I bought a new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 camera online for $189.00 I don't want big or bulky camera to lug around on my trips so this Panasonic is the perfect size for me. But when I called them to ask when my camera would arrive they told me everything on the camera is written in Japanese including the owners manual, so I canceled my order. Gee funny they never mentioned that fact when I ordered it. So be careful of some of those online camera stores

Hey! Diane, Did you try here 多言語対応サーチエンジンの日本版。ウェブ、イメージおよびニュース検索 ? Just kidding put the shotgun down.

Ed

Just a thought...I wonder if you could get an English firmware upgrade for the camera??

As for the owners manual...it can be downloaded here . This link also shows one with a black body for $237.99.

well, not sure what the savings would've been, but if it was significant, perhaps just looking up the instruction manual online might be an option?

and no, the point of you being annoyed at a possible scam wasnt lost on me.

sorry for your trouble.

I hope this site will help people avoid headache producing stores:
http://www.resellerratings.com/rlist-s1-n2.html
read the reviews of the online store you might be doing business with. Thanks to this site I avoided a $300 mistake.

It would have been fine with only the manual in Japanese but every function on the camera is in Japanse. The camera normally costs from $249.00 to $349.00 ...Here I was so pleased thinking I got a super deal It's that old story if something looks too good to be true it usually is...grin

hhmph, here you had a perfectly good opportunity to both improve your photography AND learn a different language, and you let it slip through your fingers

tsk tsk tsk

:P SO kidding

I'd say that you are lucky that the seller was honest enough to actually tell you about the problem before you got the camera. Many would not have been so helpful. It is a shame that many of the online vendors for photographic supplies seems so sketchy. You really have to do you homework both on the product and the seller.

I hope you get 'sorted' Dianne...That camera is worth having...

I have the TZ3...the fore-runner..and carry it everywhere with me!....Amazing pictures, and so versatile too!..

Have you tried googling for best prices?...

www.closeoutgenius.com is where I bought the camera I just read in Ripoff Report, they've been accused of bait and switch tactics. First they tried to sell me all kinds of extras and I said no thanks...that's when they told me it was a Japanese camera. I read every word in the description about the camera with no mention of Japanese only.

www.closeoutgenius.com overall satisfaction lifetime Rating: 0.53 /10 thats point53 or one half a point out of possible ten. Sounds like a rip off joint to me. Your a smart girl Diane to just say no. After viewing their site, I have no doubt that they intentionally mislead you. Thanks for exposing this scam joint to everyone's attention.

This has been a problem for years, harkening back to the days of 35mm...the so-called Grey Market camera. The explosion of the Internet has only caused this to proliferate.

If you are careful good deals can be found. I paid 1/2 market value on ebay for my canon dlsr...but I also spent the extra money and insisted on the money being escrowed by ebay until the camera arrived and proved to be satisfactory. I couldn't have been more delighted.