The first thing that strikes you when taking the LUMIX G1 in your hand is the nice rubber-like ‘skin’ as coating for the camera. This coating is fairly unique and offers a pleasant grip. It is soft and sticky at the same time, thus offering a good grip on the camera. The design of the Panasonic G1 is quite similar to that of a digital SLR camera, however, it also resembles an advanced compact camera. The 14-45 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is extremely compact and looks almost like a miniature, also because of its compact diameter. It’s astonishing to see that Panasonic has achieved a zoom lens this compact, including the MEGA O.I.S. image stabilizer of Panasonic.
A nice extra is the availability of three different colors of the housing. I suggest we get this choice more often. The Panasonic G1 is available in red, blue and traditional black. On the front, the new metal Micro FourThirds mount is found, supporting Panasonic’s Micro FourThirds lenses. In addition, an optional adapter (DMW-MA1APP) enhances the possibilities in supporting the current FourThirds lenses. However, not all of these lenses will be able to work with the contrast detection AF.
