Lumix dominating the Japanese digicam market

http://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/

Lumix models ranking 1, 2, 4, 6, 16 for the last week of August.

Canon's highest ranked model is number 10. If this goes on, Panasonic will
snatch the number one position of the Japanese digicam market from Canon
when time comes to sum up the year.

Just my two oere
Erik from Sweden
--

Choose the sensor size for noise levels and DOF control; choose the Mp count for image resolution; ignore pixel density, as it does not directly measure anything useful.

Interesting to note that 3 cams are waterproof.

Panasonic could do well by offering a 25mm to 100mm cam that is waterproof.

--



Regards,
Kirwin
http://timebandit.smugmug.com

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
--
--- Ron_M

Maybe not for long. Panasonic has started selling crippled cameras in Japan with no English menus. This will alienate lots of people and get Panasonic a lot of bad PR, some of which I am providing as I bought a third Lumix only to discover that unlike the two I had bought previously, it did not support English menus. It was therefore pretty useless, so I took it back to the shop and got a refund, which I used to buy a Fuji Finepix. I was considering an FZ18 or 28, but no more. I went for a Kiss F instead.

Kakaku is an auction and Japanese language only. It rates what is sold through its site
not what is sold by the big retailers.

Do not buy a new Lumix unless you are satisfied with Japanese only menus and lousy support. I called their helpline and all they could say was they couldn't do anything.

--
John Lancaster

Did you see the prices for the FZ18 (29,400 Yen) and FZ28 (46,399 Yen ie about US $ 420; £240, Euro 295). these are currently shown as numbers 24 and 23 in the best sellers list if I am "translating" correctly. (I don't know any Japanese!)

David

Ehrik said:

http://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/

Lumix models ranking 1, 2, 4, 6, 16 for the last week of August.

Canon's highest ranked model is number 10. If this goes on, Panasonic
will
snatch the number one position of the Japanese digicam market from Canon
when time comes to sum up the year.

Just my two oere
Erik from Sweden
--
Choose the sensor size for noise levels and DOF control; choose the
Mp count for image resolution; ignore pixel density, as it does not
directly measure anything useful.

Click to expand...

The majority of consumers in Japan read, speak, and write Japanese...

Besides, the Japanese in the camera isn't difficult to learn if you really wanted it. Furthermore, if Japan isn't your home country and you go back home with a broken camera, your warranty isn't valid. That's the case with most electronics in Japan.

Panasonic has been dominating Japanese charts for quite a while. They are definitely a threat to Canon in the non-dSLR sector. Competition is almost always good to the consumer

Every camera company, for as long as I can remember, sells cameras in the US with a US warranty. Imports from another country are considered "gray market".

I'm not sure I understand why you're annoyed ... when you buy a camera in Japan, you can expect that the menus are in Japanese and the warranty is for Japan. If indeed you can't switch the menus to English, while that's clearly not a good thing it doesn't seem evil. Panasonic must have very little call for English menus inside Japan. I am surprised that they couldn't help you get one with English menus that they could support in Japan, however. I would have expected they could do that.

i'm afraid that what we have here is one of those folks who would complain to the executioner if they weren't hanged with a brand-new rope.

Probably figured he'd get a real bargain, buying in Japan & found out that the Panasonic company had his little game figured out.

This has been called "Sour Grapes" for some centuries now.........

-Erik
--



http://www.flickr.com/ohlsonmh/ 'ohlsonmh'+yahoo gets me

I clicked on the 2nd tab at the bottom and it showed a sequence by:

Focus Rankings

Would you expain that category?

1. FX37
2. LX3
3. FX35
7. FZ28
10. TZ5
15. FX150

Thanks,
--
OK Dave (FZ50)

lancasterjohn said:

Maybe not for long. Panasonic has started selling crippled cameras
in Japan with no English menus. This will alienate lots of people
and get Panasonic a lot of bad PR, some of which I am providing as I
bought a third Lumix only to discover that unlike the two I had
bought previously, it did not support English menus. It was
therefore pretty useless, so I took it back to the shop and got a
refund, which I used to buy a Fuji Finepix. I was considering an
FZ18 or 28, but no more. I went for a Kiss F instead.

Kakaku is an auction and Japanese language only. It rates what is
sold through its site
not what is sold by the big retailers.

Do not buy a new Lumix unless you are satisfied with Japanese only
menus and lousy support. I called their helpline and all they could
say was they couldn't do anything.

--
John Lancaster

Click to expand...

Obviously at one stage you lived in Japan and may we assume still there teaching. You are an innocent party of a product made for the local market. What did surprise me is that you were not advised by your local Japanese dealer that the camera had this limitation. Or maybe they as Japanese selling to a Japanese market did not know this.

Did you not try a camera in the shop, or at least a demonstration model, the problem would be obvious to you if you tried one.

The fact you were purchasing a camera in a non English speaking country did you not check to see if the instruction book was in English? This would have been a clue

On discovering the problem you returned it to the retailer as being a product not suitable for its purchased use, which is to be used by a non Japanese speaker? So what is your problem?

There are various reasons why companies do certain things, but to call this a crippled camera is far beyond the pale.

Are you fluent in Japanese; if so is this just a wind up?

I think you have a right to feel upset, but this event is not designed to alienate you by Panasonic.

Your verbal objections will not gain you too many supporters on this Panasonic site.

Paul Norman

JosephScha said:

Every camera company, for as long as I can remember, sells cameras in
the US with a US warranty. Imports from another country are
considered "gray market".

