I think this does look good. Certainly my excitement for the Panasonic half of the m4/3 system has been re-awakened by both the design, the improvements and the continuity (finally!) from the GF1. This is presumably the 10th. anniversary camera that they talked about earlier this year. (10 years since the first LUMIX digital camera) and the styling reference back to the L1 is a nice touch.
The G3 sensor is a decent one, and it will be interesting to see just what improvements they have come with regard to high ISO performance. There's a few nice touches. Level guage, mp4 video (very useful for the kinds of video many will shoot on this) and its good to see that they have retained the aluminium body from the GF1, which I always liked the feel of.
It does show, I think, that there is a commitment from Panasonic towards the "retro fanboy" "serious enthusiast" section of the market that the X100 and NEX-7 are aimed at. I was beginning to wonder whether Panasonic had forgotten about us!!
From being on the verge of giving up on m4/3, this has encouraged me to remain with the system. I've used it extensively and enthused about it, but was beginning to think that it was stalling somewhat and that Panasonic in particular had ideas about their target markets that didn't include me. However it does seem that they have taken note of the reaction to the X100 and NEX-7 and have come up with a camera that will appeal to the people who are interested in those cameras while still continuing along their own evolution path.
It won't satisfy everybody of course. While the new EVF can't fail to be an improvement on the previous one, many would have liked it to be in-body. However I think it carries on the design theme of the GF1 and personally I don't mind the modular approach, particularly if it means it retains that "rangefinder look" that I find very appealing.
I'm actually surprised at how much I like it, and the early leaks didn't really do it justice. I very much wanted to stay with m4/3 and this has given me a good reason to do so. I'll be waiting impatiently to see when I can get my hands on a silver one + viewfinder.
It is somewhat ironic that this will probably be available before the NEX-7. Tragic though the reasons for that are, maybe that particular "Ill wind" will blow Panasonic some good.