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This is the first time you can grab the E-M1 for under $1,000 via [shoplink 47312 ebay]Thegamesarena one Bay US (Click here)[/shoplink].
US deals Reminder:
Olympus US launched a $50 rebate on the following MFT lenses:
$50 off on the 45mm f/1.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 17mm f/2.8 lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 60mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 75-300mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
$50 off on the 40-150mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and GetOlympus.
All current Olympus deals can be seen on that Amazon page and on that GetOlympus page.
Those are all current Olympus deals at GetOlympus:
Save $50 on Fast Prime Lenses for OM-D & PEN
Save $50 on Zoom Lenses for OM-D & PEN
Save $100 on the Award-Winning OM-D E-M1
Get a FREE Camera Grip with OM-D E-M10 Purchase
Up to $900 Off Lenses with OM-D or PEN E-P5 Purchase
Up to $100 Off Recorders with OM-D or E-P5 Purchase
FREE Wi-Fi Card with the E-PL5
47 Responses
May as well buy used as buy from a non-authorized vendor.
Sure, assuming that you get something significantly cheaper than a new one. I just got a used E-M1 with some cosmetic issues for $750
cool price, what where the issues?
A small sliver of plastic just above the strap lug next to the f1 key broke off from a drop, and the strap lug itself got a ding on it from the same drop. There’s also a small – trivial really – paint scuff just below the lens mount on the bottom edge of the camera. The camera has been fully tested and works perfectly since the drop. And I live close enough to the seller that we were able to meet and I could try the camera and be sure about it’s condition. I actually paid $400 plus I traded him a 25mm f1.4 Panasonic Leica lens that I was selling anyways, and would have only realized $350 cash for after paypal fees and shipping had I sold it. The first pic in this listing shows the damage.
http://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=67479
very minor cosmetic dmg considering its dropped. The non dmg report in the service screen is also reassuring I think. Again ..great purchase!
Except, if you buy grey market you can get a new one for the same price as a used one.
This is what I ALWAYS do when purchasing camera gear.
Let me know when the Nocticron drops to this price.
There’s a perfectly good 45mm f1.8 lens already available for under $300 – You’d have a hard time convincing me that 1 more F-stop of speed is worth over $1000 more, or even $700 more.
I get the desire to blur the background. I have a $200 mint used manual focus Rokinon 85mm f1.4 if that’s what I need.
Though the Panasonic is no doubt overpriced its build quality is vastly better than the 45mm F1.8 { which I own} the 45mm F1.8 in build quality is equivalent to the plastic nifty 50s from Canon. Of all the mFT gear I own the 45mm F1.8 has the poorest build quality it is cheap and it feels cheap though it delivers great results for the price.
As for the Rokinon a 170mm AOV is rather different to an 85mm AOV to get the same framing you would be so far from your subject that the DOF would probably be if anything deeper . In all systems there is a very significant jump in cost between the F1.8 and F1.4 or faster primes.
e-m2 is incoming?
No, they are in all likelihood just liquidated inventory from Calumet or J&R.
Tell me when FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER the E-M! sells for this price from a reputable seller, not a vendor like THEGAMESARENA on EBAY.
This place is located in Lewiston, Maine, right next to Marden’s Surplus and Salvage.
Anyone stupid enough not to buy from a reputable vendor like B&H or Adorama so deserves what he gets.
Perhaps so – but if you get an official boxed product with full warranty from the manufacturer – at a serious discount, it still can make a lot of sense.
Nothing against reputable vendors and even brick and mortar stores – but a good deal is a good deal.
It’s a “good deal” so long as you factor in the price of an aftermarket warranty (SquareTrade, etc.) on top of what you’re paying through eBay.
Olympus offers worldwide warranties outside of Australia.
And what if what they get is the identical camera, new in the box, for $300 less? That would be what they deserve, I assume.
Anyone stupid enough to pay full price for ANY camera in 2014 also deserves what he gets.
It depends where your priorities and goals are as a photographer. I’ve bought plenty of cameras when they were first released and then a year or so later, sold them at usually around a 25%-30% loss. Now, that may seem like a lot and it is, but it’s still a fraction of the rental cost for that gear over the same period. I do also buy used and fully support the reselling of used gear, especially lenses.
Photography is not free. As it is, it’s actually a pretty cheap hobby these days. Whether you’re an enthusiast who just likes to take pictures or a working photographer, even a 30% loss over 12-15 months is probably totals less than most people spend on their morning lattes over the same time period. Also, you still own something for that money even after you sell the camera, you have the pictures.
I upvoted… even though I did exactly that /facepalm.
I have to laugh. I guess that Dan the Man does not have much experience on the internet. ???
I bought my E-PL6 on eBay and it came from a reputable, proven vendor on eBay.
I saved a bundle and got a great camera that was not even sold in the United States.
No fuss..no muss. LOVE that camera. Got it in 7-10 days.
