Photo Club

As more and more consumers graduate to digital SLR cameras, it’s not surprising that some manufacturers are looking to ease the transition for the first-timers. Features normally found on compact cameras — scene modes, face detection autofocus, and live LCD preview – are now commonly found on DSLRs.

Such is the case with Panasonic’s newest DSLR, the 10.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-L10, which brings with it several features and functions normally found on EVF-style cameras.

The L10 is a good-looking, solidly built camera featuring a Live MOS sensor and a Leica D Vario-Elmarit 14-50mm f/3.8-5.6 Mega Optical Image Stabilized kit lens. The complete kit will cost you $1,300, estimated street, a price that may frighten off some consumers, particularly existing Four Thirds System photographers who may already have a similar lens in their arsenal, whether it’s an older Four Thirds Leica or an Olympus Zuiko lens in the Four Thirds mount.

But for the first-time DSLR buyer, or for the photographer who has decided to switch to the Four Thirds system, the L10′s combination of features and functions, particularly EVF-style Live View mode, may be a real selling point of this package.

We’ve spent the past couple of weeks with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10, traveling from New York City to Vermont and back, taking photos all along the way, and there’s a whole heck of a lot to like about this camera.