FrameFarmMedia
Veteran
I feel the same way. Hopefully can get in on the first wave.
GH3 GH3 Body to cost $1299 & up for pre-order!
- Thread starter keylight
- Start date
I feel the same way. Hopefully can get in on the first wave.
swaneon
Well-known member
i have a 10% discount on amazon but i live in Seattle so there's tax
i preordered at all 3 retailers to see which gets it first
would prefer the 12-35 kit since i think it will be 2000-2200 which is great!
keylight
Veteran
No idea, but I wouldn't bet money on getting one in 2012.
Totally separate from availability, China is really hitting a major economic slowdown at the moment, and the whole issue over the tiny islands is really more of an effort to deflect attention away from that slowdown. So Japan has become an easy target for that deflection. And to the extent the govt. may be instigating instead of trying to calm things down, it's a pretty stupid move on their part. I would expect to see a LOT more movement by Japanese (and other) companies to build factories outside of China after this, if only to diversify the basket of eggs.
Wouldn't it be great if they opened up some manf. here in the US? I mean, Japanese auto makers did it, why can't other industries? (Then again, cameras are pretty labor intensive, where as car production can be heavily automated.)
traviswears
Well-known member
I want the 12-35 kit as well. Anyone have a clue when that will be announced for pre-order?
traviswears
Well-known member
If this happened, everyone would be complaining about the new prices of the cameras. I don't see it happening.
I always defend Panasonic marketing, but every company has upsides and downsides to their strategy. I like how Panasonic listens to their customers - more, seems to me, than other cam manufacturers. But the downside of this can be seemingly endless delays and prevaricating. I just read how Nikon D600 is in stock and ready for shipping. Whenever Nikon or Canon or Sony have a camera out, it's out, and you don't have to constantly wonder what "out" means - in Panasonic land, more often than not, it means "not available". It's available, only you can't buy it, it's nowhere to be found, stocked sporadically, promoted weirdly with odd discounts at odd times (often at the same time when demand is very high and supply is constrained), and it becomes widely available only so late in the game that it's time for a new model and the same scenario unfolds with the new model. Maybe part of it is that Canikon have volume, so they can afford to market properly, but then again, Leica is also a very niche product (even more niche than the high-end Pana consumer cams), and you never have this now-you-see-it-now-you-don't situation.
I really, truly hope that the GH3 will be widely available by November 30, 2012. But with firmware and seemingly many features still unsettled, I really have to wonder how that's going to work. I suspect that yet again, it'll be fall of 2013 before we see the GH3 in volume, long past when people are most interested in it as a realistic option for soonish projects. At least with Canikon, you can get the cam, research it, try it out, experiment with it, and if you need something there is a whole infrastructure ready to support the cam almost as close as your nearest Best Buy. With Panasonic is rumors, more rumors, ghost sightings and word of mouth.
Hope to be proven very, very wrong, and GH3 is out there for anyone who asks by the end of 2012!
I really, truly hope that the GH3 will be widely available by November 30, 2012. But with firmware and seemingly many features still unsettled, I really have to wonder how that's going to work. I suspect that yet again, it'll be fall of 2013 before we see the GH3 in volume, long past when people are most interested in it as a realistic option for soonish projects. At least with Canikon, you can get the cam, research it, try it out, experiment with it, and if you need something there is a whole infrastructure ready to support the cam almost as close as your nearest Best Buy. With Panasonic is rumors, more rumors, ghost sightings and word of mouth.
Hope to be proven very, very wrong, and GH3 is out there for anyone who asks by the end of 2012!
keylight
Veteran
That's not true for most major Nikon launches. They start with a very slow trickle of people who got in early pre-orders, and take months before the fill all of them. Hopefully the D600 (which is now shipping) will stay in stock and be a sign of Nikon turning over a new leaf.
Not at all true. The GH2 became widely widely available about 6 months after initial shipping, back in April 2011 That's 19 months before the GH3 is supposed to ship. You can go back in these very forums and see a lot of people posting "just got my GH2" messages.
I think I see the confusion you have about Nikon (can speak to Canon) Their mass market consumer oriented stuff may be more readily available sooner. But their prosumer/pro gear is always hard to get initially. I've had real problems getting extra Nikon batteries for example, when the release a body that requires a new type. And while I've never had to deal with Nikon for repairs, there are plenty of horror stories out there about those who have. (I have had to deal with Panny's consumer repairs - for the GH2- and it was a very unpleasant experience.)
I won't be surprised if the official release date changes at some point before November, to sometime early next year, given what's happening in China at the moment.