Olympus E-M5 will officially ship from March 31st.
Olympus (Click here) announced that the new Olympus E-M5 worldwide shipment will start on March 31st. As usual Asian countries should receive the first stock first with Amazon Japan (Click here) saying that the camera will ship on the same day. But unlike Panasonic Olympus does a pretty good job with worldwide shipments and we should expect the E-M5 to be available in USA stores around mid April. BHphoto (Click here) says they will have it on April the 10th. In Europe Amazon UK (Click here) says that the camera will arrive on April the 1st.
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Full Preorder list:
1) Black E-M5 body at
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Warehouse UK, Redcoon Germany and Amazon Japan.
2) Silver E-M5 body at
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Warehouse UK, Redcoon Germany, and Amazon Japan.
3) Black E-M5 body with 14-42mm lens at
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
4) Black E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Redcoon Deutschland, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland and Amazon Japan.
5) Silver E-M5 body with 12-50mm lens at
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Deutschland and Amazon Japan.
6) FL-600R wireless flash at
Amazon, Adorama and BHphoto.
7) MMF-3 Four Thirds adapter at
Amazon and Adorama.
8.) HLD-6 power battery holder at
Amazon, Adorama and Amazon Japan.
YouDidntDidYou
2 years ago |I think I’ll be ordering mine at Focus on Imaging at NEC Birmingham UK next week once Ive had a play with it…
Will
2 years ago |Pretty good pretty good
Chris
2 years ago |Another camera to hack away at
nobody
2 years ago |Admin, if you don’t mind, you may want to change 31th to 31st
admin
2 years ago |uh what a mistake
Sorry, I corrected it. I still didn’t learn when to put “th” or “st” 
Duarte Bruno
2 years ago |Not my native language but if it ends in 1 is always “st” unless it’s eleven (eleventh). Like first, twenty first, thirty first…
“Nd” and “rd” works exactly the same way. The only real exceptions are 11,12 and 13.
Everything else is “th”.
admin
2 years ago |Thanks Duarte for the leasson! Now I got it! free beer when I visit you in Portugal
YouDidntDidYou
2 years ago |@ admin
have you seen this launched yesterday? http://itunes.apple.com/lv/app/panasonic-lumix-g-experience/id499849087?l=de&ls=1&mt=8
admin
2 years ago |Thanks for that! Will post it soon!
nobody
2 years ago |Kein Problem
GreyOwl
2 years ago |admin, as a self taught English speaker & writer I think that you handle the language very well. Thanks for posting the E-M5 release dates, I can now start counting down the days….
JF
2 years ago |Can we hope reviews with production models before this date ? are must we wait ? I can’t wait to see RAW tests and comparison with other cams such as GX1, GH2, Nex, etc..
Agent00soul
2 years ago |Pekka Potka is going to publish full size images tomorrow.
JF
2 years ago |Great !
DonParrot
2 years ago |In the eighth comment, Pekka announces that he will publish some first 100% samples tomorrow.
http://www.pekkapotka.com/journal/2012/2/28/configuring-the-e-m5.html#comments
Matthias
2 years ago |Olympus Switzerland wrote an e-mail to me 2 days ago that the E-M5 will be available in Switzerland from end of May… I think I have to write Olympus again
bonzo
2 years ago |You can always import a E-M5 from germany but i would also prefer to buy my camera in switzerland
Matthias
2 years ago |Normally cameras are less expensive in Switzerland then in Germany, now you can order the E-M5 body for 1’100 Swiss Francs (about 920 Euros), Kit with 12-50 for about 1100 Euros. Also other cams are cheaper in Switzerland then in Germany, D7000 for about 780 Euros
It’s curious because most things are a lot more expensive in Switzerland…
bonzo
2 years ago |Yep, however you can save some money since taxes are higher in germany than switzerland. As I mentioned before: I hope that the E-M5 will be available in switzerland in april as well… End of May would mean waiting two extra months
Duchemin
2 years ago |Matthias, I expected this and pre-ordered a black body from Amazon US. Digitec.ch has a pretty good price for the body (1109.–) though. But last week they could not tell, when they would be able to ship.
