Panasonic to unveil new digital SLR next week

Panasonic will unveil a new digital single lens reflex camera in its Lumix range next week, the company said Wednesday.

The camera follows on from the DMC-L10 and will be presented at a Tokyo news conference on Sept. 12. Panasonic said the new camera "offers unique features to set a new trend in digital SLR photography" but didn't reveal any information about the camera.

The DMC-L10 was launched in September last year at the Photokina camera show in Germany and was the second digital SLR to be presented by Panasonic. The new camera will become the third Lumix digital SLR and is likely to be a main feature of Panasonic's Photokina line-up. Photokina begins in Cologne on Sept. 23.

The digital SLR is becoming increasingly competitive with long-time leaders Nikon and Canon facing stiff competition from newcomers including Panasonic, Sony, FujiFilm and Olympus. The most recent new digital SLR, Nikon's D90, was announced in August and brought a feature not present on other models: the ability to record high-definition video.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.