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GH2 Gone for 2013? and GH3 availability and pricing predictions...
  • So, Amazon has ended the $499 deal. It is now not in stock by them either. What do you guys think is it's fate for 2013?
    I have been waiting on the holidays to pass to make a $2500ish purchase in the next 3-6 weeks. Now, the GH2 is still $549 at adorama for now and $649 at B&H already.

    Will it be discontinued all together soon? Will prices never see $499 again?

    More importantly when do you predict the GH3 being in stock soon for 2013 and (if and) when will the price come down to the magic $999 mark?

    I ask as a viewer of the boards for the last couple of months having read hundreds if not thousands of pages of info; I think it may be beneficial to have a post like this for others in my position going into the new year.

    Thanks for all of the effort and knowledge being proliferated by all of you here on the boards. It has been extremely enlightening thus far! I look forward to any and all responses.

    Sincerely, Derek Lee

  • 22 Replies sorted by
  • all the camera stores here in Australia says they expect the next batch release (first for australia) to be mid to late Jan.

    as for gh2 prices...who knows. you may just see those deals again when stores take a final plunge to quickly clear their gh2 stock.

  • Thanks for the reply. That's good to know that a push will be made with the GH3 this month. That helps. As for predictions I know it's a guessing game but thought some of you may recall previous trends after release.

  • You will always be able to find 2d hand GH2 in 2013 and 2014 ...

    Products don't disappear because they are not sold on store anymore, they usually just get cheap

  • Very good point sir. So, do you think this is the end of "new" GH2's though?

  • I only mention my budget to let you know this will be my first major purchase. The cash will be put to the GH3 or GH2, Summilux 25mm, hand grip and Panny DMW-FL360L Flash for now. If I go with GH2 I will have more to invest obviously.
    Patiently awaiting insight... Derek

    (but I so don't want this thread to come off as every other lame ass "I'm thinking of buying... thread"- just looking for info on what you guys think about the "topic at hand" to help me) Thanks again, from everyone who may be wondering.

  • I alredy got mine gh3 before new year and i love it so far. Will not sell my gh2 for some time since its perfect.

  • I think that the GH3 will get nowhere near to the sales of the GH1/2 . Because the money needed to get it is serious money now. The greed took over the project? yeah. Anywho the Gh2/1 and 3 are still the only consumer cameras capable of shooting videos for more than 29 minutes. But 1.3K plus 300 (yes, 300!) for the grip is a lot of money. The GH2 does the same thing and spending that kind of money for a "normal" mic port and headphones (that should've been there in the first place) it's not gonna happen in my house. Greed is not good for the business. Any. It may work out somehow for the first days but then reality will hit hard. Too bad.

  • @village_west GH3 won't be that price forever, it is at early adopter price at the moment.

  • Well...I have the GH1 . Bought it in october 2009 with 14-140 mm for U$ 1499 at Amazon . I disagree entirely with @village_west . I think the GH3 will be a success . The 29 limit doesnt bother to me . Although my camera does not have this limitation its kind unlikely that a single take takes that longer ( in my use, of course). We need to remember that the GH3 is not only a mic port and headphone out . There´s are a sealed body , wifi, better battery among other features that are pushing the price ...

    And , more , I want someone presents me a camera , today , that can take great stills and record videos with that great quality for U$ 1299 !!! Canon 5d MIII ? 2x the price ? 2x the weight ?

    Anyway...I dont think the price will get down in 2013...at least not in the first half year

  • @jasonp I need a new glasses then . ´Cos the hundred movies I ve watched made with the 5DIII just didnt ring the bell for me. Not that they are bad ...but you know...there´s a lot of shootout out there in Vimeo and the pros are saying that GH3 match or overpasses 5D III quality ...and you cant compare the 5d with the Magic Lantern with the GH3. You can compare the 5D with magic with a GH3 hacked if and when ...anyway I think people value FF too much for stills ...

  • it's the "consumer" world . Price is important. Very. We have guys trying to save 20 bucks building DIY stuff here. I'm not really debating the value "per se" : I'm debating the marketing at Panasonic's. And the obvious greed that this new model shows (clearly). I mean.. people.. twice the price? Come on. How greedy is that? They got caught by the excitement (of the money) and decided to charge the double and see what happens. Beside the 29 min limitation there is no doubt that the 5D is the better big sensor tool (for video) , so the only reason why the GH2/1 got life in the market is the price. no? what else?

  • @ labalbi LOL I keep reading this excuse over and over: the time limit can be a serious problem, because it makes the camera unusable for sports (I shoot games, professionally for example) , or other events. I am (always been) all for the "use what you have and find a workaround, but the time limit makes things almost impossible (live events, sports : you reach the limit, hurry to restart and they score and you missed the action, forever) . LOL

    1 hour is enough (miniDV used to be 60 minutes after all), but 29 minutes or (horror) 12 minutes are not enough.