Matthias
2 years ago |They say the same as Olympus Switzerland, End of May (that would be ok for me, because I need the cam in the first week of June). But I really don’t know if Olmypus Switzerland is right or if it’s a mistake and the cam will be available earlier. We will see…
believer
2 years ago |As seen on Amazon.co.uk there is a special Promotion for E-M5 preorders
“Buy this Olympus OM-D Camera and Claim a Free Grip
Claim a free HLD-6 grip when you purchase the Olympus OM-D E-M5 from Amazon.co.uk before April 30, 2012. To learn more and to claim your free grip, see the Olympus website: olympusomd.sales-promotions.com ”
It would be interesting to know, if there are similar promotions in other countries (germany, switzerland)?
admin
2 years ago |It’s only available in UK and Japan
GreyOwl
2 years ago |Could this be because Japan & UK are both islands?
Pedro del Río
2 years ago |No, it is because they both drive on the left side of the road.
Mauro
2 years ago |No. It’s because they are both islands AND they both drive on the left. For example, Australia does not apply, because it is categorized as a continent, not an island.
Wai Keong
2 years ago |It’s not right. Singapore is an island, drive on the same side as Japan and UK but we don’t get the promotion.
Robert From Oz
2 years ago |Which so it happens is the correct side of the road
Robert From Oz
2 years ago |Which so it happens is the correct side of the road
As i am an Australian, I hope we get the free grip deal. Australia (though admittly not so bad with Olympus) get stung on prices(I say this without our taxes applied which adds even more!!) for electronic goods even with our dollar being sooooo good of late.
Besides us aussie all have pet kangaroos and go “Bush” all the time and we NEED the extra battery life and weight of the grip to use the OM-D to fight off all our dangerous wildlife in a pinch LOL
L
2 years ago |+100
YouDidntDidYou
2 years ago |the promotion will also be available at the Olympus stand at Focus on Imaging maybe so more goodies too??
OlyFan
2 years ago |Be sure to tell us what you think when you play with it at Focus. I have placed a pre-order and so far a lot of opinions look positive, but I would like as many opinions as possible before I decide to keep the order or cancel it.
MP Burke
2 years ago |This offer of a “free” grip in the UK is what makes me think that the price will drop a few months after launch. Panasonic cameras have been launched with freebies, such as an extended warranty or Lightroom and once the offer period has expired the price of the camera has started to fall. I suspect that the price of £1149 including 12-50 lens will remain during the period of the offer but that in about three months time prices will be starting to fall. It didn’t take long before the price of the E-P3 started to decrease.
Ru Elpser
2 years ago |My interest in this camera has for some reason magically evaporated
Andrew
2 years ago |So Australia too?
BBernhardt
2 years ago |+1
free island edition hand grip please
Pedro del Río
2 years ago |A bit off topic since I am not going to order the E-M5 but I post it here anyway.
Does anybody have some experience with ordering photographic gear to Switzerland from web sites abroad? Would custom fees kill any price advantage one would have from buying in cheaper countries? The problem is that one never knows in advance how much those fees would be (are there any actually?).
Matthias
2 years ago |The questions is if there are some shops in Switzerland delivering to other countries. Maybe you could find one (I don’t know), but then there are postal charges for the parcel, and also custom fees. But about the custom fees you have to ask the custom in your country, they have to know how much the fees are. And I think you have also to pay sales tax in addition, and I think they are higher in other countries then in Switzerland (here about 8%). So I don’t know if it’s really cheaper to order in Switzerland from other countries.
