SlashScope

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 digital SLR is not expected to hit the stores until later in the year but CNET has provided a preview of the gadget. 'Panasonic's Lumix DMC-L1 is the company's first digital SLR, and it looks like to be an impressive model. The fruit of a technology alliance between Panasonic and Olympus, the L1 is based on the same 7.5-megapixel nMOS sensor as the Olympus Evolt E-330--unsurprising, since Panasonic makes the chip--which enables the live-view LCD technology in both cameras. (This gives photographers the option to frame their shots with the L1's LCD instead of the optical viewfinder, just like a point-and-shoot model.) Olympus contributes the Supersonic Wave Filter technology, which repels dust from the sensor.'