When will Panny Lumix DMC-GH3 finally start selling?

GH3 is still on back-order, Panasonic U.S. web site lists it as on "Pre-Order." It also states that the shipping  date as being 28 January, although when I called them about it today, the chap I talked with said "sometime in February."

http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/DMC-GH3KBODY?t=overview

So, that sounds to me like March or maybe even April. Two questions:

1. Does anyone here actually HAVE the Panasonic GH3? Or seen it? In other words, was Panasonic actually SELLING this DMC-GH3 camera before now, and if so, why did they withdraw it from the market?

2. Related to Q1 above, what is really WRONG with the GH3 camera that Panasonic is not selling it, since I understand they were supposed to have started selling it in late November last year.

I just love these camera manufacturers and their totally worthless press releases and announcements about availability dates and whatnot. They are worth less than the wayward electrons on my computer screen.

I got mine on Jan 3rd from National Camera Exchange in Edina Minnesota. They supposedly got a shipment of 24 I think. But they were on back order from Dec 6th. I traded my GH2 in on it. It has been too cold to really get out an experiment. But the pictures I have taken seem sharper and have better quality images then the GH2. Even though I am using the same lens I had on the GH2

--
Rod

I bought mine new from Norman Camera when they happened to have one in stock on 12/14...lucked into it!

This is the same thing that happened with the GH2...despite high demand, Panasonic did not have the stock in the US for quite a while.    Of course, Sony did the same thing with the NEX7 and Nikon the same with the D800, although those had a lot to do with the floods in Taiwan.

It's a superb camera...I really enjoy using it!

--
Rick Krejci
http://www.ricksastro.com

Got mine from Kenmore Camera last week.  They had enough to fill backorders and put up some on the website for sale.  They are getting a new shipment in sometime next week, and they are not all accounted for yet, so you might want to give them a call if you want one.

-J

…quite a few reports by people using their GH3s.

It's just a question of meeting demand. Remember, the GH3 is a relatively small volume seller so Panny has to be careful about the numbers it makes before market release.

A second factor is that there would have been a lot of pent up demand for the GH3, so a lot of early orders because the GH2 has been on the market for quite some time.

Obviously a lot of people pre-ordered and that has soaked up supply.

That's the way marketing logistics works. The marketers can’t always get it right.

Cheers, geoff

--
Geoffrey Heard
http://pngtimetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-to-karai-komana_31.html

I do. Yes. From the fist wave from B&H. Pre ordered a couple of days after it was announced.

--
Ann Chaikin
Painting & Photography:
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Family Websites:
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Floods in Taiwan????????????

The NEX7 is manufactured in Thailand, and the Nikon D800 is manufactured at Nikon's factory in Sendai, Japan.

Okay everyone, thanks for the heads-up. I am trying to figure out if Panasonic had maybe RECALLED the camera, because on their own store web site they do not list it as being on BACK-ORDER. They list it as a PRE-ORDER item. You can PRE-ORDER it, just not ORDER it.

Now, Fujifilm has a recent unflattering history of releasing camera models that are defective, then keep on shipping them and shipping them and denying there is anything wrong with them. Until one day they do, and then you can send yours back to them for a fix-up. Not saying that this is what has happened to the Panasonic DMC-GH3, but there certainly seems to be some major problem at manufacturing these cameras if you cannot readily buy them almost 2 months after Panasonic told us they will be available in North America.

The other thing is.... wasn't this same GH3 released initially (in the USA) at a price of $1,499? Reason I ask, now even on the Panasonic store site it is listed for $1,299. Question I would have is this: how c an a camera, any camera, that is still on PRE-ORDER status according to the manufacturer itself be already discounted by $200? WHY is it discounted by $200 would be the better question, really.

BTW, the U.S. state I live in, we only ave one single camera store in the whole state (Cameras Etc.), and guess what: they do not carry ANY Panasonic products. They told me they used to carry the brand -- just not any more. Hmmm....

Okay, so I called the Panasonic USA sales people -- again. Very friendly female sales agent this time. Had a few questions that I thought were simple. Well, they were -- and so were the answers I got on them, too.

QUESTION 1: Did Panasonic ever sell the Lumix DMC-GH3 before now?

ANSWER 1: "No, we did not."

QUESTION 2:  Then how come there are so many published photos and video clips allegedly shot with the GH3 all over the Internet?

ANSWER 2: "Honestly, I do not know."

