Panasonic GH1 gets a price: It's high

Lori Grunin | May 06, 2009

Is the Lumix DMC-GH1 worth $1,499? (Credit: Panasonic)

When Panasonic announced its video-capable follow-up to its Lumix DMC-G1 interchangeable-lens camera (sometimes referred to as a "hybrid") at PMA in February, the DMC-GH1, the company coyly left out any mention of pricing. Although it shipped several weeks ago in Asia and I dutifully did the exchange rate conversions, I really didn't want to believe that it was going to cost US$1,499. But a preorder listing for the camera has popped up on J&R's Web site at that very price.

Given that J&R doesn't generally offer the deepest discounts and that the camera isn't really shipping yet so competitive pricing hasn't kicked in, I expect the street price to be closer to US$1,299--still pretty pricey, even with the bundled 14-140mm (28-280mm equivalent) lens.

Then again, it's a new technology and probably a new market segment, so who knows what price the market will bear. The question is, would you pay that much, assuming the photo quality and performance can match a similarly priced dSLR?

Via Crave CNET

Filed under: Digital Cameras
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