The full review for Panasonic’s new generation of un-SLR is up over at DPReview, and they’ve given it the usual treatment. It looks like the G1, which I was a bit skeptical of, comes through okay. Given its natural limitations, it succeeds in image quality, color reproduction, and somewhat in usability. It isn’t all fun and games, though.
The G1 is quite small, more so even than Rebels and D40s, but also lighter due to the simplification and miniaturization of the guts. This can be good or bad, depending, but the same process that made it so small made it incompatible with all the lenses out there. The few micro four thirds lenses available aren’t very impressive, and although an adapter is available for other lenses, autofocus is not available.
It also has a lot of trouble in low light. Not necessarily image quality-wise, as it performs pretty well at medium-high ISO, but due to its electronic viewfinder, you might be having a lot of trouble framing shots of candlelit dinners or friends in dark bars.
It also can’t shoot video, which is kind of inexplicable, given that the major change (no reflex mirror) should enable that capability without too much tweaking — and the camera’s processor is certainly fast enough.
Basically you’ve got an interesting but not particularly standout camera with some serious flaws. Personally I’d wait for the G2.