The Panasonic Lumix GH6 was always going to be hot news and a wildly popular upgrade for MFT filmmakers, yet according to a statement issued by Panasonic Japan, the demand has exceeded expectations and there may be delays to meeting orders.
It’s not the first time, and it’s not just Panasonic. Just about every maker, from Sony to Nikon, from Canon to Fujifilm, has announced products that are subsequently delayed – sometimes for real reasons like chip shortages, but often because ‘demand has exceeded expectations’.
Lumix GH6 shipping dates
The Panasonic Lumix GH6 situation sounded particularly muddled so we checked directly with the Panasonic US and UK divisions. The Panasonic Japan advisory notice quotes an official launch date of March 25th, which is later than that in other territories, but this now appears to apply solely to the Japanese domestic market. US retailers like B&H and Adorama are accepting pre-orders against an expected delivery date of March 15.
This confusion over stock availability and supply an issue we’ve seen already around the Ricoh brand, which has swapped to digital-only sales in Japan but stays with regular distribution in the US. The point here is that announcements made by the Japanese divisions of camera companies do not necessarily reflect a global strategy and are just as likely to be referring simply to the Japanese domestic market.
In summary, Panasonic UK has confirmed to us that you can get the GH6 right now in the UK, and Panasonic US has confirmed the shipping date of March 15 being quoted by US retailers.
• Pre-order the Panasonic Lumix GH6 at B&H
• Pre-order the Panasonic Lumix GH6 at Adorama
• Buy the Panasonic Lumix GH6 at Wex
• Buy the Panasonic Lumix GH6 at Park Cameras
