Panasonic

The story of Photokina 2008 is undoubtedly Micro Four Thirds - if for no other reason than it actually offers something a little different to talk about in the face of an endless wave of minor upgrades and 'new' compact cameras that are all but indistinguishable from their predecessors.

Obviously the main focus of visitor attention is the Lumix G1, getting its first public airing on the Panasonic stand alongside the already announced lenses (and some mockups of future lenses from the published roadmap). The camera and its accessories dominate the stand and hint at just how serious Panasonic is about its G Micro system, with the emphasis being on the idea that this is to be the start of a system, to a much greater extent than the company's previous forays into interchangeable lens territory.

Also on display are the new Lumix compact models announced back in July, including the very cute DMC-LX3 and sure-to-be-popular FZ28 iteration of Panasonic's superzoom series.