I’m of two minds about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1. Part of me really would like to like it. I’m pleased to see Panasonic entering the DSLR marketplace at around the same time as Sony with its A100. Since the camera business has very much become driven by the electronic giants, especially those that OEM sensors the way the both Sony and Panasonic do, having them each marketing a full featured DSLR is no bad thing.
In the case of Panasonic what I find very attractive is the partnering with Leica. The Leica D Vario-Elmarit 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5 that comes bundled with the L1 is almost worth the price of admission by itself, and I wouldn’t doubt that there will be Olympus owners who see it that way as well, since there’s no telling when or if Panasonic will sell this lens by itself.