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With so many new cameras announced by Olympus and Panasonic the first generation cameras liek the E-PL1/2 and GF2 are now aailable for $300 (Euro) or less! I made a list of all new(not used!) cameras you can find for that price:
Olympus E-P2
The Olympus E-P2 body is in Stock for $299 at Amazon (Click here) and [shoplink 26079 ebay]Cametauctions (eBay)[/shoplink].
Black E-P2 body for 285 Euro at [shoplink 26077 ebay]SrsMicrosystems (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Black E-P2 body for 239 Euro at [shoplink 26078 ebay]SrsMicrosystems (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Olympus E-PL2
White E-PL2 body for 284 Euro at [shoplink 26085 ebay]SrsMicrosystems (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Red E-PL2 body for 284 Euro at [shoplink 26086 ebay]SrsMicrosystems (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Olympus E-PL1
Champagne E-PL1 with 14-42mm lens for 249 Euro at [shoplink 26084 ebay]Fotoexperte (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Black E-PL1 body for 211 Euro at [shoplink 26082 ebay]Gwcameras (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Black E-PL1 body for 205 Euro at [shoplink 26083 ebay]SrsMicrosystems (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Black E-PL1 body for 179 Euro at [shoplink 26080 ebay]Fotoexperte (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Red E-PL1 body for 190 Euro at [shoplink 26081 ebay]Softwings (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Panasonic G2
The camera body is in Stock for $299 at BHphoto (Click here).
Panasonic GF2
Silver GF2 with 14-42mm lens for 309 Euro at [shoplink 26071 ebay]FotoMundus (Ships worldwide from eBay[/shoplink]).
Black GF2 body for 249 Euro at [shoplink 26072 ebay]FotoMattioli (Ships worldwide from eBay[/shoplink]).
Black GF2 body for 217 Euro at [shoplink 26073 ebay]Softwings (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
Silver GF2 body for 193 Euro at [shoplink 26076 ebay]SrsMicrosystems (Ships in Europe only from eBay[/shoplink]).
P.S.: The french website Openpn announced via Twitter (Click here) that there will be a a 50 Euro cashback action for the GF3 (coming soon!).
15 Responses
You can also get $100 off one of a few different lenses if you buy a Panasonic G2 at B&H. I got a G2 and a 20 f/1.7 for $550 last week…
Simple conclusion: Olympus and Panasonic both overproduced, ended up with excess inventory, and now are selling these things for less than their top compact cameras (and probably at a loss).
Or else the cameras always had a healthy mark-up and the costs of production tumbled during the production cycle? One advantage of leaving out more mechanical stuff compared to DSLRs is that Moore’s Law will kick in to a greater degree.
Though I think that some models probably did have disappointing sales, such as the G2, and the ‘old’ EPLs weren’t exactly given long to shine.
Let’s see, the dealer discount is 15%, so you’re saying that Olympus’s cost of goods on the E-P2 and lens is less than US$255? And that’s not taking into account subsidiary profit or shipping from Japan to the US or warehousing the thing for months.
Sorry, but I don’t think Olympus is making a profit.
There are multiple problems here:
1. The ROI is likely negative on those units. So how many units are we talking about, exactly?
2. The perceived value of an E-P2 with lens is now US$299. What exactly did the E-P3 gain that makes it worth US$600 more?
3. In some of the cases, we’re not talking about a camera one generation back, but one two generations back.
4. We now have at least one case of a refurbished camera being listed for more than a new one ;~).
5. OlympusUSA themselves are confused. They sent out a memo in the morning one day this week to their dealers explaining the E-PL2 that the sale was active immediately and couldn’t be advertised, then late in the afternoon sent out another one that said it was supposed to be on Black Friday only and could be advertised.
6. Panasonic, meanwhile, took three extra months to get a GF2 into the US market in reasonable quantity, now finds themselves with extras in other markets ;~).
7. This is the same issue the auto companies got themselves into: sticker price meant nothing because they needed to push customer and hidden dealer incentives to move iron. Once the customer learns that this is the way things work, they expect such incentives (see #2).
No, this has SNAFU written all over it. Someone miscalculated sell throughs and they over produced. Considerably. Now they’ve got snazzy new models they’d like to sell, but they still have to get rid of the old. These problems have a tendency to keep rolling with each generation, because the inventory overhang stalls the new model sales. (Think about it, you’re an Oly dealer with E-PL1/2/P2 on your shelf still–how many of the new models are you going to order?)