Duchemin
2 years ago |Matthias, there are plenty of US or EU providers of PO-Box-Services, check out Viaddress, Bongo US or the following link with more providers: http://www.beobachter.ch/konsum/kauf-leasing/artikel/online-shopping_der-trick-mit-der-deutschen-adresse
Vill Glück!
Matthias
2 years ago |Spasibo bolshoe
BLI
2 years ago |Normal practice (e.g. B&H, etc.) is that you do not pay VAT in the country from which you order the goods (e.g. in USA, the VAT is not included in the price anyway; other countries list price WITH VAT so that should be subtracted), but have to pay VAT for your own country + you have to pay custom declaration tax + postage + possible insurance.
If you have the goods shipped, you should check out the practice of the shipping company. Some of these companies have the idiotic practice of assuming that the recipient has no job and basically does not have anything else to do than sit at home waiting for the delivery… In other words: they do not call you in advance or give you any warning — they just show up at your door/address, and if you are not there — they hang up a note stating that you have missed one out of 3 chances of receiving the goods (before they return it to sender). They normally also inform you that they will return the next day, but they do not say at what time and if you call them and ask, they refuse to tell you at what time you can expect them — they basically expect you to sit at home and wait for them.
OK — not all companies are as described above, but some companies have this policy — ooops — did I say which company I have experience with?
E-1
2 years ago |Promotion is for UK dealers, no need to be an UK resident I guess.
https://olympusomd.sales-promotions.com/terms-and-conditions-promotion/?country_promotion=2
OlyFan
2 years ago |I think you need to be. If you check the claim form, it expects UK address.
Jekins
2 years ago |I have answer to Olympus and this is response:
Thank you for contacting Olympus,
Please consider that only residents of United Kingdom and Ireland are
eligible to claim for the promotion. Therefore if you have bought an
Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera and you are a resident of Spain, it will not be
possible to validate your claim.
I think they give HLD-6 because they sell the camera much more expensive than other sites.
Body E-M5 in Amazon USA 999$= 742€
Body E-M5+HLD6 gift in Amazon UK 999₤=1178€
You think compensates pay 436€ more and gift HLD6?
i think not.
I prefer body at better price and any gift.
JF
2 years ago |Wonderful:
Body E-M5 in Amazon USA 999$= 742€
Body E-M5+HLD6 gift in Amazon UK 999₤=1178€
Body E-M5 German preorder 1100 Euros
As a french resident, I feel a little hurt by the price difference…I would have preorder at 750, 1100 with grip I can think about it, 1100 euro for body only….Come on !
OlyFan
2 years ago |I agree with you. However, if you look at the prices for HLD-6 grips in US, the total cost for body + grip comes to about 1300$. If you factor in the 20% VAT (in UK), it comes to 1560$ which is almost 1000£. So the problem here is the high VAT in EU (but I’m atleast glad they have the free grip promotional offer).
I was first thinking of getting body only + grips from US to avoid the VAT. But I think that may be a viable option only if you have friends or relatives in US who can get it for you. Unfortunately, I don’t.
Jekins
2 years ago |I grio not nees.
I prefer Body USA price 742€+ VAT 20% = 890€
The Real Stig
2 years ago |The UK is in the EU (barely) so could people in other EU countries not order their camera from the UK and get the free grip?
Nic
2 years ago |Why is everyone so excited or interested in the free grip promotion in the UK when clearly the camera is so much more expensive in the UK?
UK = £1,149 (US$1,830.49)
US = US$1,299
Why not just order the camera from the US, even if it is necessary to freight forward it?
Particularly given that it comes with a world-wide warranty.
I dont get it, at all.
eFWee
2 years ago |Because other EU residents pay 1099 Euro’s body only, and 299 for the grip.
999 Pounds is more then 1099 Euro’s currently, but definitely less then 1398. Likewise with the kit.
When importing from the USA (or Switzerland) EU citizens pay customs (~5%), and ~20% VAT (over price, customs AND shipping costs). Then it is not very cheap to import anymore, especially since you get a shorter period of guarantee (1 year instead of 2 years, and partial refund of repairs in the period 2-4 years (depending on the expected lifetime of the product, should be 3-4 years with digital SLR class camera’s I think))
Get it now?