    The same can be applied to the use of the zoom : many like to tell that they don't use it (like they all are Fellini now, but they do. For sports is mandatory.

    The Gh3 is seriously over-priced because of the greed. The sales will tell the story, just wait and look what happens. Canon (5D) is better for both stills and video. Hands down.

  • For me life is simple . I think . If I must pay 2x the price to carry 2x the weight I WANT 2x the quality . Not a pixel less . And no need to send me pm with 5d videos. I ve watched a lot as I told . And yes , they are pretty , pretty good. But not 2x more than what you get with the GH3. And , if we consider the GH2 for U$ 800 ...ok , given the FF you can go further in ISO and the shallow depth of field . But , show me a movie where you need to focus the nose and defocus the entire face ? In real life , in real movies , you dont use that kind of depth of field . Many says the GH2 and GH3 have a digital look , but in the right hands you can achieve that cinematic look . I ve seen many indies movies in Vimeo that prove that.

    Considering just the format FF cant match a 35mm from Canon Cine Cameras and so on, isnt it ? Again...for U$ 1299 do I have a better option ? For me the 29 min limit would not pose a problem , its not a reason to avoid buying the 5d.

    anyway ...lets kick this discussion off before someone starts blocking our posts here...a hug ...

  • Ok . I am not a pro . I am a prosumer . An enthusiastic . We are watching what @shian @driftwood and others are doing with theirs gh2, gh3 cams . Ok, spec-wise the 5d III is a better cam than the GH3 , lets not argue that . But for me its such an achievement that many compares a U$1299 with a U$ 2600 camera.

    Not me saying that a BMW is better than a Ferrari . People in Vimeo and Dpreview are concluding that for my rides with my family I dont need that Ferrari if the BMW will do the same with half the price...

    And lets not forget that if there wasnt any GH line what would be left for us , looking for great stills and amazing videos ? The T4i ? Why no ones compares the GH3 with the t4i ? ´cos its turn out be out a fast knockdown victory for GH line ...so people decides comparing the GH3 with a 2x price camera just to claim its better ...man it MUST be better , right ? but ...why many are not saying so ? why so many people at dprview are selling their Canon DSLR to pick the OMD EM-5 and the GH3 ?

    You cant compare FF with a micro 4/3 sensor , many will say . Well , tell that to my not-peep-pixel eyes ...people are reporting that the gap is closing , guys...

    Sure, the FF sensor is better by definition than a micro 4/3 sensor. If Panasonic ever releases a FF camera , GH3 size and price , I will be first to celebrate it ...

  • Let me take you back a few years. The price on the GH1 dropped to $399 clearance, as the GH2 availability became more prevalent. I came very close to pulling the trigger on a GH1, but decided to get the GH2 which I did not hack for the first 10 months. I shot a feature film with it (unhacked), and have been in love with it after hacking it. There are no guarantees. But if and when the GH3 is hacked, it will likely be an astoundingly nice camera. But even so; as is, it is still more than nice enough to shoot a feature film with. And has many features I really like.

    I think the cameras are neck and neck in terms of quality.. right now. So I don't see the NEED to upgrade just yet. There is a desire to have some of the new features, the increased DR, the decreased banding, etc. But not a NEED. So I will wait it out.

    That is just my opinion.

  • Anyone have a guess as to when I'll get my pre-ordered B&H GH3? B&H's lips are zipped.
    I pre-ordered my GH3 from B&H on December 19. Thanks friends!

  • I agree with you @shin . I will pick the GH3 only because I live in Brazil , and Panasonic doesn't sell the camera here. And I dont know when I ll come back in USA . Its a hard time for Brazilians upgrading their cameras. So I hope my 19 December preorder will be processed by Amazon until 24 January when I ll be at USA ...

    I ll keep my GH1 hacked with me of course ...I think will be a huge upgrade from the GH1 both in stills and video for me ...

  • @ shian well said, I agree completely. The GH3 is the camera to get from now on because doesn't have the time limit and the GH2 will go out of production. But let's be clear: I see no difference compared to the GH2 . None. A slightly better processing in high ISO and that's it. But the topic here is about the price (which is absurd and only motivated by greed). We are not stupid, maybe a little stupid but not THAT stupid. We see things. See? this is the "internet", and the "internet" shows no mercy for anybody: take the D|zoom at $175 and compare it with the pro zoom from proaim at $55. See what I mean? Again we are not THAT stupid, we do see things.

  • @lalalbi Yes ! this bokeh mania is becoming boring to death and distracting: one thing is a 2-3 seconds shot of a portrait with a tele (for compression) and a totally different thing is a continuous footage with a short focal all wide open: it's "fiction" mixed with the excitement for the gear but the viewer will fall asleep .. watching it: the viewer doesn't care if the camera operator got a new or used 50mm 1.4 cheap and can't wait to show the bokeh. and for the entire footage! come on ... enough of this bokeh mania already, no?