I have bought and sold MANY camera items on ebay. I a VERY careful and do my vetting of the vendor before I push the “Buy” button. I have never had a problem other than when I am selling (domestically ONLY) something to the occassional (nut job) person who is expecting a brand new item when I clearly state it is used, price it as such and post excellent photos showing its exact condition. It is extremely rare that I have a problem, and even then, it just takes some time to work thru someone’s absurd expectations, and either refund them or listen to their diatribe of woe. LOL!
I have never been “beat” or “beaten” anyone.
I am currently shopping a Zeiss 135mm f/2 Apo Sonnar T* ZE Lens for my Canon Full Frame. The lens retails in the US for $2122.00. I can purchase the same exact lens from very reputable Hong Kong for $1847.00 including shipping and import fees. Now, I don’t know about most of you, but I will wait the extra week for the lenses journey to my home and love saving the $275! 🙂
To each his own.
For Canonikon I would be careful; as last time I checked (when I was a Nikon user) they don’t like and honor grey-import warranties, thus the extra $100-200 may worth it in a high-end expensive lens/bodies.
For your Zeiss, I think Zeiss offers worldwide warranty and the lack of autofocus/IS means less stuff can go wrong. Saving you money for that X next lens 😉
One of the reasons I love Olympus is that they offer worldwide
warranties, thus for me Olympus and grey-imports are a no-brainer. I bought 3 lenses so far from a UK HK imported (HDew cameras), everything came within a week and always saving me around 20-25% the “UK price”.
PS: Enjoy the lens!
Yes…you are on point…not like Dan-the-Man.
Well, what is interesting is the you don’t see the big discounts on my Canon gear…I always take a look to the East, regardless…and I agree, as it should be in 2014…the world should be our oyster. Olympus and Zeiss will honor their product…period. The moral is…it doesn’t hurt to turn the fear down to one, utilize the WWW, do your homework and enjoy saving some hard-earned cash and even pick up items that are not imported to our country!!!
You do compare to UK prices for bodies, for lenses not so much. I think all these HK dealers due to Canon’s higher potential demand -for better or worse they are the still No1 camera manufacture in salea- they can maximise their profits a lot, as long as they still cut US/EU prices.
The most interesting one is DigitalRev. They got Canon ads everywhere and maybe a Nikon or two. Their Olympus gear is more expensive than UK-stock shops! Then again, watching their “reviews” show some biased against m4/3.
I have used Panamoz for a number of purchase over the years they have an excellent customer service and some great prices you can get the E-M1 body for as low as £741 { £350 less than theUK} with the 12-40 it is as low as £1149 that a whopping £650 quid less than the UK price. The only difference is it takes a bit longer for delivery typically 5 working days
I am mainly using HDew in the UK. I also heard good things about “Kerso” in Scotland, who owns Flashcameras.com
I saved £100 on my 9-18mm, £50 on my 60mm and around £500 on the E-M1 with the 12-40mm!
No.
‘Although the ZEISS extended warranty is already available in numerous countries, claims under warranty may only be made in the country in which the product was purchased. ‘
http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/service/product_registration.html
Imo, lenses are best bought from reputable used stores. You can check the lens for all kinds of optical/electronic defects (like decentering which has become kinda common) before you buy unlike new boxed stuff. It s cheaper and you get warranty.
Funny…I have owned a hundred lenses in my life and not one has ever needed warranty if it worked when it came out of the box. Not one.
James…I think Phred is on to something there! 🙂
Also…When I buy my Zeiss from Hong Kong and register it with Zeiss Hong Kong and get my 3 year warranty…if I have a warranty issue, I can just send the lens to Zeiss Hong Kong. I.e. IT will befepaired in the country in which it was purchased. NO BIGGIE. Simple. The world has gotten a LOT smaller. Shipping carriers are excellent these dates, too!:-)
I strongly disagree! This man called Dan does not speak for every Dan.
Thank you The real Dan, we speak your name.
$400 for custom charges? You must be kidding me.
A price much more aligned with reality, this is what Olympus should have priced it from the beginning. It had always looked overpriced compared to its competition, namely the Fuji X-T1. Let’s not forget the X-T1 retailed for $100 less while including a sensor that is two times as large. Say what you will about sensor size equivalency, but there is no arguing that larger sensors cost more. A sensor half the size may not be a camera of half the cost but, all things equal, it should at least be priced somewhat lower instead of somewhat more. They missed the boat with consumers on their value proposition. Relatively speaking, the E-M1 simply looked like too little camera for too high of a price. At $999, the camera finally is beginning to look more fairly priced to what is being received. Olympus should see increased sales with this lower pricing scheme, something which should have been done from the start.
