GH2 Pre-orders

Ben_B

Ben_B

Veteran
Starting this thread so people can list their GH2 pre-orders/orders, when they made them, where, what camera kit, color, etc, and then can update their post when they get their cameras. Please post your information here.

As an aside, I am currently looking for somewhere that will carry the body-only GH2 to preorder...I can't seem to find anywhere and am thinking of placing a pre-order for the 14-42mm bundle @ Amazon just to have an order in, and then buying the camera body-only at B&H or another place if it goes in stock there before my pre-order ships.

For those who don't know, the GH1 launch was sort of a debacle, with no rhyme or reason to when Panasonic direct preorders went out, or to when what dealers got cameras, and who they went to, and whether they were put on sale or used to fill preorders. Shortage of cameras, and lots of demand. I suspect this launch will be even worse even if capacity has been increased thanks to the three tiers of camera (body only, 14-42, 14-140.) Combine this with the different colors and it could mean as much as 1/6th the chance that a camera received by the dealer will match your specific order (though it could be less depending on how much of each kind are sent out. I suspect we'll see more black than silver cameras produced for example.)
 
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Order Placed, 10/18/10 11:04 pm PST, Amazon.com. GH2k (black) with 14-42mm lens. $3.99 one day shipping with Amazon Prime :) Order total: $1,003.94. Estimated delivery date: N/A. Poster location, West Coast US.
 
Hi!

When the Gh-1 came out, how long was it before they were available without pre order? I want a body only +20mm but don't see that combo available. So if the First US GH-2 are out by the end of November I've been told, should I expect 2-3 months after that? I figure they won't be easily available until after the new year.
 
Picturequest said:
Hi!

When the Gh-1 came out, how long was it before they were available without pre order? I want a body only +20mm but don't see that combo available. So if the First US GH-2 are out by the end of November I've been told, should I expect 2-3 months after that? I figure they won't be easily available until after the new year.
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It depends on how lucky you are. A lot of dealers don't take preorders but still get cameras in. Readily available was probably October (camera launched in June.) I managed to snag mine in mid-July which was lucky because it was right before a trip to NY and I got to do video of it. However, the camera I ended up getting was not from any of my three pre-orders I had out there...I just got lucky and managed to get the last one a dealer in had, thanks to a PM tip by another DVXUser. I didn't have a paypal account on the time and I made the sales girl stay on the line with me while I made one because I didn't want to risk not getting that camera lol. But yeah, if you're aggressive and have a lot of feelers out there you might get lucky and nab one early on without a pre-order. I know B&H had them available the week before I got mine for like an hour, but I was in the car, driving to a shoot (HVX-200 + Letus Extreme...remember that?)
 
So Do you think it is possible to get one in Nov from B&H? I have a credit there and was going to purchase a GH2 ASAP. I would have purchased a GH1 yesterday if it wasn't for the firmware issue. It is an institutional purchase so I can't go with amazon.
 
Order Placed, 09/22/10 5:00 pm EST, Amazon.com. GH2k (black) with 14-42mm lens. GH2k (grey) with 14-42mm lens, GH2k (black) with 14-140mm lens, and 14mm F2.5 lens. $3.99 one day shipping with Amazon Prime Order total: $ 3,915.76. Estimated delivery date: N/A. Poster location, East Coast US.

I had originally placed the order above when they accidentally priced the GH2 at $0.01. They quickly canceled that order and I placed the new ones that day. I pre-ordered every kit because I can always cancel them when we see some indication of a ship date.


I will probably end up keeping the Grey one with the 14-42mm. I don’t want the 14-42mm lens. However, for $100 it is worth it to get one of the early GH2s.

It looks like amazon is still not shipping any Nikon D7000s and yet they have been available for almost 1 week at Best Buy. The estimated delivery date for amazon is in the middle of November. I sure hope amazon gets one of the first batches of GH2s. I bet they are pissed about having to wait a month to get the D7000.
 
