Panasonic's recently announced offer of an extended warranty (three years) to customers purchasing one, or several of their products, from a selected group of outlets. Since Panasonic sells worldwide, and has customers on all five continents, I think the "offer" is a little discriminatory. What about European, Australian, South African, British and other loyal customers who have purchased Panasonic cameras/lenses in the past, and who are likely to continue purchasing them ? Let's hear from Panasonic: Dave
It's because they're screwing themselves to death. I was a Panasonic user. I have since switched to Olympus.
Pretty sure they give 3 years in Australia anyway (not that it matters, ACCC would eat them for breakfast if they didn't repair something which had manufacturing defects or design flaws under warranty... especially if it were marketed towards professionals).
Part of the confusion is that Panasonic does not sell their cameras with a World Wide Warranty, so the terms of the warranty differ depending on where you purchase it. The current 3 year warranty extension in the US is only being offered through their authorized Lumix Photo Specialty dealers. It comes down to just buying the camera from an authorized US dealer. Dave commented above that he felt it was discriminatory ... Not really, while the brand name may be global, Panasonic operates as separate companies in each global region. No different than Toyota (and many other companies) - their US warranty differs from other countries.
Thanks for your comments. I do understand the similarities between camera manufacturers and the motor industry. I have a son in Australia, maybe I'll ask him to purchase my G7 there !
