US&Canada: No GH3 kits? And now $200 price drop on 12-35mm X lens.
Right now we have a new $200 price drop on the 12-35mm X lens at Amazon (Click here). And I guess many would like to buy that lens in an appropriate GH3 package. But as noted by our reader Travis the GH3 kits are non available for preorder in US and Canada. But they are of course promoted on the Panasonic.net site. Someone can tell us when these kits will arrive?
Meantime here are some EU, US and Canada links to the GH3:
12-35mm GH3 kit:
Wex UK, Wex DE, Photoexpress UK, FotoHansKeuzekamp (NL),
14-140mm GH3 kit:
Wex UK, Amazon UK, Photoexpress UK, Wex DE, Amazon FR,
Body only:
Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Panasonic store, Samys, Henry, Vistek, Wex UK, FotoHansKeuzekamp (NL), Amazon FR, Webdistirbution FR,
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All current GH3 auction on eBay (via Slidoo).
woof woof
6 months ago |£1999.00 for a GH3 + 12-35mm and they’re not joking?
Fan of MFT I may be but that money would buy a 5DII+Siggy 50mm f1.4 and give change. Yes, they’re different systems but maybe this is a little beyond what I expected MFT to be.
babbit
6 months ago |To be fair, if you are comparing a kit with a 50mm f1.4 lens, then a GH3 with a panasonic 25mm f1.4 (50mm equivalent) would be much less than £1999.00. And if you instead include the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 with a 5D MK2, the cost would also be much more than £1999.00. The lens itself would be more than the full GH3 kit.
Anonymous
6 months ago |Yeah, but… If you’re gonna put down £2000, full frame vs a sensor 4 times larger?
MikeH
6 months ago |Do you guys need some cheese with that whine? You aren’t comparing like systems at all. If you want full frame with big ass full frame lenses and cameras, go full frame. If you want a fantastic video and very good stills without the bulk and weight, then you want something other than full frame. If you want this and want the price to be cheaper, then don’t be an early adopter and you will be able to pay less. As with all electronic devices and software, being on the bleeding edge introduces the most risk and highest prices.
Anonymous
6 months ago |The GH3 is the largest m4/3 camera to date. If its really as big as an Olympus E-620 the size advantage seriously shrinks.
I have an Olympus E-620 and at that weight/size and £2000 price point there are a number options and choices to make.
Plus, most pro-amateur video use entails using a tripod.
If it was the size of a G5 or GX1, that’d be a different deal.
Esa Tuunanen
6 months ago |It’s LENSES which make most of the bulk and weight of SYSTEM used by GH3 level camera users and having ergonomical grip and controls in camera doesn’t make lenses any bigger.
And GH3 is Canon 7D/Olympus E-5/Sony SLT-A77 level/construction mirrorless camera. Though still smaller and clearly lighter than them because of lack of bulk of mirror chamber and associated film era stuff.
Sure 12-35mm is overpriced at the moment but that’s no fault of the GH3.
Really any amateur who wants good quality/usefulness video uses tripod when possible.
bart
6 months ago |Its the body that determines the smallest package you can make however.
GX1 + 20mm fits most coat pockets.
EM-5 + 20mm also does (tho a bit less so)
GH3 + 20mm might still fit a huge pocket but in practice will require a small bag.
add 2 more lenses that fit in the remaining pockets, and the first 2 cameras allow a small package that doesn’t need a bag, while the 3rd one doesn’t.
So there is a bit more to that size thing really.
Not relevant for your use? Could be, doesn’t mean its just as valid a consideration as yours.
bart
6 months ago |How good there is a G5 then, which according to reviewers is a kind of GH2.5, its made for you.
Just to be clear, I wouldn’t buy the GH3 either, in part because of its size, but also because it doesn’t add anything I want to what I already have.
But that is just good, if all m4/3 cameras were desirable for me, that would just mean there is too little choice, because hey, not everyone has the same desires and needs as me. It seems much more important that there are different choices to match different needs. Makes the system grow, makes it more interesting for the likes of Tamron, Sigma etc to also produce native m4/3 lenses etc.
So nothing wrong with wanting a smaller camera, but complaining about the GH3 being too big is a bit silly I think. There are many other cameras to pick from.
