Panasonic-Leica 25mm to ship in Europe/US by end August/early September only
More dealers are sending me details about the availability of the new Panasonic-Leica 25mm f/1.4 lens. They do confirm the shipment has been delayed to end August/early September. That’s once againa frustrating news coming from Panasonic. The lens was supposed to be in Stock in August. The lens is in Stock in Japan and if you need the lens now you cna buy it on eBay (Click here) and on Amazon US (Click here) sold by japanese resellers.
And Amazon Germany (Click here) confirmed the lens will be in Stock between the next 3-6 weeks.
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Recent comments
Comment from Neveah: This is the perfect way to break down th...
Comment from Helge Hackbarth: I got mine in Hamburg (Germany) now.
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Comment from dac38: :) Cant i have fun once a while ?...
Comment from Joel: Olympus seem to be FAR better at actuall...
twoomy
10 months ago |Panasonic–Please STOP ANNOUNCING NEW STUFF until you can actually get your current stuff to the market! (Why did it take almost a year for the GH2 to be readily available in the U.S.?)
You guys do realize that you have fantastic camera products, right? And you do realize that you have to actually deliver the products in a timely fashion to make money on them, right?
So, when you get ready to announce the GF7 or the 12-60mm zoom lens, how about you just stop and wait four months, then announce it. By that time, you might be able to actually sell some of them. If you announce things too soon before people can buy them, people will lose interest in the product and not even notice when it’s finally available.
RANT OVER!
P.S. I still can’t wait to get my hands on this 25mm lens.
twoomy
10 months ago |P.S. Is this shortage of product always a Panasonic and U.S.-only thing? I recall the GH2 was readily available in Japan much earlier as well.
Mr. Reeee
10 months ago |Blame the toilet bowl circling dollar.
$1 < 1€
Jeff
10 months ago |And, of course, the super powerful yen.
I’m in Japan right now and every yen I use makes me sad, as despite the central banks’ intervention, it’s still getting stronger and stronger on the dollar. It makes it less and less profitable for them to bring any(!!) item to international markets.
Especially when it’s available for far cheaper overseas (Panasonic EPP (yes, I know it takes months, but that’s still the price they sell it at), anyone?). Almost all camera equipment here is more expensive than in the US, considering the currency rate; the only thing that I could even consider buying is a used GH1.
Michael
10 months ago |Still waiting for mine on pre-order in Japan…
Bob B.
10 months ago |yeah..I don’t know the release date of the GH2 ….but as of today (I checked a lot of “notify me when this item is available” at various major resellers)… you cannot, to my knowledge purchase a Silver Body Only at any major reseller (Amazon, B&H, etc) for the listed price of $899 with an English menu..EVEN NOW in the US. And I have never been notified that one was available since the “release” of the camera. Perhaps Panasonic should consult the Webster’s Dictionary on the word release?????????
We will all turn blue on that one.
Panasonic’s follow-thru on product availability to their own set deadlines is HORRIFIC!!!! Hey …there are more important things in life….but Pany seems to have developed a very well-earned reputation for this behavior.
GF-7 Pro…yeah right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAOROTF!!!!!!!!
mahler
10 months ago |While Panasonic’s release timing isn’t ideal, other vendors (most notably Canon) isn’t better.
However, Panasonic is at least announcing and then, sometimes with delay, delivering. Olympus, on the other hand, does not even announce! Or where is the Olympus m4/3 camera with a build-in view finder, a good grip, a fully articulated screen and not this swing-out stuff?
Panasonic’s body line is very diverse, whereas Olympus has only this “bricks”. The new models may look attractive, but lack the usability of their Panasonic counterparts.
So, overall, Panasonic’s product and release policy isn’t as bad as implied here. The lower end models are readily availaible and mostly on time, new lenses appeared quite fast in the past, and Panasonic had a full lens program out, when others were still struggling. It took Olympus almost three years to catch up. This is what I would call a delivery problem.
