Panasonic UK launches a 'Try Before You Buy' service for DMC-GH3

So Panasonic realized that purposefully building a large camera for the m43 format is stupid, when the whole purpose of m43 was to make smaller cameras with smaller lenses. On the wrong assumption that people think "larger is better" in the year 2013...

Now they want you to try the camera, to see that it's good. I'm sure it's great but almost any DSLR is good, but this is not what people wanted. They wanted m43 because they wanted smaller cameras.

What they should really do is to quickly build a GH5 that is as small as possible (maybe as small or even smaller than the GH2) while having all the internals, features and quality of the GH3.

Its so easy to return items bought from Amazon that the practice is effectively already there.

These offers must be made available on Nikon and Canon , would make life much easier :)

Nothing like having a go yourself as reviews can only give you an idea of what compromises ownership might inevitably entail.

If only my local shop could lend me a 6D and a D600 for the weekend, I could finally settle my own debate about which new camera (or not) to buy. But what if I get my new FF shots next to my DX ones and don't think it's a good enough Improvement? This scheme could backfire.....

Maybe sales are not what they expected, but the camera itself is fantastic. I was never in doubt, and got it the moment is became available. Fully professional m43 is something I've wanted for years. Compared to professional dslr's, the GH3 is tiny and lenses even more so. The GH3 is for people who think the 5d, a99 and accompanying lenses are too large.

I just contacted T4 Camera Swindon and they said they never heard about this. They said I could try it in the shop only. Anyone here managed to borrow one? Is it a hoax promotion where no one can borrow i?. May be to contact Panasonic to verify the offer.

There's only one reason to do this: sales must be sucking.

Just as expected when announced:
too expensive, too heavy, lacks multi aspect ratio sensor, lacks phase detect autofocus, very expensive f2.8 lenses.
There are just too many much more exciting products right now (NEX-6, new cheap full frame cams, rx1...)
GH3 has no buzz factor at all - it should have had at least a global shutter, instead you get a metal body as the "biggest" news after 2 years of development?
And now Panasonic must get creative to sell this thing...

Of course Panasonic may be so confident that the camera is so good that almost everyone will hang on to it.

Wow - this generated a lot of comments!!

At first I thought - that would be nice (for me, nothing like this in Australia) but the implications are problematic.

A good start would be for stores to carry more cameras with charged batteries so you can actually get to do more than hold them. This is especially true for EVF cameras.

And I wish Panasonic would actually put some FZ200s in stores ...

why don't dpreview borrow it for two days and complete its review then :))

If it is made in China, as the G5 is, then they'd better extend the trial period to two months !

Very bad idea. Well, maybe it will work in the UK. I was involved in some Leitz/Leica tryouts. People who were inclined to buy found reasons not to and the people who didn't want to spend the money, still didn't.

This was also tried with a "refurb" selling price, since after the trial, the items were no longer new. Still didn't work. But it did create a lot of used inventory.

This is actually a pretty good idea.

The same concept has been used for decades in the auto selling business. The salesmen call it "take home the puppy" because most times the customer ends up falling in love with the puppy, and wanting to keep it. And then it becomes an easy sale.

Someone at Panasonic is thinking creatively.

Fantastic! Then customers will be able to experience the MAJOR key shortcomings of the GH3 first hand, in addition to testing the 12-35 for that annoying vibration phenomenon.
PANASONIC GH3 WISH LIST (Includes Gripes)
please add your new wishes and I shall update the original post.
__
FROM DVX USER.COM and MORE
1) Stop screen info from disappearing
2) Focus Peaking
3) Zebras
4) Improved Wifi video features (even just basic full control via wifi would be great)
5) pro picture profiles for video. Optimized for flattest reasonable 8 bit profile
6) Panasonic official bitrate improvement on All-I modes. HQ mode warning for certain cards. 150mb/s bitrate. Let the codec breath for pro users. Lots of warnings but make it standard.
7) A lock on the media card door
8) A lock of User Interface Buttons that are too closely situated near camera body grip points.
9) Elimination of micro shaking in the 12-35 f2.8 Lumix zoom even when IS is off

Either this will be enormously successful and (a) every other manufacturer will pile in with a similar scheme or (b)it will prove to be a short-lived PR wheeze that's nothing but a flash in the pan.
I'm betting on (b).

