New Study: Panasonic the most reliable manufacturer of Cameras

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dbnnet

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Digital Camera Failure Rates:

Panasonic found to be the most reliable manufacturer of Cameras

http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/Camera_failure_study.pdf

SquareTrade analyzed three year failure rates for over 60,000 new Digital Cameras:

"Of the brands we examined, Panasonic is the clear leader in digital camera reliability.
They are the only manufacturer to have less than a 6% failure rate for sub-$300 models,
and they achieved a less than 2% failure rate for $300-500 models, much better than the
other brands we looked at. This is quite impressive as it beats even the average reliability of DSLRs”

“Canon’s Premium ($300-$500) Point-and-shoot cameras were the least reliable amongst the 5 brands
and showed little improvement over the reliability of their value cameras (6.2% malfunction
rate for Premium and 6.4% for Value cameras)”.
 
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My experience is (was) that panasonic made the noisiest sensors out there. I have no idea why leica went with them...
 
Panasonic manufacturers Leica's branded digital point and shoot cameras.
 
My first digital camera was a Panasanic 3 megapixel. Since then 5 Canon P&S's and recently a Canon DSLR. Zero problems on any of them.

/touch wood
 
Where is the source data? While the total sample is big, we don't know how big the respective brands samples are.
SquareTrade analyzed three year failure rates for over 60,000 new Digital Cameras covered by SquareTrade Care Plans.
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But what if one of the manufacturers offered an extended manufacturer's warranty? i.e. what if Panasonic offered a two year warranty? Then owners wouldn't claim on their SquareTrade insurance.

This kind of research, although it means something to the actuaries at SquareTrade, is not relevant to the man in the street without more data.
 
Panasonic Premium P&S ($300-$500): 1.9% malfunction rate.
Canon/Nikon DSLR (+$500): 4% malfunction rate

Pretty much says it all if you ask me: P&S as well as DSLR
 
To my eyes (and ears), Panasonic's "Quest For Zero-Defect" has always come at the cost of quality. The Lumix LX3 seem to have bucked that trend, but it'll be a long time before I put money in any Panasonic products again.
 
dbnnet said:
Panasonic Premium P&S ($300-$500): 1.9% malfunction rate.
Canon/Nikon DSLR (+$500): 4% malfunction rate

Pretty much says it all if you ask me: P&S as well as DSLR
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Digital SLRs
Now some readers are undoubtedly wondering, who makes the most reliable DSLR camera? When you are about to drop close to $1000 on a nice camera that you hope to have for years to come, it certainly begs the question. All we can say at this point is that there is no significant difference between Nikon and Canon’s reliability in the $500+ item price range; they both have about a 4% failure rate at the 2 year mark. At this time we do not have a large enough sample to say anything about the reliability of other DSLR manufacturers.
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Sorry where is Panasonic now??? They make good P&S cameras but where are their DSLRs??? That's all I was pointing out.
 
MadMailMan said:
Sorry where is Panasonic now???
Click to expand...

With falling DSLR prices, Panasonic moved on to the far more profitable Micro 4/3 System. In this they are the market leader.
Panasonic with its purchase of Sanyo is now Japans largest electronic company, larger than Sony or Canon's Electronic business.
That's pretty impressive if you ask me. They clearly have strategy that's working for them!
 
dbnnet said:
With falling DSLR prices, Panasonic moved on to the far more profitable Micro 4/3 System. In this they are the market leader.
Panasonic with its purchase of Sanyo is now Japans largest electronic company, larger than Sony or Canon's Electronic business.
That's pretty impressive if you ask me. They clearly have strategy that's working for them!
Click to expand...
Tata is big in the auto industry, so what?
MadMailMan said:
They make good P&S cameras but where are their DSLRs???
Click to expand...
Now answer my question.

My point is just because they are good in the P&S range doesn't make them the "best" digital camera maker. Just like VW has the Polo as WCOTY but that doesn't mean they produce the best sports car, or bus or truck for that matter.
 
MadMailMan said:
Now answer my question.
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I have no idea what your question is - But clearly you are a brand fanboi with a problem
hearing about the fact that Panasonic is able to manufacture a more reliable camera than Nikon or Canon.
Sorry that this reality eats you up! I just stated the facts of that study..... take it or leave it!!!!!!!
 
dbnnet said:
I have no idea what your question is - But clearly you are a brand fanboi with a problem
hearing about the fact that Panasonic is able to manufacture a more reliable camera than Nikon or Canon.
Sorry that this reality eats you up! I just stated the facts of that study..... take it or leave it!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Quite right about the brand preference. My Lumix TZ6 has pride of place when it comes to point and shoots but I wouldn't touch one of their DSLRs. Saying Panasonic make the best digital cameras is very much a sweaping statement and anybody who claims this as "fact" is either clueless or stupid. Or mabe both. Where are the facts about bridge cameras or DSLRs? In fact maybe you would beleive that Yamaha make the most reliable road going vehicles purely because thay make the most reliable 50cc motor cycles. Now do you see the problem with your statement?

Panasonic Premium P&S ($300-$500): 1.9% malfunction rate.
Canon/Nikon DSLR (+$500): 4% malfunction rate

Pretty much says it all if you ask me: P&S as well as DSLR
Click to expand...

Even the "study" seperates them and puts in the provisor that there isn't enough data on DSLRs.
 
dbnnet said:
I have no idea what your question is - But clearly you are a brand fanboi with a problem
hearing about the fact that Panasonic is able to manufacture a more reliable camera than Nikon or Canon.
Sorry that this reality eats you up! I just stated the facts of that study..... take it or leave it!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
You're the fanboi in this thread...
 
Been using Canon SLR's, DSLR's, and P&S for over 20 years and more recently a couple of Nikon's and not a single mechanical or electronic problem with any of them.
 
As I said, take it or leave it - The study was done, and those were their results.... sorry that it upsets you.
Their 60 000 sample is enough for me to take note: You can ignore it .... please do!
 
dbnnet said:
As I said, take it or leave it - The study was done, and those were their results.... sorry that it upsets you.
Their 60 000 sample is enough for me to take note: You can ignore it .... please do!
Click to expand...

Maybe you should learn to read?

Cameras over $500, nearly all of which were DSLRs, were the most reliable, with only 4% malfunctioning over two years.
Click to expand...

Point‐and‐shoots under $300: Panasonic most reliable
Click to expand...

At this time we do not have a large enough sample to say anything about the reliability of other DSLR manufacturers.
Click to expand...

Just quoting the "facts" in what you posted. Take it or leave it.
 
I can read - But you only read what you want to, and totally ignored that actual survey statistics itself:

Here it is in simple English for you (Yahoo News) :
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_wguy/20100331/tc_ytech_wguy/ytech_wguy_tc1389

The survey failure rates state:
The Top tier Panasonic cameras : 1.9%
The Top tier DSLR : 4%

And yes.... I have read: Reliabiliy of OTHER DSLR means non Canon/Nikon!
".... Nikon and Canon’s reliability in the $500+ item price range; they both have about a 4% failure rate at the 2 year mark".

So basically they have more than twice the failure rate vs Panasonic's top tier.
 
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