Seemed like Great Deals on Olympus... - maybe not...

Ray Sachs

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you should be able to figure it out...
Olympus just dropped their prices on pretty much everything through the end of the year (12/29 actually). OMD bodies for $909, EPL5 for $459, the new 17mm lens for $369, the 75mm for $660 or so. Here's a link to the cameras - lenses and everything else are on sale too. Hopefully, retailers will follow in another day or two...

PEN & OM-D - Digital Cameras | Olympus

I was thinking about bailing on compacts and getting an EPL5 body instead (with one of the pancake lenses, its almost identical size to the LX7). I'm not thinking about it anymore!

-Ray
 
Great prices, but Oly already lost me with their too-high prices at launch and the fact the EPM2 has a built-in, sub-par grip. I ended up getting an EPL3 and moved back to FF DSLR. Think I'll stick with those for a while (along with the RX100).
 
Great prices, but Oly already lost me with their too-high prices at launch and the fact the EPM2 has a built-in, sub-par grip. I ended up getting an EPL3 and moved back to FF DSLR. Think I'll stick with those for a while (along with the RX100).

Man, I get into and out of other gear often enough (although Fuji feels like a keeper, but Nex, Ricoh, etc, come and gone) but m43 is home to me. I've got a good collection of lenses and will buy the 17 and won't be shocked if they come out with something else that will interest me in the not too distant future. And the bodies are just getting so good - the IQ is objectively as good as I've ever dreamed about. Until and unless the format dies and goes away completely, its my sweet spot for size and capability. I just can't see any reason to go anywhere else SHORT of full-frame, and full frame has never really appealed to me. I think the crop sensors do everything about as well except for narrow DOF, and I can get more than narrow enough for my tastes with the gear I've got... I guess I could figure I paid $200 too much for the OMD at launch, given today's sale price, but I've gotten waaaaaaay more than $200 worth of use and shooting out of that camera in the 8 months or so I've owned it. No regrets here...

-Ray
 
Whoa - now all of the prices have gone back up to regular list price... Was it a glitch? Did somebody at Oly jump the gun. I pre-ordered the 17mm for $369 and got a confirmation - I wonder if they'll honor it???

Very odd...

-Ray
 
Whoa - now all of the prices have gone back up to regular list price... Was it a glitch? Did somebody at Oly jump the gun. I pre-ordered the 17mm for $369 and got a confirmation - I wonder if they'll honor it???

Very odd...

-Ray

The link still works for me Ray. If you don't already have the 60mm macro, that's a crazy steal as well (and most assuredly a mistake like the others, but they may honor it.)
 
I think the bodies are legit sales. The lenses are mistakes. You'll note that on the sale items...they show you the savings and have original prices crossed out. The rest are clearly mistakes.
 
I have the Lumix 20mm f/1.7 but the Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 is very attractive at $369... which is probably what it should cost, given the price of the Lumix 20. Maybe it's not a mistake. Also, that 9-18 zoom for $517 is very attractive.

Ray, I've essentially abandoned the use of traditional compact cameras. In cases where I would normally use one, I've been reaching for my E-PM1 with either the Lumix 14mm or 20mm. Yes, the E-PM1 has been superceded by the next gernation of Pens. But it still gives results superior to most of the enthusiast compacts. The only compact I would consider right now is the Sony RX100. But I can buy a lot of other stuff for $649.
 
They're all back to "pre-sale" prices for me. There are lower body prices, but not the ones a couple of hours ago. For example, the EPL5 is scratched out at $699 and now marked at $599, $549 for the body. Earlier they were showing at $499, $449 for the body. And the lenses are all back where they were except for the 12mm, which legitimately seems to be on sale. Really curious whether they'll honor the $369 they've confirmed my purchase on for the 17mm.... Hope so, but won't be shocked if they don't.

-Ray
 
Ray, I just went into the Olympus store on my own - not using your link. The 17/1.8 is still listed for $369. I suspect you got the deal you went for.

EDIT: It says "preorder" when I open the full page for that lens... but it does confirm the $369 price.
 
I have the Lumix 20mm f/1.7 but the Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 is very attractive at $369... which is probably what it should cost, given the price of the Lumix 20. Maybe it's not a mistake. Also, that 9-18 zoom for $517 is very attractive.

Ray, I've essentially abandoned the use of traditional compact cameras. In cases where I would normally use one, I've been reaching for my E-PM1 with either the Lumix 14mm or 20mm. Yes, the E-PM1 has been superceded by the next gernation of Pens. But it still gives results superior to most of the enthusiast compacts. The only compact I would consider right now is the Sony RX100. But I can buy a lot of other stuff for $649.

That's kind of where I am right now too. I tried a RX100 and the sensor is all its cracked up to be, but the camera, in my hands at least, was just terrible. Didn't like it a bit. And the lens is nothing to write home about - just too much camera shoved into too small a body for my taste. So that left me with the X10 or LX7, both with their own sets of tradeoffs, although both very nice cameras. But I'm about 99% a prime shooter anyway. So an EPL5 or EPM2 with one of the pancakes is literally as small as the LX7 and probably a bit smaller than the X10. And the sensor is just from another planet - only the RX100 sensor even comes close among compacts and its just close, not AS nice as the larger sensor in the Olys. So I can walk around with one of those in my pocket with the 14 or the existing 17 (or 20 if I had it anymore) and really the new 17 doesn't look all that much larger, just a bit. And then when I want it to be a second body for a full fledged kit, it can do that job too.

-Ray
 
I would be shocked (should be all caps) if a lens so new it's not even out yet would be discounted by nearly a third. It's clearly a mistake and if they honor it, it's no surprise to me why they are struggling financially.
 
