Is Panasonic Following Footsteps of Olympus with Their Latest Mirrorless Camera, GX7?

Panasonic is going retro with their latest MFT based compact mirrorless camera. That's a shift in design theme as its previous model, GX1, looked more like a high-end point and shoot camera.

The camera includes 16-megapixel sensor, 3-inch touchscreen LCD, and built-in electronic viewfinder which is a good news those of you who just don't like to use the live-view for framing that perfect shot.

The sensor, even though is the same 16-megapixel as several other MFT cameras from Panasonic, is a brand new with improved color saturation and light sensitivity.  The ISO range is also bumped up to 25,600.

The biggest news on this new compact mirrorless camera is in-body image stabilization. Now, that's the territory that was exclusively claimed by its rival, Olympus for this category of cameras.  The touchscreen LCD can be tilted up to 90 degrees, and two dial control rings are mounted on the top of its body.

It sounds like the new feature of GX7 really start looking like the one from Olympus latest MFT camera, PEN E-P5, not to mention its exterior design that look more like a classic rangefinder camera.

The biggest differentiator when comparing this camera to Olympus PEN E-P5 is its price, which is estimated at $999.99 for body only and $1099.99 for body with 14-42mm lens.

Stay tuned and come back soon for more details on this killer camera.  It will be hitting retailers sometime in September, 2013.

Update:  It's available for order with estimated September 2013 shipping date: