From a company that has for a long time believed in photographs having that certain Impressionist look to them they've been pulling off some amazing things. First they come out with the DMC-LX3 which outside of not having much of a zoom is THE perfect small camera then they come out with the micro four-thirds format which allows you to have everything a DSLR has in a much smaller body because it doesn't have a mirror (thus it's not a DSLR). The lenses can be smaller, the body can be smaller and theoretically (although not yet realized) they can be cheaper than DSLRs. The Panasonic DMC-G1 at this juncture is a great camera but has no advantage over the competitions DSLRs, can't be bought without a lens and isn't cheaper so even though I think it's a monumental first step I won't be standing in line. I've been considering a Canon SX-1 superzoom to go with my Panasonic LX-3 (which I don't yet own) because it does awesome video, has decent stills and a monster zoom. Problem is the price is somewhere in the $600 range which is a lot for a Point and Shoot even if it is awesome. The Panasonic G1 is closer to a grand with a decent zoom lens and doesn't do video. Up until today I've decided to sit on my money (that I don't have) and wait. Today I think I made up my mind though... Introducing the HD version of the Panasonic G1...

I'm not sure the name is written in stone but for now they're calling it the GH1 and for all practical purposes it's a G1 with HD video. The cool thing is that it can maintain focus while recording video and it records stereo audio with built in speakers as well as a mic jack. The second feature is missing on just about every point and shoot camera out there. I end up taking video with the camera and recording my audio seperate and then merging them later. With the GH1 you can just hook up a decent mic and record right there. This camera has so much of what I want that I'm not sure I care about the price which I'm sure will be high. Way to go Panasonic. Give me more zoom on the LX-3 and I'll stop complaining altogether!