E-M1 from B&H Update

When I ordered my E-M1 from B&H their web site said expected availability 10/4.

When I spoke to them about other things I ordered on Sunday they said it would ship Fri. 10/4 or Mon. 10/7.

When I spoke to them this morning about another order they said they didn't know when they were getting the shipment.

When I got off the phone I checked their web site and it no longer says expected availability 10/4.

I leave on vacation 10/10. :-(

I figured there would be others who would want to know.

thanks for letting me know. I pre-ordered from B&H as well.

Looks like most people who got it, got it from Olympus America. Who knew. The longer B&H takes, the more there is a chance I'll cancel my preorder and buy from some place else.

The longer I wait is also the higher the chance I'll change my mind about EM1 in the first place. It is $1400 we are talking about, not a pocket change!

Absolutic said:

Absolutic wrote:

thanks for letting me know. I pre-ordered from B&H as well.

Looks like most people who got it, got it from Olympus America. Who knew. The longer B&H takes, the more there is a chance I'll cancel my preorder and buy from some place else.

The longer I wait is also the higher the chance I'll change my mind about EM1 in the first place. It is $1400 we are talking about, not a pocket change!

Click to expand...

I suggest you switcht to Adorama - they run a promo 4% money back towards future purchase from them if you buy E-M1 from them (preorder)... if E-M1 costs $1399 , then 4% = $56, not bad for some small stuff... or at least call B&H and ask them to match Adorama...

Absolutic said:

Absolutic wrote:

thanks for letting me know. I pre-ordered from B&H as well.

Looks like most people who got it, got it from Olympus America. Who knew. The longer B&H takes, the more there is a chance I'll cancel my preorder and buy from some place else.

The longer I wait is also the higher the chance I'll change my mind about EM1 in the first place. It is $1400 we are talking about, not a pocket change!

Click to expand...

I don't understand. You mean you only signed up to buy an E-M1 as an impulse purchase and will switch to something else that strikes your fancy instead if it goes past your patience threshold?

I put my order in as soon as I decided that the E-M1 had the specs which would do the job for my photography. I've ordered all the other bits needed to make it the center of my camera system (accessories, one more lens, etc), about two-thirds of which have been delivered. I will wait until the E-M1 and HLD7 arrive now, enjoying photography with my existing equipment until it does. There's no rush, I'm in it for the long haul.

Patience is a virtue. ;-)

I appreciate the information, and it saved me a phone call. I pre-ordered from B&H too, and just noticed that the availability date has been removed. Hope we have them by next week.

Lee

I ordered Adorama and it already shipped. Just random luck I guess, lately I have been using B&H more because of their convenient app for my phone. Being conscious of this I ordered from Adorama to spread the wealth around and now am getting Thurs because they upgraded shopping from UPS ground to 3-day.

Hopefully, I don't get bit on the @ss being an early adaptor as was the case with the last three Nikons. I thought I learned my lesson.

I received the notice from Adorama notifying me my order for E-M1 has been prepared & labeled on Sunday September 29th & UPS shipped out on the next business day via 3-day service. I expect to receive by EOB this Thursday October 3rd. Also, I'll get 4% rebate on future purchases from Adorama. Looking forward to receive within 2-3 days.

Florida Nature Photographer said:

Florida Nature Photographer wrote:

When I ordered my E-M1 from B&H their web site said expected availability 10/4.

When I spoke to them about other things I ordered on Sunday they said it would ship Fri. 10/4 or Mon. 10/7.

When I spoke to them this morning about another order they said they didn't know when they were getting the shipment.

When I got off the phone I checked their web site and it no longer says expected availability 10/4.

I leave on vacation 10/10. :-(

I figured there would be others who would want to know.

Click to expand...

That's always going to play out that way, if a good trip is expected shortly after the projected shipment. Well, it always plays out that way for me [g].

With the E-M5, I had a pre-order in with B&H from the day of the announcement. When that arrival date passed I started checking Amazon and such for shops that had the body in stock. In one day I was able to get the camera shipped (I called the shop and ordered via voice, rather than chance online stock was depleted before the site could be updated), and it was weeks still until B&H's preorder would have been fulfilled.

FWIW

--
...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobtullis/
.
"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't." - Chief Dan George, Little Big Man
.

Thanks for letting me know re: adorama. I will give them a call right now!

Just chatted with Adorama's Eduardo who wrote to me that they don't have EM1 in stock. He said to check daily.

... since I'm buying one next September when the price goes below $1000 hopefully.

Godfrey said:

Godfrey wrote:

Godfrey said:

A

Click to expand...

I don't understand. You mean you only signed up to buy an E-M1 as an impulse purchase and will switch to something else that strikes your fancy instead if it goes past your patience threshold?

Click to expand...

Anyone who preorders within minutes of it being available on preorder is acting on certain impulses yes. Most professional users that need to rely on their cameras for making $$$ would wait for the camera to be released, check out users and professional reviews, check if there are any early bugs that the camera has, etc, to be worked out, before getting into it.

By the way, There is no reason for me to 'switch'. I have several other cameras already that 'strike my fancy.'

Godfrey said:

. I've ordered all the other bits needed to make it the center of my camera system

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You mean to tell me that you have already decided it will be a center of your system without even personally using the camera? Just based on specs???? What if you don't like how it handles? too late because you already bought "all the other bits"? To me, in order to decide whether the camera becomes a center of my system, I need to personally use it for some time in different conditions to make an informed decision. I may actually like EM1 so much to make a center of my system, and get rid of my Full Frame gear, who knows, but I can't be making these decisions before I even test the camera.

So now, who is the one who is acting on impulses?