The only availability problems of significance were the GHx bodies on US-markets and a few others. The rest of the m4/3 line-up wasn’t that difficult to get.
Bob B.
10 months ago |There is a lot of truth to what you say, too. I also know that a lot of the delays have had to do with the situation in Japan…which I completely understand…and I do say give the country, the businesses and all of the people all of the time that they need to put their lives back together. With that in mind…how important is it for me to get a camera!!!! Not very.
Sören
10 months ago |lol, maybe the Olympus 45mm will be in Stock earlier…
Shame on you, Panasonic…
jules
10 months ago |Panasonic are no different than every others in that regard. Ask any Canon and Nikon fans how long they wait between an announcement and the distribution of anything remotely above consumer grade
Neonart
10 months ago |Nice. The 12 f2 is now in-stock in a few places, yet this lens which was announced earlier is still having backorder problems. For a huge electronics corp, Pany should have this under control (by now at least.)
Joel
10 months ago |Olympus seem to be FAR better at actually getting stock to customers, even the gh2 stock is still limited in many places…
Hopefully Olympus release more higher end lenses like the 12/2 and 45/1.8, and maybe Panasonic will wake up eventually..
fleckster48
10 months ago |Well I agree but I haven’t seen crazy inflated prices on Amazon and Ebay for Canon and Nikon. My camera store indicated that it may be that Panasonic decision to market thru the big box stores rather than camera dealers may have something to do with it. I find any MFT Panasonic products in my area since Circuit City went under.
Rainer
10 months ago |I already received my olympus 12mm 2.0 and I am happy with that. I find the angle of view of 25 mm and 14 mm to “boring”. 12 mm its great.
jules
10 months ago |Reminds me of a quote : “There ain’t no boring FoV, there are boring photograph”
:d
All kidding aside, 12mm looks like a great piece of glass!
Anonymous
10 months ago |That is what marketing sales people do ,. They must announce they product far long before the date of release to prevent the market to buy product from another competitor. Same case when panasonic release AF 100 – Sony marketing sales also announce their product to prevent the market / hold the AF 100 sales
WT21
10 months ago |“marketing sales people” — do you even know the difference or the function of marketing and sales (beyond your reading of Dilbert cartoons)?
Z
10 months ago |Possibly they do this on purpose to assess demand…?
fleckster48
10 months ago |Sony = Soon Only Not Yet
Neonart
10 months ago |Speaking of availability!
Cameta Camera in the US has the 12mm f2 in stock, shipped free, for $814!!!!
http://www.cameta.com/Olympus-M-Zuiko-12mm-f-2-0-ED-Digital-Lens-Silver-60996.cfm
Neonart
10 months ago |Well, never mind. I thought this was a unique thing, but apparently theres a bunch of people with this lens in stock for $799 shipped. Amazon, BH, Adorama, etc.
I guess Pany is just slow.
Tim
10 months ago |If panasonic can’t meet demand, then Olympus needs to release a high end f1.4 25mm, preferably with the same features/styling as the 12mm!
dac38
10 months ago |Why such a huge lens on a Puny sensor ?
exe
10 months ago |Sorry for being a troll
but try to compare it with sony’s 24 mm f1.8 for nex
MikeH
10 months ago |You must have poor eyesight or comprehension. Neither is the lens large nor is the sensor small.
Brod1er
10 months ago |@dac38: Why such an ignorant comment?
dac38
10 months ago |Kylberg
10 months ago |I am waitng for the 25/1.4 too. Panasonic managed to bring the G3 at least to the European market in decent time, but now they are back to old behaviour – shame!
I like my Oly 12mm a lot and hope that they build on that concept developing more lenses. Panasonic lenses in general are bigger than Olympus.
Helge Hackbarth
10 months ago |I got mine in Hamburg (Germany) now.
See also http://www.3d-kraft.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=99:leica-dg-summilux-25mm-f14-comparison&catid=40:camerasandlenses&Itemid=2
for a first comparison.
Neveah
9 months ago |This is the perfect way to break down this ionrfmatoin.