Does anyone know what kind of deposit is required? I would imagine it's at the full price of the camera in case the 'borrower' does not come back.
Why cannot one just find a retailer with a good return policy instead?
Paxtons in Sydney offers a 45 day return policy. No questions asked.
Surely 45 days is better than 48 hours?
Also, not sure about the UK, but in Australia it's within a consumers rights to return a product they are not satisfied with. I believe the allowed time is 1-2 weeks.
At least, that is the rules we abided by when I was working for HN.

This is what the average Amazon customer anyway does.
According to many posts @dpreview this is almost standard procedure in the US ... lol
But definitely a novelty in the EU ... err UK.

This is a great feature.

Well done.

For what it will do, the GH3 is worth full list if you are a serious videographer. If you also need great stills, it's worth more.

It is important to explain how this is a HYBRID camera. The term means "a blend of different media." Not even dxo understands that.

Those of us who use photography, video, audio, and computers to create content for training, advertising, and inspirational purposes will love this camera. It can handle all our image and video capture needs.

I can see having a complete m43 system based around a couple of these (for multi-camera video jobs), the 7-14mm, 12-35mm, and 35-100mm zooms, plus perhaps the 14-140 zoom for video, a 100-300 zoom for nature, sports, and wildlife, and a couple of fast primes for low light work.

I used Canon and Nikon gear from my teenage years thru adult life, and a pro career. I could use the GH3 for everything now. A kit weighs about 1/3 as much or less than the equivalent capability from Nikon or Canon, and costs about 40% less.

Try-before-you-buy is a great tool for consumers, but it also, whether it's GM or Panasonic, reveals weak interest in the marketplace, which isn't surprising at all.

To which we infer that, 6 months into its lifecycle, this camera is not exactly on fire.

Talking to the guys in London Camera Exchange late last year, they were saying that Panasonic wouldn't supply it unless the staff in store had been on a training course to be able to support it - might answer why it's only a select few dealers. It's interesting to see a list of independent camera stores - but it would be useful if the list included the location as well as the store name.

Good news! DXOmark just tested the GH3. It seems to have the same sensor as the OMD or at the very least as good as the OMD.

Good to see Panasonic has moved on from the terrible sensor in most m4/3 cameras.

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-GH3

I think it's great to see this approach from Panasonic. Hopefully it will help drive GH3 sales and more manufacturers will adopt the policy.

Not one in Scotland?! The quicker Scotland gets independence and gets out of this 'UK' that never includes us the better!

This is a great idea and I wish more camera manufacturers did this. I bet it will drive sales. The GH3 is a cracking camera - probably the best all round camera I've ever used.

I have never changed my first impression of it which is ultra positive.

Also: It is cool that Panasonic is running through specialist camera shops. They are all that are left after the demise of jacobs and jessops and I recognise many names on that list who could teach a few things about customer service

At $750, the world spat on the Pentax K-01 and five people bought it. At $300, giggly impulse buyers fell over themselves to sing its praises, and of course, the design wasn't so bad after all.

When the GH3 comes down to $899, it should be able to resurrect the dead and steal Angelina Jolie away from Brad Pitt.

Make sense, since it an over priced camera with no real redeeming features.

I like the idea!
Wish this tryout will NOT add to the purchase cost for the actual buyers.

First thing I'd be checking out is the reported 12-35mm lens image stabilisation problem.
http://vimeo.com/59358100

How is one supposed to know where most of these are based? Many are just names with no location. And why is there no link to the source article at Panasonic UK???

Just what I thought. The GH3 has not created sufficient buzz. There is very little mention of exciting consumer articles on Pana GH3 here or elsewhere. And overall the world has been very lukewarm to this camera, versus for example the huge publicity and buzz that was create for the OM-D.

Also MF3 is a gigantic failure as a pro camera, no Pro (ok just a couple of guys) uses it for photo, only for video.

Also I believe that the future of photography does not include MF3. In another 5 years this format will disappear.

As the price of FF sensors drop, we'll go back to the time of film when all SLR cameras cheap or expensive shot 35/mm film. Also as our phone cameras become better every year, there would be no need to have a small camera in the next 5 years. The phone camera will take care of it.

So the not so distance future will see only FF DSLRs and Phone cams. And for those who whine about size, FF can be made small and light, just look at what Sony did with the RX1.

...Maybe now the review will be published!
Sorry - team-guys - just couldn't resist... :-)

Hope you have sense of humour...

Best regards,
Pedro

None in scotland?

I'd much prefer a "Hack It Before You Buy" service.

next week: massive amounts of of "slightly used, like new" GH3 cameras being sold on Amazon.co.uk and ebay.

Great marketing idea that gives brick and mortar stores a selling advantage.