It was only yesterday when Olympus went ahead and released a new concept camera, capturing some semi-classic styling in a new format called micro four thirds. This new format is a conscious attempt to return to the old SLR types popularized by cameras like the Canon AE-1–it’s an entirely different approach for digital SLRs that shies away from the big bodies popularized by most cameras, but still allows for interchangeable lenses.

With that in mind, I decided to round up some examples of modern digital cameras that are beautifully designed, but keep to the best traditions of classic camera bodies. This has been a definite trend of late, with manufacturers realizing that the same old grey-rectangle isn’t how it always has to be when it comes to a digital camera.

Why get stuck in the exact same manufacturing ghetto when there’s a huge tradition to draw upon? With big thanks to the invaluable Retro to Go website for their tireless mentions of many amazing products, let’s run down the list:

5. Olympus Micro Four Thirds (Concept)

This is only a mockup of the aforementioned Olympus, but I hope it comes to market in something like this form. It’s a different direction for the digital SLR, and stands out from the rest of the classic bodies we’ve seen on the other cameras today. Obviously it needs some polishing, but here’s hoping the general idea gets retained.

4. Leica C-LUX 3

And the parade of Leicas beings. Here’s their attempt to inject clean lines and classic design into what is otherwise a basic, contemporary digital camera design. It doesn’t look so far off from some of the cameras you might find in a big-box superstore, but the subtle detailing makes all the difference.

3. Leica D-LUX 4

A wonderful metal body and a ridiculous level of simplicity make this look miles away from most digital cameras you’ve seen before. Wonderfully done.

2. Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF 5.0

Yes! A redesign of the famous Rolleiflex top-down camera design that started all the way back in 1929. You use a crank (purely aesthetic, this part) and look down at this camera from above. This remake is actually done by a Japanese manufacturer who has reproduced the original Rolleiflex design in miniature (the originals are insanely popular in Japan).

1. Leica M8 and M8.2

Yeah, these are new digital cameras. Leica has a massive, half-insane following around the world, and online you can find no shortage of endless diatribes that debate the exact differences between two limited-run lenses from the 1960s that only seventeen people have tried. Every artistic realm has its hardcore subculture full of passionate devotees, and what Steinway is to pianists and B&W is to audiophiles, Leica is to photographers. These two cameras (above is the M8.2, at the top of the page is the M) pull the famous Leica M-series, first introduced in the 1950s, into the digital realm–and the incredible bodies are easily the best I’ve seen in digital cameras of this type.

If you’ve got any more examples of some fine-looking digital cameras, let us know in the comments!

Anyone who shoots photos or video with any kind of serious interest likely had a mild breakdown a week ago, as Canon suddenly launched the newest in its line of high-end digital SLRs–the EOS-5D Mark II. It also received a reasonable amount of press on various design blogs, and there’s one reason above all: HD video. The camera is ridiculously powerful, with a 21-megapixel sensor and reportedly stunning low-light conditions (iso 25600, for the love of god). That same sensor, with all the same ISO options, lets you shoot actual HD for up to 30 minutes, using any lens you can attach to the camera.

This means your expensive fisheye, your heavy-but-amazing telephoto, hell, any lens you have is suddenly a high-end HD lens. The implications for that are stunning, as many have noticed; the top consumer dSLR is now, basically overnight, an incredibly versatile video camera not tied to any fixed set of optics. This means video productions previously unthinkable due to lighting constraints and lens prices are now within the reach of anyone with, say, $10,000. Needless to say, the hyperbole is flying on this one, and for good reason.

Most of said madness surrounds Reverie, the short film/ad made by Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Vincent Laforet. A large-format quicktime version hit the web on Monday and promptly exploded. Laforet is an “Explorer of Light”, which means he’s “one of the photographers that works with Canon on making better cameras,” and after a quick visit to Canon’s offices, he managed to convince the company to lend him the newest, just-arrived model for the weekend in order to see what he could do with it.

The potential was there for making a short film that would be hosted on the Canon website, but nothing was guaranteed. Laforet had never shot a film before, ever, and had less than 12 hours of preproduction. When you see the results–sans filming or location permits, on a budget of $5000 that included a 2-grand helicopter ride–it starts to dawn on you that this really is a watershed in digital imaging, exaggeration aside. There’s a youtube version below, but the full quicktime HD edition is far better.

Laforet explains exactly why the camera is going to change the industry:

The 5D MKII camera produces the best stills in low light that I’ve ever seen - what you can see with you eye in the worst light (such as sodium-vapor street lights at 3 a.m. in Brooklyn) - this camera can capture it with ease.

It was shot with 100% still photography equipment (lenses, grip/mounts, and a single Profoto 7b battery strobe pack (the strobe wasn’t used - just the modeling light))- with the exception of an expensive video tripod and head, and an LED light…

This camera is the ultimate “equalizer” - you no longer need half-million dollar’s worth of high definition video cameras and lenses delivered by a truck with its own driver to shoot a high definition film in low light - you just need a $2,700 camera and a few lenses

This is a leap of change that is sped up - it’s happening overnight.

A few other photographers got their hands on some pre-production models, including incredible Vancouver wedding photographers Bebb Studios, who posted several samples and a video review. Bebb’s Jennifer strikes the same note:

In my personal opinion, this camera changes everything.

Not to mention that the camera shoots directly in quicktime, which is instantly usable in Final Cut Pro, according to Laforet:

It produces Apple’s Quicktime .mov files btw - simply copy them off of your CF Cards - double click on them - and they open up in the Quicktime player w/o a single hiccup at 1080p… Drop them into Final cut pro and start your edit… no rendering is necessary. Oh - and realize that it took us less than 20 minutes to copy over more than 12 hours of footage off of the CF cards…

Canon’s suggested retail price (for the body alone) is $2,699.00. It ships in November, which means this year, thousands of Christmas-morning, present-opening videos will suddenly look far too professional.