You may feel they priced it too high, but EM-1 sales have been fantastic this year, which means many more people thought it was priced just fine.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that “fantastic ” sales for mFT are very different from other formats. Bottom line is that despite their usual lies Olympus imaging yet again lost a fortune , to the extent that they are now going to hide it inside an other division to conceal the losses.Nothing new with that
Feel free to look through any the sales data available from various countries to show just where you think its sales are fantastic. Much of the intial sales were due to Olympus killing off FT giving those with Olympus glass nowhere to go
Don’t forget the in-body IS the E-M1 has; having the sensor stabilized into an electromagnetic field and offering the best sensor-cleaning via ultrasonic waves add to the costs. Same thing with other features the E-M1 has over direct competitors such as X-T1.
Taking into account that Olympus didn’t withdraw the E-M5 and gave it a price drop, the E-M1 was a priced fair who wanted/needed the E-M1 features lists; if you wanted a few things less, the E-M5 was available at a cheaper price and yet it was able to compete with the Fuji, Sony, etc just fine.
For me at least the E-M1 was a good price when I got my first one for my few legacy 4/3 lenses and the E-M1 was a deal when I got my second body at a discount.
The size difference is not ‘two times as large’. As for the cost of fabrication, the imaging sensor is only one piece of the technological puzzle. There is also the image processor, controllers for the gimbal (IBIS mechanism), rear touch sensitive display unit…. My point is that it is pointless to justify a cameras price based on a single component in the overall product – sure the sensor is an important part that drives up overall cost, but the relative size difference between APSC and 4/3 is not much, nor does it speak to the technology involved and the cost of R&D for each sensor that is produced. By that rational a 6 year old 5d should still sell today for more than the XT1 because the XT1 has a smaller sensor.
Finally consider the in-body stabilization. Olympus made (a good call IMHO) with a sensor size sweet spot and using the remaining space for technology that will make a real world image quality impact to the pictures that you take day to day. Incorporation of this technology will drive up cost too. It’s not all about the sensor, but how the package comes together (or not) to capture great images.
This is something the sensor size zealots will never understand: a camera is much, much more than a sensor in a box.
lol the image quality zealots would beg to differ . If you are a gizmo fan then the E-M1 does well if image quality is important not so much
Actually FredG, it depends upon what you mean by Image Quality. If you mean noise at ISO 12800 or 25600, well maybe. But if you mean how good a photo blows up to the size that the VAST majority of folks need, when shot at a normal ISO, say 200-1600 or even 3200, Micro 4/3 is plenty good. The current crop of Micro 4/3 is a step up from my older D90, and most folks don’t need anything better than a D90.
Its simple Douglas , by image quality { assuming the compositional skills are already in place} I mean higher resoloution, better DR , lower shadow/sky noise even at low ISO ,in other words you maximize your chances of getting the best image possible.
As for the D90 I wouldn’t be so sure about mFT being a “step-up” maybe a whisker maybe not
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Olympus-OM-D-E-M5-versus-Nikon-D90___793_439
I owned a D90 before I got into Micro 4/3. There is no doubt that the current generation of Micro 4/3 cameras are better – not a lot better, but better. Multiple years of using a D90, prior to Micro 4/3 provides me with VASTLY more useful information than some DxOMark score does.
BTW, the thing that MOST maximizes the ability to get the best images, is to have your good camera and lenses with you do capture them. And the significant added bulk of the DSLR system often meant that I wasn’t carrying it, where I would still be carrying the Micro 4/3 kit.
Supposedly now the Fuji has lens based stabilization that matches or exceeds the performance of the E-M1 version. Does this change the evaluation between the two?
1) I’d be happy to see proof that their lens stabilization is equivalent in extra stops as Oly’s 5-axis in-body (likely closer to the EM-10’s 3-axis).
2) Did Fuji magically stabilize all their lenses?
3) Did Fuji magically stabilize all adapted lenses?
Lens specific image stabilization often trumps in camera . Beyond static shots in low light IS’s value is hugely exaggerated . For moving subjects it serves no purpose and beyond low light its value is very low , for video it is useful for run and gun pity the E-M1 video is so poor.
Well it may be a technological puzzle to you, but it’s clear to those with some brains: that tiny sensor is way overpriced. Is it puzzling? I know I know…
The thing is, not all things are equal when comparing the X-T1 and E-M1. On paper they have similar specs, but the E-M1 feels much more like a proper pro camera in operation speed and use. There are also a number of other things the E-M1 does better than the X-T1 (video) and some that the X-T1 doesn’t even attempt (IBIS).
Sure sales would be higher if the price were lower. When is that not true? But the E-M1 is worth much more than you’re giving it credit for. I understand that not all people value it the same, but to say that $999 is “much more aligned with reality” implies that people who value it more than the X-T1 are out of touch with reality as well. Sorry, you’re wrong.
Still happy with my AUD$1099 12-50 kit ($1399 from the chain retailer, $300 rebate from olympus). Will be happier when I have sold the lens and the e-620 it has replaced…