First of all, I have news for everyone: John Lewis are out of stock of GH2s with 14-140. I know, I bought the last one two days ago - but I am sure they will re-stock soon.
Here's my story:
As a backgrounder, I have been following the GH2 since the first rumours because it seemed to me, the ultimate camera - unless GPS and Panorama shots are vital. I read every review, almost every forum comment and likewise, read reviews of the only real competitor, the equally innovative Sony A55. (Tripod blocks the flip out display on A55, so would not fit my requirements.)
I have been visiting Tottenham Court Road (TCR) for over 30 years as a gadget freak and know every shop on the street. Most shops are owned by just two or three groups (ASK Group etc), so whoever you buy from out of one specific group of shops, they win, but they are fair and will do their best to provide you a good price within reason, after all, they have to make a profit.
I was about to buy my GH2 from ASK Electronics on TCR who I have purchased most of my cameras from in the past. When my Sony f717 failed back in 2004 whilst I was in Egypt on a boat!, ASK took it in on my return to London and sent it off to Sony without any quibble. It was repaired and a year later, stolen from me in London, E1 in a near death experience mugging that I would rather not dwell on. (Insurance didn't cover being robbed, so that was £800 down the loo - along with a Memory Stick full of pics and video footage. For a laugh, I paid about £85 for an 8Meg memory stick. 8Meg! My 16GB GH2 high speed SDHC card cost me half that, but can be had for way less if you look around.)
ASK only had one GH2 in stock so could not open the box. Spending over a grand meant I really wanted to see what I was buying first, just in case there was something up. So, I actually headed out of town to cool off.
Anyway, I was browsing the web on my laptop and John Lewis must have had some very clever mind or cookie reading software on their servers, but somehow, an ad for a GF2, A55 or GH2 popped up and I clicked it (a first, I never click ad banners) and I saw they had GH2s in stock.
So mixing business with pleasure (the camera is for work), I made a day trip to John Lewis Oxford Street London and was so impressed by the no pressure staff, honesty and the ability to play with any camera and attach lenses, after one our of playing with a GH2 and Canon 60D I asked to buy the 14-140 GH2 kit. The sales chap went to his computer and reported they were out of stock. Oh no! Tears of sadness. Like a child on Christmas morning who thinks there's a toy in the wrapped parcel, only to find a book!
I didn't think of checking Jacobs, but Jessops are still focused on the GF2, G2 and Oly cams, listing the GH2 at £1300 online, but it's not in any shop around Oxford St or TCR, or in my home town.
So, I decided to order a GH2 from John Lewis online and paid an extra £6.95 for next day delivery, and received mine yesterday at about 8:30am, so no impatient waiting all day! The only neg is that the in store price was £1050, and I had to pay their online price of £1100.
It's a day or so later now and am very impressed by this machine. Panasonic have thought of everything and the build quality and feel is not bad for such a small camera. Other than the speedy autofocus, (I keep shooting by accident it's so fast, my previous was the excellent but slow focusing Pentax K10D), the versatility in the handling and user interface makes it a pleasure to use. You can take a different approach to the same objective. Brilliant!
Most importantly, the IQ is much better than I expected and if this is what 4/3s offers, then other than for high end studio work, full size sensors have a battle on their hands. I'm using a Dell U2711 27" monitor to view my shots, and so am able to pixel peep. Yes, the 14-140 is slightly soft, but you can get sharp results if you get everything right.
Anyway, back to your questions...
Next to ASK on TCR is Shassonic who have several GH2s in stock and like all shops on TCR, they will price match. £1080 is the current TCR price. (They all know the best price offered by their competitors! It's just like Tesco and Sainsburys!)
I have really liked the John Lewis shopping experience and plan to continue to shop with them for high ticket items. But I have never had a negative experience at any major shop on TCR, so to be fair to them, my advice is to use your gut feeling and common sense.
And buy your cables, SD cards and other bits online or back in the US of A, because as you know, this is rip off Britain!
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