Bobo Hodls said:

Bob Tullis wrote:

With the E-M5, I had a pre-order in with B&H from the day of the announcement. When that arrival date passed I started checking Amazon and such for shops that had the body in stock. In one day I was able to get the camera shipped (I called the shop and ordered via voice, rather than chance online stock was depleted before the site could be updated), and it was weeks still until B&H's preorder would have been fulfilled.

Click to expand...

I just called Adorama and the rep said "a week or two".

I just called Olympus and the rep said "the middle of October".

I checked Amazon and they are still saying October 14th, which is what it was when I ordered from B&H, which is why I ordered from B&H.

I am wondering what communication B&H had with Olympus that caused them to publish the original expected date of October 4th and what caused it to change.

--
Florida

I pre-ordered my EM-1 as well as a HDL-7 and only the EM-1 arrived Friday morning, but I turned the order down because the grip had not arrived along with it. I plan to purchase the camera but not without having a chance to test the entire system together. I am very happy with my EM-5, and I do plan on getting the EM-1 at a later date but not before having the chance to test it out as a unit and not just piece by piece. I am very much happy with both of my EM-5s, and I am still learning more and more about the use of my EM-5 the more I use it, and I purchased it back in June of 2012.

Absolutic said:

Absolutic wrote:

Absolutic said:

Godfrey wrote:

Absolutic said:

A

Click to expand...

I don't understand. You mean you only signed up to buy an E-M1 as an impulse purchase and will switch to something else that strikes your fancy instead if it goes past your patience threshold?

Click to expand...

Anyone who preorders within minutes of it being available on preorder is acting on certain impulses yes. Most professional users that need to rely on their cameras for making $$$ would wait for the camera to be released, check out users and professional reviews, check if there are any early bugs that the camera has, etc, to be worked out, before getting into it.

By the way, There is no reason for me to 'switch'. I have several other cameras already that 'strike my fancy.'

Absolutic said:

. I've ordered all the other bits needed to make it the center of my camera system

Click to expand...

You mean to tell me that you have already decided it will be a center of your system without even personally using the camera? Just based on specs???? What if you don't like how it handles? too late because you already bought "all the other bits"? To me, in order to decide whether the camera becomes a center of my system, I need to personally use it for some time in different conditions to make an informed decision. I may actually like EM1 so much to make a center of my system, and get rid of my Full Frame gear, who knows, but I can't be making these decisions before I even test the camera.

So now, who is the one who is acting on impulses?

Click to expand...

I'm not very impulsive.

I placed the order for the body with Olympus knowing I had plenty of time to cancel it before fulfillment, and that I'd have time to see it in person. I had the opportunity to handle the camera the day after I placed the order for the body because the Olympus rep was scheduled to be showing the camera at my local camera dealer. I tested its handling and performance with my FourThirds lenses, both with and without the HLD7 battery grip. On the basis of my testing, I ordered the HLD7 and other accessories, and the additional lens.

I'm already invested in mFT and FT equipment. This is just the latest, top of the line body ... I've had six other FT/mFT bodies since 2007. They've all been quite good, to my satisfaction, and have produced tens of thousands of excellent photographs for me. Like all the Olympus top of the line bodies so far, I expect the E-M1 to be excellent so ordering the body with plenty of time to cancel the order after seeing it in person seemed a sensible thing to do to get myself on the delivery schedule early. An Olympus pro FT camera has been the center of my camera system since 2007. (I also have plenty of other equipment, including FF and APS-C digital choices.)

I've never bothered with "users and professional reviewers" impressions of a camera other than for entertainment. I find out for myself whether a camera suits me through research on specifications and handling. So far, I've read the manual twice through and understand the E-M1's functions and controls thoroughly, and I've handled it and tested it with my lenses. My evaluation, for me: it will be a delight, I am eagerly anticipating its arrival.

Sorry to disappoint you.

Maybe the lack of a firm date is only for new pre orders.

blessings,
Steven

webservants said:

webservants wrote:

Maybe the lack of a firm date is only for new pre orders.

Click to expand...

I placed mine quite some time ago and they can't give me a date. The helpful B&H rep said that "the manufacturer pulled that date." referring to the October 4th estimate.

I just noticed that Amazon site says "You save $100.99" on the E-M1 page, even though they are selling it for $1,399, the same price as everyone else. I believe it was announced at $1,399, as well.

--
Florida

Florida Nature Photographer said:

Florida Nature Photographer wrote:

Florida Nature Photographer said:

Bob Tullis wrote:

With the E-M5, I had a pre-order in with B&H from the day of the announcement. When that arrival date passed I started checking Amazon and such for shops that had the body in stock. In one day I was able to get the camera shipped (I called the shop and ordered via voice, rather than chance online stock was depleted before the site could be updated), and it was weeks still until B&H's preorder would have been fulfilled.

Click to expand...

I just called Adorama and the rep said "a week or two".

I just called Olympus and the rep said "the middle of October".

Click to expand...

My telling may have been in error. . . IIRC I didn't just decide, spot a site and place an order. Each day I checked sites that might show someone having one in stock. I think it was within a week that I hit on 2 being in stock at one dealer (might have been Willoughby's, spotted through Amazon), and one was gone by the time I dialed the number. But I still received one sooner than many others that pre-ordered.

That was the point, to check the web daily for sightings, and call via voice if/when you see an opportunity. You may get lucky with such a tactic.

Now, you may be tempted to call on that Canadian camera site, if they show stock early. I did that a few years ago thirsting for an LXn for some timely reason, when the B&H projection wasn't good enough. The order was placed immediately, and shipped immediately. For some reason it got stuck in US customs for 8 weeks. Have no idea what happened, or if it's a one off thing or not. . . whatever, the more impatient you are, the more wrenches will be thrown in your works. Just saying.

--

...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobtullis/
.
"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't." - Chief Dan George, Little Big Man
.

I saw that too ....