QUESTION 3: How come you had the camera listed at $1,499 first, and now you have it listed at just $1,299? Why the huge price drop, if the camera is not even selling yet and is in fact on pre-order?"

ANSWER 3: "I really have no idea."

FINAL QUESTION: "Will Panasonic ever actually ship the GH3 camera?"

ANSWER: "Yes, well we were hoping to ship it by the end of this month, but now it looks like it will only ship in February."

Or maybe never, huh? Ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

Sorry, but since according to Panasonic USA they had NEVER shipped these cameras in the United States yet -- well, in light of that, I have some little difficulty in believing all the urban legend stories about happy GH3 owners/shooters all over the place. 

Sorry, Hen3ry, but no. Just talked with Panasonic -- not with Canon or Pentax. So, the Panasonic SALES REP told me on the telephone just this afternoon that yes, initially they were scheduling to ship the cameras in the Good Ole' USA back last November.... but now, she is sorry, but it will not actually ship until February. February of 2013, that is.

When I pressed here on this, she further stated that the GH3 never yet shipped here. Strange, huh?

Heck, I just can't wrap my brain around the concept of BUYING something anywhere that the actual MANUFACTURER itself DOES NOT YET SHIP. According to said manufacturer, that is.

Is Panasonic really lying? Hope not.

Yes, lots of us have the camera because we knew it was going to be in demand with limited initial supply.  I've had mine for about six weeks.

And why do you presume that it's not selling and that there's something wrong with it?  That's a strange presumption if you follow successful camera introductions..by Nikon, Canon, Oly and yes...Panasonic.  There seems to be enough worldwide demand that the problem could be that production simply can't keep up.  Novel idea.  And yes...it did start selling in November of last year, just not in the US...that came a couple of weeks later.

Loose the chip.

--
Sony F505(retired), Sony F707(gave to son), Sony
F717(gave to wife) Sony S85(great little camera that
was stolen), Sony CD 1000 (ancient but a great lens), Sony P93
Sony H9(retired) Panasonic LX3 that became an LX5 that became an LX7 (small
enough to go everywhere), Nikon D5000 that grew into a D7000 (sold), Sony HX1, Pany GH2, GH3

Yeah, right.

http://www.kenmorecamera.com/p-21889-panasonic-lumix-gh3-body-black.aspx

GH3 is "ON ORDER" with them. If you check with Panasonic's online store, well over there it is on "PRE-ORDER." Not a helluva big bean bag of a difference, eh?

What I cannot fathom is, how can this camera get to Washington state next week, when Panasonic's online sales store is telling me today that instead of the indicated 28 January shipping date, they will not have it until sometime in February?

Strange brew, huh? I am now thinking.... maybe they had an initial shipment sneak thorough somehow, something was found to be defective, and they pulled the product until they fix it the problem?

The Panasonic online sales people sell all things Panasonic and this being a nitch item compared to TV's, BD players and a host of other high volume items has most of the call takers clueless about the GH3. They just read what they see on the screen.

Mine shipped from Amazon USA in November with no problems that I've found so far. I think Panasonic did say there would be a delay on batches because they had a issue with manufacturing one of the parts. I'm sure they will start hitting the pipeline soon.

--
Mark James
A.K.A. Mike Ronesia

Several stores will get the camera by the end of January, Panasonic Store normally start selling weeks after the big retailers, at least that's what always happens with the TVs.

I know people who got the GH3 from Amazon and BH but my guess is the back-order queue is much bigger than the next 3 or 4 upcoming batches. The idea of ordering from a smaller shop, like Kenmore, is a good one. I have my name on 6 different stores , in different states. I also pre-ordered from Amazon, you never know.

I did something stupid, bought 4 lenses before getting the camera. If there is any problem, the 30 days return can expire before I can actually test them with the camera. I got scared about short supply on the lenses as soon as the GH3 becomes widely available, specially the 12-35 and the 35-70mm.

I got my gh3 the 9th of desember. I live in Oslo, Norway and there are stil atleast five avilable here.

Got mine first week in December from B&H via pre-order.

They are on backorder now. This could mean all the pre-orders were filled for the second go around, and or they do not have a delivery date for the next batch.

I understand it has been hard to get in Japan and that they have so many pre-orders they can't keep up is the jist of what I understand. It sounds like the demand outweighs the supply.

I do advise to keep checking everyday even if it takes months for it to appear. The same thing happened with the Panasonic 25 1.4, 45 2.8, maybe 20 1.7 they were on a long backorder too.