Nic
2 years ago |I see. Many thanks.
OlyFan
2 years ago |In addition to what efWee said, I think (I’m not sure) Amazon accepts payments only if your card is registered to a US address (Can someone confirm that?).
JF
2 years ago |you are right, are you sure it is possible to preorder in US and to be delivered in EU ??
BLI
2 years ago |B&H delivers to many countries — as long as they are paid. Amazon delivers to many countries, too, but occationally, I have tried to order equipment (e.g. SSD disk) which they have refused to ship out of USA…
BLI
2 years ago |Amazon has branches in several EU countries (UK, Germany, France, Spain, etc.), so perhaps they have some policy of internal competition? Another possibility (Latin speaking countries??) is the FNAC chain (French-based? E.g. in France, Belgium, Spain, etc.). I don’t know whether they take pre-orders…
fh
2 years ago |There is no 14-42 lens kit in Japan!
otto
2 years ago |silver body is quite attractive.
but i don’t like the silver 12-50mm lens.
flash
2 years ago |I think the 12-50 is black in the kit, at least from the retailers pictures.
Rob
2 years ago |I spoke to my friendly neighborhood Oly rep (southeastern US) yesterday, and he said to expect my E-M5 in the first week of April
nxp3
2 years ago |Anyone ordered at 2 different places to make sure they get one on release date? I hope more info, samples, hands on reviews from actual users appear steadily. Cause I’m running out of stuff to read about the em5.
BLI
2 years ago |Have you read the manual?
nxp3
2 years ago |Yes I have, I printed out even so I can read it on paper
The manual is very much like my EPL2 except for buttons and menu item everything is same.
safaridon
2 years ago |While the statement that Pany does not do a good job in worldwide shipments may have been generally true in the past, I think it may not be appropriate in this case. For example for their latest all new m4/3 camera the GX1 was announced the first week in November and available in Japan in December and in US by early January about the same time lags as that projected for the OM-D.
forbes
2 years ago |I’m really torn.
Keep my 7D and maybe buy a GX1 or EPL3 with kit zoom?
Trade in my 7D for a GX1, kit zoom, 12/2 and 25/1.4?
Trade in my 7D for an E-M5 with 20/1.7 and 45/1.8?
All interesting choices.
MJr
2 years ago |Make no mistake, m4/3 is no replacement for SLR, unless of course SLR wasn’t your kind of cookie in the first place.
But what’s wrong with the e-m5 with 12/2 and 25/1.4, or gx1 with 20/1.7 and 45/1.8 ?
JF
2 years ago |I think pb is price, e-m5 with 12/2 and 25/1.4 is a very expensive combo !!
forbes
2 years ago |I’m a very casual photographer and find myself leaving my 7D at home way too much. Most recently I took my S95 to the Canadian Rockies instead of my 7D. M43 might fit me much better.
And yes, price is the deciding factor. The 12/2 and 25/1.4 are awesome lenses, with a pricetag to match.
JF
2 years ago |I would take the last one !
forbes
2 years ago |Yes, I’m still a sucker for the lenses though.
James Jones
2 years ago |The E-M5 is said to ship April 1st in the UK as well: http://www.stuff-review.com/2012-02/psa-olympus-om-d-e-m5-now-up-for-pre-order-from-amazon-uk-with-free-battery-grip/
Since the 31st and 1st is the weekend they will ship at the same time, 2nd in both Japan and UK
luca vascon
2 years ago |Well well…
body only is the price of a Canon 7D, and 2/3 the street price of a 5D II.
Choosing between a second 5DII body and a EM5 for me is straightforward.
No way I’d buy a large mirrorless without tethering, with video specs way under my hacked 5D or a less expensive GH2.
Not for me.