Panasonic L10k

The new Panasonic L10 bursts on to the market and its ready to play hard ball.

Like the new kid wistfully watching the big boys play, Panasonic's been hovering around the edge of the SLR market for a while. Now, its second offering, the L10, is here and is ready to play with the big boys.

From scene modes to face detection, the L10 looks like the perfect SLR for newbies. Features like sensitivity and white balance are a button press away and all settings are conveniently displayed on the twistable LCD.

You can even replicate film filters, with "Dynamic" adding technicolour zing to your pics, and "Nostalgic" transforming them into an episode of The Sweeney. Get yer clothes on luv. We're goin' daaahn the station. Marvellous.

Like a drunk gymnast, the L10 has a balance problem. Compared to SLRs such as the Sony A700, the body feels light and cheap, but attach the 14-50mm lens and it's too front heavy.

That's not the only bad news. The shape of the rubber viewfinder means you can't see the edges of the shot properly. Luckily it's got Live View so you can use the LCD instead -- purists may blanch at this, but it's more comfortable and means you can actually see what you're framing.

Collaboration with Leica has yielded a terrifically solid, stabilised lens, which helps to take bright, well-exposed pictures. The problem is that this pushes the price to a whopping rrp of £900, where it's up against more advanced cameras with better features.

Handling issues aside, the L10 is pretty decent. However, even at its cheapest online price of £750, it's still £250 more than Olympus' superior E-510. Ptchah.

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