If you need a camera today you can only buy what is on the shelves which is frustrating I agree. I am however, glad I took the gamble to pre-order months ahead of time. Knowing you can always return the camera if it was really that bad for whatever reason was ok.

You might want to back off a little bit. I was in contact with a senior marketing person for Panasonic this week about another issue, and they were in contact with the owner of Kenmore camera, and according to both, Kenmore camera was due to get another shipment sometime next week, and not all the incoming cameras were spoken for there.

My suggestion would be to call them and leave a deposit, and I am sure you will get one sooner rather than later, and to go easy on the griping. And, remember, the Panasonic online STORE is NOT the same as independent camera stores that sell Panasonic products, and they have different supply lines and different supply times. In other words, talking to the Panasonic STORE will not give you any information about the product supply timeline to any independent camera retailers, and should not be used as a basis for estimating supply to anywhere other than the Panasonic STORE itself.

-J

Thanks for all the help, folks.

So, it seems to me that SOME PEOPLE had actually been able to PURCHASE an actual GH3 camera, I take it? Funny, because when I talked with the Panasonic sales person this afternoon on the telephone, she kept insisting that they NEVER YET SOLD THE CAMERA HERE IN HE U.S. I was told they were supposed to ship the GH3 at the end of November. But now, it looks like it is going to be February -- even though their web site still states a 28 January availability date.

Also, they list the GH3 as being on PRE-ORDER, which in my vocabulary means something else than it being on BACK ORDER.

She also did not say -- or would not -- why a product that is allegedly still in pre-production and thus on PRE-ORDER status has already seen its list priced drop suddenly by a whopping $200? Anyone would venture to make a guess as to the 'why' part? The GH3 was released at a list price of $1,499, was it not? Now it is at $1,299, right? Did anyone out there paid the $1,499 price for it, i wonder?

I am thinking, something must have gone wrong with the manufacturing process, and Panasonic had take some time off the fix it. Of course, they would not admit to this when pressed.

Now, reading hardware related issues with a whole host of Fujifilm Finepix and Nikon DSLR cameras, the usual modus operandi is to deny, deny, deny there is anything wrong, and keep on sending out and selling slightly defective products without any moral consequences. If Panasonic is indeed working on some minor problem, and thus the delay, I take my hat off to them in appreciation. I guess we may never know.

Either way, i will WAIT for at least ONE FULL MONTH AFTER I see that their Lumix DMC-GH3 is constantly and continuously available every day of the week by all the main online vendors. That way, I know I won't be getting an accidental copy from a one-off batch.

I had wanted to purchase some lens mount adapters and non-M4/3 lenses for the GH3, but I am getting nothing whatsoever until the camera's overall situation solidifies. I certainly hope this is not a sudden end to the DMC-GH3 saga.

I guess that is one approach. Part with your money now -- and hope for the best later.

The GH3 was supposed to ship initially by the end of November. This is now mid-January '13 -- and yet, it is not available anywhere. That is all I know and have to work with, see?

That is for sure, Jay. In our state, for example, there is only one single camera store -- called Cameras Etc. And they do NOT (repeat, NOT) carry Panasonic products. Not even the Lumix DMC-GH3.

Sort of hard to established a good working relationship with a local, dedicated, knowledgeable Panasonic shop under these severe conditions, huh?

Agreed. Panasonic rep told me they had not even started to be shipping any GH3, which is obviously not true. Lots or urban legends circulating about the GH3 right now, I just hope the camera itself will on day happen for real and won't be tossed out with the baby's bath water.

I am not sure about these fake orders and PRE-ORDERS, what do they entail? You pay for the whole camera now -- and wait around until it ships sometime? Or you just put your name and E-mail address into the "queue" without putting any money down?

I really dont think I want to get a camera for a single batch of 100 or so copies, rather wait until I can ascertain that Panasonic is actually serious about this camera to produce in a quantity that will make it available to purchase at the time and price convenient to the customer. Right now, your money is no good for the GH3. Also, this thing was initially listed everywhere for $1,499, so why do you suppose Panny had already dropped 200 big ones off its price already, if they claim it is still only on PRE-ORDER? Strange brew, no?

Although I would not be using any Panasonic or Olympus brand lenses on the GH3, I was also thinking of getting some Rokinon and Nikon lenses for the thing, along with the Nikon F to M4/3 lens mount adapter. But I am glad I did not do that. Fine lenses without a camera to mount them on are just as useless as a fine camera without a lens on it.