Pop Photo names Panasonic G1 Camera of the Year

This little camera is getting a lot of attention.  Popular Photography just named it the Camera of the Year, recognizing it as "the camera that best refined or redefined photography." 

"No, none of us will be trading in our DSLRs for a G1. After all, the lens selection can, at this point, be counted on two fingers; the camera's high-ISO performance isn't especially good; the lenses are small, but the camera's body isn't appreciably smaller than the tiniest DSLRs (such as the Olympus E-420 and Pentax K2000); and, as good as it is, the EVF isn't yet as sharp as a DSLR's prism viewfinder.

In other words, much like Apple's first iPhone, the G1 is expensive and imperfect. But like the iPhone, it is brave, and forward-thinking." 

As I wrote in an earlier post, this camera does represent a new breed and whether it catches on will depend on other manufacturers jumping into this new category, and the price settling down to earth.  Already the G1 has dropped from it's introductory price of $800 to $735 at Amazon, (as of today), which is a good sign.  But for a mere $105 additional, you can buy the Nikon D90, (body only), a 12megapix DSLR with an enormous array of available lenses, which is garnering stellar reviews and is on this photographer's short list for upcoming purchases. 

I suspect the winning price point for the G1 and similar micro four thirds cameras will be closer to that of advanced bridge cameras, $500-$600.  Certainly, we'll continue to monitor "the little camera that might".

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