I should also point out that companies will often claim market share based upon sales out of corporate to subsidiaries and/or dealers. It’s one reason why some of us subscribe to retail register sales numbers from one of the big organizations that collect them, which often tell a different story.
The $299 for the EP2 is for body only- it does not include a lens. I agree with Chris. There has always been a large mark up on the micro four thirds gear at launch. Olympus might lose money, but the cost of manufacturing these cameras is well below even these “blowout” prices. These things are not made out of gold. They’re mass produced out of common and inexpensive materials by the cheapest labor Oly can find.
But I do think Thom makes a number of valid points. And of course there is a lot more that goes into the cost of the camera than just the production of it.
I did I teardown cost analysis of a low-end DSLR for a client not too long ago, and I’ve tried to keep up with costs as every now and then I get hit with “come start a camera company with me” thing and I need to be able to sanity check those folk before I say yes/no (so far, no one’s passed–you can’t start a camera company from scratch without a huge commitment of cash up front–the costs of design and production are real and large).
Removing the mirror box doesn’t save you much money. What saves you money is using compact camera builds rather than DSLR builds. Fewer parts, fewer assembly steps, re-used control pieces. Can you make a m4/3 body for under US$250? Yes, though some of the more advanced ones won’t make it under that bar. But the implication in the original post was that the product would still be profitable at these prices. I argue that they are not profitable when sold at what amounts to near cost. Worse still, in some cases the cameras were sold to a dealer at a higher cost and now have to refunded. In other words, you booked profits before, but now you need to take a write-off.
What I didn’t mention is what this kind of problem does to cash flow. You spent piles of cash to build the product. You expected to get more cash back. Indeed, you may have, because you “sold” the product to a subsidiary. Only problem is that now the cash issue isn’t positive at the subsidiary and you’re trying to build inventory for the next generation, which also takes cash.
The thing they didn’t emphasize enough in my MBA program was this: both product failure and product success create substantive and different cash flow issues in a manufacturing organization. Yes, we had case studies on this issue, but the problem is that what works in “solving” a case study often doesn’t work in real life. Moreover, you can get into these strange cases where you have failure/success in the same product line. Moreover, you have “hang,” where things you thought were sold (in dealers hands and you’ve been paid for) aren’t.
Admin, E-PL2 is at 249 GPB = 284 euros (not 193)
🙁
Some of the cheapos sold were ex-demo, that explains
It was too good to be true 🙂
I am surprised to see Pany reducing the GF2 price so much as the GF3 was delivered only 6 months after the GF2 and was not intended to replace the GF2 which is higher specified with hotshoe etc. instead to run concurrently. Consequently I see this as a sign that Pany will soon be delivering a GF5/7 essentially a GF2 with G3 sensor and fast AF & processor and maybe the Xkit lens? Otherwise why sell off remaining GF2s at a loss or little profit and steal sales from the more popular small GF3?
Oly on the other hand has a greater problem with the greatly improved AF performance of the many new models with so many old ones still in existance making them less attractive inspite of maybe some better features?
The GF2 has been discontinued, so it makes sense that they’re trying to sell them off.
I think the G2 may still be in production, but not entirely sure.
goes to show…buy when just out you lose money…wait a year…sometimes less…save loads. 😉
I purchased the EPL1 for 340€ at hartlauer in austria. the camera was sold as a bundle with the 14-42mm (I) and the 40-150mm together.
I would consider that as a very good prize.
maybe, the next camera will be the g2/gh2, as I have a e-300 and I like a dslr-shaped camera in m43, which olympus doesn’t offer.
http://www.hartlauer.at/Portal/jsp/hartlauer2/foto_video/shopResult.jsp
@ Thom, it’s always interesting to read your take on the business aspect behind the imaging industry. I agree the availability of reduced cost older model m4/3 cameras might not bode well for the manufacturers, but it is nice for consumers (for the time being).
I just bought an E-PM1 two days ago. I did see that Cameta had good deals on all the previous Oly m4/3 cameras, and found the E-P2 & E-PL2s tempting, but as my intended use for this camera is surf photography frame rate and AF speed is key, and worth the early adopter penalty.