I would be shocked (should be all caps) if a lens so new it's not even out yet would be discounted by nearly a third. It's clearly a mistake and if they honor it, it's no surprise to me why they are struggling financially.

You could be right. B&H lists the 17-1.8 for preorder at $499 right now. Perhaps one has to wait a bit longer to get it through Olympus because the company will supply its vendors first. That's the case with Panasonic Direct. Great prices but you'll wait a while for the new stuff.

This has been a very interesting Christmas shopping season. I've seen some dramatic deals on a lot of stuff... and discounts on items just introduced in the past month or two. This goes for all brands. I think everyone may be hurting more than they've been letting on.
 
When I just went to drop the 17/1.8 into my cart, the site couldn't complete my request. I closed out and tried to re-enter the site and now I'm getting a message that the site is currently being updated. We'll see. But if the lens is still here at that price when I come back, I'm ordering one.
 
That's kind of where I am right now too. I tried a RX100 and the sensor is all its cracked up to be, but the camera, in my hands at least, was just terrible. Didn't like it a bit. And the lens is nothing to write home about - just too much camera shoved into too small a body for my taste. So that left me with the X10 or LX7, both with their own sets of tradeoffs, although both very nice cameras. But I'm about 99% a prime shooter anyway. So an EPL5 or EPM2 with one of the pancakes is literally as small as the LX7 and probably a bit smaller than the X10. And the sensor is just from another planet - only the RX100 sensor even comes close among compacts and its just close, not AS nice as the larger sensor in the Olys. So I can walk around with one of those in my pocket with the 14 or the existing 17 (or 20 if I had it anymore) and really the new 17 doesn't look all that much larger, just a bit. And then when I want it to be a second body for a full fledged kit, it can do that job too.

-Ray

And then, on the OTHER hand, I just went out and shot with my discount LX7 to "help" myself decide whether to send it back or not. God I like that little camera - its SOOOO much fun. So quick to switch aspect ratio (I prefer 3:2 for landcape, 4:3 for portrait), aperture, exposure compensation, focus type, a flick of a switch to throw into a preset manual focus distance for zone focussing. Its just a stone blast and if you keep it to ISO 400 or 800 the quality is friggin' great. And at f1.4 or 1.5 or 1.6 (max aperture at 24, 28, and 35mm equivalents), you can shoot in very limited light and come out OK. So, I remain conflicted. Particularly if the $450 price for the EPL5 body was just an illusion...

OK, enough talking to myself...

-Ray
 
And then, on the OTHER hand, I just went out and shot with my discount LX7 to "help" myself decide whether to send it back or not. God I like that little camera - its SOOOO much fun. So quick to switch aspect ratio (I prefer 3:2 for landcape, 4:3 for portrait), aperture, exposure compensation, focus type, a flick of a switch to throw into a preset manual focus distance for zone focussing. Its just a stone blast and if you keep it to ISO 400 or 800 the quality is friggin' great. And at f1.4 or 1.5 or 1.6 (max aperture at 24, 28, and 35mm equivalents), you can shoot in very limited light and come out OK. So, I remain conflicted. Particularly if the $450 price for the EPL5 body was just an illusion...

OK, enough talking to myself...

-Ray

I hear you. That's why I keep hanging on to my old LX3, which for a number of years was my go-to camera. Sure, the zoom range is a pretty short 24-60mm but aperture is f/2.0-2.8. It has many of the same control features as the LX7. I still like doing black & white photography with it... set to dynamic B&W. I suspect I'll finally give it away if the next Panasonic LX camera comes with a one-inch sensor. But owning the LX3 and my E-PM1 is not an either-or proposition for me. They're different tools.
 
I hear you. That's why I keep hanging on to my old LX3, which for a number of years was my go-to camera. Sure, the zoom range is a pretty short 24-60mm but aperture is f/2.0-2.8. It has many of the same control features as the LX7. I still like doing black & white photography with it... set to dynamic B&W. I suspect I'll finally give it away if the next Panasonic LX camera comes with a one-inch sensor. But owning the LX3 and my E-PM1 is not an either-or proposition for me. They're different tools.

Yeah, they are, but I was considering an either/or situation, dumping the compacts altogether, and just going with the EPL5 with whichever pancake I felt like shooting with as my "compact", since its the size of the LX7 with the 14 or existing 17 and only slightly deeper with the 20 or new 17... And I already have an OMD and a bunch of m43 glass, so it would serve also as a second m43 body when having two in the bag would be handy (like while traveling). But the LX7 is a whole different type of shooting, and one that I really like. I'll probably end up with both in time, but I was planning to stick with one or the other....

-Ray
 
And then, on the OTHER hand, I just went out and shot with my discount LX7 to "help" myself decide whether to send it back or not. God I like that little camera - its SOOOO much fun. So quick to switch aspect ratio (I prefer 3:2 for landcape, 4:3 for portrait), aperture, exposure compensation, focus type, a flick of a switch to throw into a preset manual focus distance for zone focussing. Its just a stone blast and if you keep it to ISO 400 or 800 the quality is friggin' great. And at f1.4 or 1.5 or 1.6 (max aperture at 24, 28, and 35mm equivalents), you can shoot in very limited light and come out OK. So, I remain conflicted. Particularly if the $450 price for the EPL5 body was just an illusion...

OK, enough talking to myself...

-Ray

An LX 8 -- same Panny concept but with the RX100 sensor -- would be a dream. The last LX I shot was the LX3, but the handling was outstanding, and it looks like it's only improved since then.
 
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