Olympus Corporation (Olympus) and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic) have been engaged in joint development of cameras that comply with the Four Thirds System standard for interchangeable-lens-type digital SLR cameras, and will display the fruit of their labors at the PMA 2006 International Convention and Trade Show that starts in February 26, in Orlando, Florida. Olympus will exhibit the E-330, a recently introduced product that incorporates jointly developed technologies, and Panasonic will announce development of the DMC-L1, its first digital SLR camera. A prototype of the DMC-L1 will also be exhibited.
The two cameras are the result of an agreement announced on January 13, 2005, under which Olympus and Panasonic agreed to jointly develop underlying technologies and key components, and promote the introduction of digital SLR camera products that take full advantage of the significant user benefits offered by the Four Thirds System standard.

As its first digital SLR camera, Panasonic has developed the DMC-L1, which combines the operating feel of an analog camera with Live View shooting and other ease-of-use features that are unique to digital cameras. By using the Live MOS sensor and proprietary Venus Engine III image-processing LSI, Panasonic has maximized the performance potential of both devices and successfully achieved the high image quality and high processing speeds that are critical to SLR camera performance. Following additional development efforts, Panasonic plans to introduce the DMC-L1 later this year. By teaming Olympus’s industry-leading SLR camera technology with Panasonic’s advanced digital AV technology to offer Four Thirds System digital SLR cameras and a wide lens lineup, the two companies plan to offer camera enthusiasts a level of creativity and satisfaction have never experienced before.

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