Friday, June 6, 2014

Tried to trade Panasonic GH3 for GH4: low availability at the time

As I was on a short-timer's schedule, I called Roberts Camera of Indianapolis, Indiana to see if they had a GH4 and would do a trade-in of my GH3.

It seemed a bit confusing to the first person to answer the phone, but the second person made it clear--they had no GH4s in stock and three on the waiting list.

Today, I'm nowhere close, though I may try a dealer in New Jersey where they've also done Panasonic presentations.  I believe they are Unique Photo.  Equally, Adorama is across the river in Manhattan.  I trust Adorama to help me, but I hear about many bad experiences dealing with the various personalities in the store.  Maybe, the people are not from the Northeast.  I used to hear many stories about people from New Jersey, New York, or Philadelphia.  In my experience, they were misinformed.  These rude, hateful people are some of the most genuine, loveable people you'll ever know.  They just say what they mean, and so do I.  I lived in Philly for eight years, and supposedly, my biological father came from Philly.

In any case, I want to trade the GH3 and the closest dealer in California to where I'll be living does not trade.  That doesn't mean I won't be able to find a shop, but I'd rather deal with New Jersey or New York where I can trust the person will show me the contempt, rather than try the schmooz me into doing what they want.  (I really liked Roberts Camera for their no-nonsense approach to dealing with people and cameras--give the customer good advice and a good deal.)

Maybe, Unique Photo will be able to help.  I really hate driving into and out of the city (New York City) but parking is worse.  Of course, if New Jersey Transit is working, it might be a piece of cake in a few days, to get to Adorama.

Update 2014.06.08: I was at Unique Photo this morning.  They were friendly and knowledgeable.  They expected a shipment last week and didn't get it.  They have 3 people on the list ahead of me.  It sounded as though they had a significant quantity arriving, so I may just get the body this week.

They also tempted me with the Panasonic GM1, which is clearly a dear and tiny camera body.  I'd really like to see it on the end of my Olympus 35-100mm f/2.0, with the tripod mount attached to the tripod, of course.   Otherwise, it's not quite balanced.  I was impressed with how very tiny the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro was.

Update 2014.06.11: I returned to Unique Photo since I hadn't heard anything and I wanted to make sure that they weren't going to send a GH4 to an address I no longer occupy.

They didn't get their shipment yet.  Maybe, they'll get it this week.  They didn't know.  Rather than have the GH3 and a GH4, I traded the GH3 for US$500, which is low, but you can sometime get a new GH3 for under US$900, so it's better to get US$500 than having it collect dust.  I bought an Olympus E-M1, which I will still use after I buy a GH4.

I still feel that the E-M1's battery and grip are too small, but I was tempted to buy a Panasonic GM1, so what's more weird?  I don't know.  Hopefully, the E-M1 will work well with my Four-Thirds lenses in real-life situations.  I still have my E-5 and E-1.

It's taking a while to charge the battery, so maybe it will last longer than I remember.  I hope Panasonic will have their stock soon.

Update 2014.11.30: A few days ago, I finally got my GH4.  Stock is not only good, but they've had a $200 instant rebate on the camera body.  When I tried my extra GH3 battery in the GH4, it seemed to be full, after nearly six months.

Mike's camera was fairly close--about 33 miles from where I live now.  Their people are not brand fanatics and are willing to talk intelligently about any brand you might want to buy.

It's a long time to go without.  The E-M1 has been good and the GH4 seems to be everything the GH3 was but better.

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