Knorp, LOVE the blue nylon line shot. WOW. The others are equally stunning.
Regarding the discussion about Olympus vs Panasonic and who has the lead, I sorta agree with Terry.
Olympus may have been a principal architect/founding partner of the 4/3s format and that despite the 'mockup' that was revealed at last years Photokina, judging by their prodigious output of incredible optics and hardware they've created for their rather full line of DSLRs, I'd say that's where their primary focus is in terms of time, energy, commitment and R&D. And may continue to be for the foreseable future. And not MFT.
For their part in the 4/3s movement, Panasonic seems to have only token offerings for the 4/3s system (IMHO). So far, just the L1 and the L10 and four Leitz lenses (before Leitz split) and the rest from Olympus. Neither of which, while competent, appear to be roaring successes for them. (True the G1 is also "one" camera too with just two lenses at the moment, but judging by the reaction of the press and people here along with the possibilities of how flexible the concept appears to be vis a vis other optics you can use, I'd bet dollars to donuts that Panasonic must feel they're finally onto something and may want to develop it to the full extent they are capable. Own the format so to speak.)
So it seems to me the MFT format may have presented Panasonic an opportunity to create, for the first time, a real niche of their own. Yeah their research indicated a growing dissatisfaction with weighty DSLRs (even though Olympus has the smallest, true DSLR available for the moment) and that the idea of a smaller camera of some sort with interchangeable lenses may be welcome. But with the possibilities of MFT as an impetus, they had some impressive resources to draw upon to create something truly unique: their HDTV division who had developed highly evolved EVF's (and perhaps even with contrast detection AF) coupled no doubt with their dogged pursuit to develop a respectable processing engine which until now all previous editions had taken quite a beating in the review press for the intolerable noise levels at higher ISOs. And as many on this forum can attest from the images we're seeing, with this Venus HD, they may be finally hitting their stride in that department as well. (The Venus engine powering LX3/DLUX4 was the first indication something good had been achieved. And while noise on the G1 above 800 is still unacceptable for some, under 400 it appears to be a real champ.) So the time was right.
Seeing what they came up with and how quickly they produced a 'full' system I think they may have the lead in this regard. WIth Olympus taking more of a wait and see attitude before investing any more in R&D considering all they've invested already in their own 4/3s system. (Perhaps re-designing and producing some of their super optics in the MFT.)
Of course, I could be dead wrong. But that's my take on it. So we'll have to see.
Peter