eventual release, will bring about a wider range of lens options for G1 and GH1 owners.

The GH1 will be bundled with Lumix G Vario HD 14-140mm/F4.0~5.8 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S lens (35mm equivalent: 28-280mm). This new lens itself is the fine result of some master craftsmanship. The main appeal is its silent focussing – desirable when shooting video. The ability to adjust the aperture settings is also a plus for budding movie directors as it allows for greater depth experimentation than is usually available on standalone consumer level camcorders.

The camera also features an integrated stereo microphone and an external mic socket. For a little extra expense the DMW-MS1 external stereo mic can be purchased and fitted to the hot shoe mount.

The video recording format of choice is AVCHD, which is a compressed HD format that requires less SD card storage than Motion Jpeg files. It can shoot at 1080p resolution capturing 24fps, or at 720p resolution where 60 frames can be grabbed each second – something that lends itself well to slow-mo playback.

The still image features of the GH1 have differed only slightly from those available on the G1. The GH1 can take a shot in four different aspect ratios: 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 and 1:1; it also features a new face recognition processing power. This function teaches the camera to recognize frequently photographed faces – perhaps family members or friends. When one of these familiar faces is in the frame, the camera automatically adjusts the exposure settings to best compliment the face that it recognizes. Not great for strangers.

The current arsenal of lenses available include the 14-45mm F3.5~5.6 compact lens, the 45-200mm F4.0~5.6 telephoto lens, 7-14mm F4.0 wide-angle lens and now, with a launch coinciding with the GH1, the 14-140mm F4.0~5.8 HD lens. A 7-14mm F1.7 pancake is scheduled for release later this year, and Panasonic stated at the UK’s unveiling of the GH1 at its Bracknell HQ that the current plans are to introduce around three or four lenses annually. The DMW-MA1 lens mount will allow users to connect Four Third lenses to their GH1 and G1 cameras.

As Canon celebrates 50 years of manufacturing SLRs, it seems as though Panasonic’s brief appearance on the SLR stage may be at an end. It seems terribly unlikely that the MFT breed of cameras is going to replace the familiar digital SLRs and the wide variety of compatible lenses, and only time will tell us whether MFTs will become commonplace household objects or collectors’ items, representing a brief and misguided epoch in the long history of cameras. Either way, you have to take your hats off to Panasonic for such a brave move.

Panasonic Specs

The Panasonic GH1 offer 12.1Mp of resolution and comes bundled with a

14-140mm/F4.0-5.8 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S. kit lens. It captures video in 1920 x 1080p AVCHD format at a rate of 24fps. There are 25 scene modes, four aspect ratios and an ISO range between 100 and 3,200. It features a 4x digital zoom, a 1,440,000 dot electronic viewfinder and a 3-inch tiltable LCD. It has a shutter speed range between 60 and 1/4000 seconds.

It measures only 124mm x 90mm x 45mm and weighs 385g without its lens and battery, and it recognises SD and SDHC memory cards.