Olympus and Matsushita have announced a joint effort to develop and market a new standard for interchangeable lens type cameras, the Micro Four Thirds.

The new standard is an evolution of the Four Thirds System standard for interchangeable lens standard which was largely responsible for the recent dSLR market boom. The Micro standard will enable significant reductions in the size and weight of cameras, due to a 50% shorter mount-to-sensor distance, 6mm smaller lens mount diameter and an increase in mount electrical contacts from 9 to 11. It still retains the same sensor size, 18 x 13.5mm, but drops the mirror box and optical viewfinder.

Translated to laymen, this means you'll soon see much smaller and cheaper cameras with interchangeable lenses on the market. The new technology should allow designers to create cameras around 20mm slimmer than contemporary dSLRs, with additional savings in overall dimensions and weight, as well. Also, you can forget about the good old optical viewfinder. On Micro cameras the EFV or LCD will have to do, and this is something traditionalists won't like very much. Still, they can always go for a regular Four Thirds camera, as the new format is not meant to replace it.

If you've invested in Four Thirds System lenses there's no cause for concern, you'll be able to mount them on Micro Four Thirds System bodies via an adapter. Proprietary lenses for the new format will be much smaller (and inherently cheaper) than Four Thirds lenses.

The digital SLR market currently accounts for 7 percent of the total market share in the digital camera market. Although it has seen rampant growth in the past three years, Olympus and Panasonic believe there's still a lot of headroom for further growth. So far, many consumers have been turned off by SLR cameras due to their mammoth dimensions and pricey lens upgrades. The new Micro Four Thirds standard promises smaller, cheaper cameras and lenses with most Four Third features left intact, and therefore we believe it has a bright future.

We're expecting first product announcements in a couple of months, and we think they will be worth the wait. You can find out more about the standard here.