I want the body-only GH2 and would be willing to pay a bit extra for the 14-45mm but it's hard to swallow the 14-42mm for $100 after so many negative reviews vs. the 14-45mm. Argh!
 
noirist said:
I want the body-only GH2 and would be willing to pay a bit extra for the 14-45mm but it's hard to swallow the 14-42mm for $100 after so many negative reviews vs. the 14-45mm. Argh!
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Really is the 14-42mm that bad? It is a $100 lens. What quality are you really expecting?

Also the 14-45mm is not really that great either. Sure it is sharp as a tack. However, both lenses have painfully small apertures. What good is a sharp lens if you get blurry pictures from it?

If you are worried about spending an extra $100 to buy the GH2 with a lens then maybe you should wait a couple of years to buy the camera. The GH2 should be half price by then and you will probably be able to get it without a lens.

In the meantime I will buy it with the 14-42mm and sell the lens on ebay for at least the same price as I paid for it.
 
I decided to go with the 14-42mm lens option because it was only $100 more and because I plan on keeping my GH13 around and might, at some point, conceivably need 14mm on both cameras at once, and I am not yet ready to invest in the 14mm f/2.5. Also despite its shortcomings the 14-42mm is half a stop faster than the 14-140mm at the wide end.
 
Probably Amazon UK or whatever Amazon site is in your country?

Incidentally, last time Amazon was one of the last dealers to get cameras. This is sort of my backup order, I am gonna try to snag one when someone gets one in stock.
 
Ben_B said:
Order Placed, 10/18/10 11:04 pm PST, Amazon.com. GH2k (black) with 14-42mm lens. $3.99 one day shipping with Amazon Prime :) Order total: $1,003.94. Estimated delivery date: N/A. Poster location, West Coast US.
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Lets hope you have better luck w/ this pre-order than you did with GH1 release:cool:

Who could forget that crazy thread where we all ranted about availability, where it was in stock, and in the midst of ranting having all that photoshop fun:happy:
 
All I did was call up a local authorised retailer to see if they had one in stock and they did. That was July of last year. It was like I hit the jackpot! Months later in October when I finally decided that I should order the 20mm lens, Amazon conveniently had it in stock at that very moment. I didn't expect to be lucky twice.
 
Pre-ordered DMC-GH2 with 14-42mm lens from Amazon.com on 9/25/10. Also put my contact info on B&H's notify-when-available list a few days later.

I already have the 14-140mm kit zoom lens with my GH1. I figure the 14-42mm will be useful, especially if the GH2's ETC tele feature works well.
 
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The GH2 so far is not available from PanasonicDirect. At least not to its partners to whom they usually give a discount. That's how I bought my GH1 and was likely one of the first ones delivered in North America. But so far it doesn't show as being available for pre-order. I think I'm going to wait it out a little bit anyway and see how the reviews are. I'm very excited by the noise (FPN) improvements though since I use the camera primary as a stills camera and mostly in candid situations.
 
I might jump on the wagon. GH2 black + 14-140. I live in the States. Does Amazon have any advantage over BHPhotoVideo? I have good customer experience from BHPhotoVideo. Those Jewish people do a fine job.
 
admactanium said:
The GH2 so far is not available from PanasonicDirect. At least not to its partners to whom they usually give a discount. That's how I bought my GH1 and was likely one of the first ones delivered in North America. But so far it doesn't show as being available for pre-order. I think I'm going to wait it out a little bit anyway and see how the reviews are. I'm very excited by the noise (FPN) improvements though since I use the camera primary as a stills camera and mostly in candid situations.
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Panasonic direct was a nightmare for many people trying to get their GH1s.
 
Ben_B said:
Panasonic direct was a nightmare for many people trying to get their GH1s.
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I think everywhere was a nightmare around then. There was clearly more demand than they ever expected. PanasonicDirect offers significant discounts to certain partners though even on some lenses.
 
Order placed for the GH2k/14-140 kit on 9/22 at Amazon. Going to up to a Prime trial once I get shipping info. Hoping the waiting game isn't too extreme.
 
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