Let’s travel back in time by almost a decade to the 2004 release of the Panasonic DMC-LC1. Though it had a purely digital brain, its body paid homage to the classic 35mm design of film cameras. It featured a modest 5MP sensor, a shutter speed dial on the top of the camera, as well as zoom, focus and aperture control on its high-performance Leica lens.
Two years later, the Panasonic DMC-L1, a digital SLR, was announced. It, too, featured that deliciously attractive retro body we know and love. It was also the first non-Olympus Four Thirds camera ever to be released.
Now, according to Mirrorless Rumors, Panasonic is on the verge of releasing a new Micro Four Thirds camera based on the beautiful retro design of the Panasonic DMC-L1-LC1 series.
This new camera, dubbed the GX2, will feature not only a built-in tiltable electronic viewfinder, but also in-body stabilisation as found in Olympus MFT models such as the E-M5. And forget about 5MP – this new camera will have a whopping 18MP sensor. This will make it the Micro Four Thirds camera with the highest MP count.
With the retro fad raging on at an unstoppable rate, it would have been silly for Panasonic not to release a high-end retro mirrorless model of their own. The question remains – will this new camera have a fixed lens, or will it exist as part as the Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens system?
Sources: Mirrorless Rumors, 4/3 Rumors, DPReview
Photo credit: Panasonic LC1 Photo Set on Flickr by petertr (CC BY 2.0)
