Olympus and Panasonic shrink their SLR lenses

The march of the DSLR is in full swing, but one thing I know has prevented some of my friends from buying one is the size and weight — especially of the decent lenses. Panasonic and Olympus hear their cries, and with the unveiling of the “Micro Four Thirds System” standard, they expect to be able to lighten and shrink their lenses, hopefully without compromising them optically. Of course, they will no longer be SLR because there will be no mirror in there, but people will still think so since they can take lens off.

They say the diameter of the lens will be reduced, and the overall depth of the camera as well — the body should be significantly thinner. There are also more electrical contacts for lenses, which should enable things like in-lens stabilization, faster autofocus, and so on. DPReview has a deeper analysis than I can give here. Sounds good to me.