The Panasonic DMC G1 is far smaller than a typical Digital SLR. In fact it is not really a Digital SLR. This is because it has had the mirror removed to cut down its size. Is this the shape of things to come? Although I expect to see the more traditional Digital SLRs stay with us I am sure that more cameras like the DMC G1 will appear offering people the chance to have a camera where you can have all the advantages of interchangeable lenses without the bulky size of a large SLR body.

The DMC G1 has dimensions of 124 x 83.6 x 45.2mm. It weighs 385g without a lens, memory card or battery. This makes it much smaller and more lightweight than a traditional Digital SLR camera.

For composing images the camera includes a live view feature. This allows you to view the scene through the LCD screen. This feature has only been introduced recently for Digital SLRs. The LCD screen is 3 inches in size and also pulls out and flips round to give you greater flexibility when shooting. Other features include image stabilisation, motion detection, light detection and face detection.

The Panasonic DMC G1 is aimed at amateur photographers and includes a number of ease of use features you see on more advanced compact digital cameras.