Anonymous
6 months ago |“To be fair,…”
Yes, I know, and I did say that they’re different systems but comparing the GH3+lens to something else is a sobering experience.
jJImim
6 months ago |It looks like Panasonic are not surprisingly shipping their cameras to the market in which the customers are paying the most ,not exactly brain surgery is it lol
Tom
6 months ago |Panasonic is clearly playing economics here… They know there’s a big market for the body alone, so they don’t need to provide the kit 12-35 as incentive. Then, they can watch people pay a premium to buy the lens separately. The $200 “price cut” is further evidence of this… No special “deal”… If they included the lens with the camera, it would be $400+ less…
Fred
6 months ago |All I want is GH3 + 35-100mm kit. Hope to find it for US$ 1.999,00 in the near future.
Mark James
6 months ago |I don’t see that happening in the next year. I was hoping for $2,100 for the GH3 12-35 kit but couldn’t wait and bought the body only so I’m one of the suckers that will pay hundreds extra because they held back the kits.
Anonymous
6 months ago |$2k for a GH3 + 35-100mm f/2.8 isn’t gonna happen for some time. The lens and body would have to drop to $1k – $1.1k mark, and since both the lens and body are new, its not gonna happen in a year. Look at how well OM-D prices are keeping up, it was released in April. So your kit – most likely 2014.
HMR
6 months ago |If Panny wanted to really warm our hearts ( it is the season ) they would offer a rebate on, both, the 12-35 and the 35-100 with the purchase of a GH3 body or kit, (You listening Panasonic?) Many of us who buy early help to ensure the success of your/their products by filling blogs with posts and examples of our work/play. This is what people find when they search for reviews of the product later on. Therefore, it is ultimately very beneficial to get the good stuff into the hands of us as early as possible.
There,now, do you think they bought it?
Panny? You out there?
Anonymous
6 months ago |I think you misunderstand the basic principles of business.
Those who buy early are precisely the people the seller needs to milk. Its those who buy later that need incentives.
marsupial2go
6 months ago |Agreed. There’s no need to create a kit price when people provide their own incentive: “i want, i buy”, and they already pre-ordered the GH3. Why should Panny give ‘em a discount? Currency’s already in Panny’s bank.
In a month when sales drop and BMCC comes onboard, yes, Panny has to do something. I didn’t pre-order. What I want to see is a detailed side-by-side video comparison: highest GH3 video quality vs highest GH2 video quality hacked or not. Specs indicate GH3 is better, but I haven’t seen it cuz users didn’t have product in hand. Now they do, so let’s see some crucial vid comparisons! Is GH3 better in reality or only on paper?
Blackghost
6 months ago |I wonder if these price drops are an indicator of what Olympus may charge for an eventual fast standard zoom? Maybe Panasonic has a stronger clue as to what Olympus will introduce and wants to gain a stranglehold with the 12-35.
Anonymous
6 months ago |More like this price drop is an indicator of the fact that the 12-35mm f/2.8 price is whack out of line. Early adopters have paid the price, now they need to get the regular public to buy this.
JC
6 months ago |GH3 + 12-35 kit is available at some canadian retail store like lozeau: http://www.lozeau.com/en-CA/products/cameras/hybrid/panasonic-lumix-gh3-kit-with-12-35mm-f28/
Anonymous
6 months ago |But it is also not really any cheaper. at $2,399. You can get it for $2,368. buying it separate. Or the exact same price if you buy the lens, from amazon. as shown above.
nobody
6 months ago |I think whoever wants to buy the two high grade Panasonic zooms less costly will just have to wait for the high grade Oly zooms to appear.
Right now, these two Panasonic zooms don’t have any competition. So Panasonic charges what they can get.
That situation will not last forever.
Steve
6 months ago |Except that the Oly lenses will likely be even more expensive, considering what they charged for the slow 70-300 zoom.
Anonymous
6 months ago |I just picked up the L-1 with the Leica 14-50 zoom… I’m so happy.
AlexV
6 months ago |As I’ve mentionned the last month on this forum, a manager from Panasonic Canada has said no official kit will be sold in Canada. Reseller will be free to offer, but these kits will come from the reseller rather Panasonic for Canadians.
akg
6 months ago |hi
in montreal ,quebec
the kit is $2400can at lozeau
akg
6 months ago |http://www.lozeau.com/en-CA/products/cameras/hybrid/panasonic-lumix-gh3-kit-with-12-35mm-f28/
akg
6 months ago |it’s $2270can now, just got one
Kenneth
6 months ago |The wholesaler in Norway got the GH3 Body and the kit with 14-140 in stock today. Looking forward to geting the camera in 2-3 days.
Gavin Wilson
6 months ago |When the F*CK will Australia be getting these??? Seems we are ALWAYS F*CKING IGNORED!!!