I'm not sure I understand why you're annoyed ... when you buy a
camera in Japan, you can expect that the menus are in Japanese and
the warranty is for Japan. If indeed you can't switch the menus to
English, while that's clearly not a good thing it doesn't seem evil.
Panasonic must have very little call for English menus inside Japan.
I am surprised that they couldn't help you get one with English menus
that they could support in Japan, however. I would have expected they
could do that.

Click to expand...

Hmm, I can see the point. Picture this..I am roaming the fields of Wisconsin and somebody relieves me of the burden of possesion of my LX1. Now, not only have I lost a memory card full of irreplacable photos, but if I want to buy a replacement camera, I won't get a valid warranty when I return home. Why is it so? I paid my money to buy a camera, it just wasn't bought where I live. But why the judgement on that from the manufacturer? Effectively, what it meant for me was, I did not buy a camera.

Nope, I don't like that policy one bit.

--
william olive

http://bolive.fotki.com/ (gear in profile)

pana fzed5, fzed30 & ellex1

While in Goolge Translate page, just click on the second tab, all content will be translated to English as well.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

The first tab is "hot-selling Ranking",
The second tab is "Attention Ranking",
The third tab is "satisfaction Ranking"

rshhung said:

While in Goolge Translate page, just click on the second tab, all
content will be translated to English as well.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://kakaku.com/camera/digital-camera/ranking_0050/%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

The first tab is "hot-selling Ranking",
The second tab is "Attention Ranking",
The third tab is "satisfaction Ranking"

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, rshhung, but what does "Attention" mean?

I understand the term "hot-selling", but not the term I found in my translation page of "Focus", nor your "Attention".

Does it mean more people look at it but buy something else?

(I showed you that I had gone to the second tab by listing the results.)
--
OK Dave (FZ50)

Attention probably = interest, the number of enquiries or hits.

Nick

lancasterjohn said:

Maybe not for long. Panasonic has started selling crippled cameras
in Japan with no English menus. This will alienate lots of people

Click to expand...

I think the sales to non-Japanese in Japan are totally insignificant
for their sale numbers, so I can't agree with your prediction.

lancasterjohn said:

and get Panasonic a lot of bad PR, some of which I am providing as I
bought a third Lumix only to discover that unlike the two I had
bought previously, it did not support English menus.

Click to expand...

I can see how that annoys you. Personally, I would try to make the best
of the situation, taking that as a motivation to learn more Japanese.

The reason they do it may be as a means of keeping the markets
separated, to be able to maintain different price levels to optimise
profits, but also having the products carry the costs of distribution
and support of the market they are sold, coast which probably vary.

It could also simply be because many Japanese are very bad at
foreign languages and may get lost and need to consume support
resources if they (or their children) accidentally set the language wrong.

lancasterjohn said:

Kakaku is an auction and Japanese language only. It rates what is
sold through its site not what is sold by the big retailers.

Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for that info. I saw this site for the first time a couple of years
ago when a forum user linked to it, and saved the link. From what s/he
wrote then, I got the impression it represented sales (which was right in
a way).

lancasterjohn said:

Do not buy a new Lumix unless you are satisfied with Japanese only
menus and lousy support.

Click to expand...

Do not buy it in Japan, I suppose you mean.

Just my two oere
Erik from Sweden

When posting photos for comment, please give basic settings and/or leave EXIF intact.

Panasonic has plenty of call from foreigners living in Japan and Japanese married to foreigners for English menus. It is only since spring this year that Panasonic has decided to force such people, me included to purchase cameras from other manufacturers. The last Lumix I bought was returned to the shop I got it from for a full refund as Panasonic's help refuses to help.

Perhaps Panasonic are trying to create a grey market for English-supported re-imports.

I wouldn't buy anything from Panasonic/National again.

I hope Leica sets up a deal with a Korean or Chinese manufacturer.
--
John Lancaster

The dealer had previously informed me when I bought two other Lumixes, one for my girlfriend, who is Japanese and reads Japanese but requires some technical support from me, that Panasonic did not block English menus.

Both the dealer and I were caught out by the sudden unpublicised change of policy by Panasonic.

http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/faq/fs20/answer.html#q7-1

Check this link to Panasonic's website. Note it is a .jp site meaning a Japan site.

I have absloutely no complaint with the shop I bought from. I do not think I am allowed to publish their name here as it might be considered advertising and competition to dpreview advertisers. They gave me a full refund which I used to buy a Fuji Finepix. I was considering an FZ18or 28 but after talking to Panasonic's help went for a Canon Kiss F with a 5 year extended guarantee.
--
John Lancaster

It does seem strange that they have taken the English option off for Japan when every other country gets it as an option. Do you think it is something that other manufacturers in Japan will follow or is it only Panasonic?
Good luck finding a camera that you can enjoy using.

p.s. Panasonic own over half of Leica so I think they may be stuck together a while longer

Dave Mathias said:

p.s. Panasonic own over half of Leica so I think they may be stuck
together a while longer

Click to expand...

Are you sure? I think it is privately owned by the Austrians Michael and
Andreas Kaufmann.

But John Lancaster's wish that
"Leica sets up a deal with a Korean or Chinese manufacturer." is a bit naive,
though, since the "Leica" lenses on Panasonic cameras are most likely Panasonic
designs, approved by Leica.

So the Korean or Chinese manufacturer would get the prestigious name to
put on their cameras, but not Panasonic's leading edge lens technology.

Just my two oere
Erik from Sweden
--

Choose the sensor size for noise levels and DOF control; choose the Mp count for image resolution; ignore pixel density, as it does not directly measure anything useful.