February 11, 2009 4:00 AM PST
One of the most prominent parts of the effort to make small but powerful cameras came when Olympus and Panasonic developed the Micro Four Thirds standard for cameras that live halfway between point-and-shoots and bulkier SLRs. The standard combines the relatively large and high-quality image sensors of the companies' single-lens reflex cameras with smaller bodies and lenses.
The first Micro Four Thirds model is Panasonic's DMC-G1, which costs about $670 with a 14-45mm lens. Panasonic and Olympus both plan other models for 2009.
Photo by Panasonic
Caption by Stephen Shankland
