Community poll forum: Which company makes the best digital cameras?

I have a Home Stay student from Thailand living with me. She takes pictures on outings, uploads them on her Lap Top, and Voile - in minutes send them to me and to her family back home. They are excellent quality.

I have been using Digital Cameras since they first came out. I own and have owned most of the brands out there including plenty of the ones I call "gadgets".

If you want ease of use and value you should look at Kodaks. They have the best integration of the hardware and software available today.

The best camera is like the best car, which one do you like?

The Kodak name has always been synonymous with camera quality. I never hesitated to purchase my DX3900, which I have relegated to my husband to enjoy. I have taken some fabulous photos with that camera and my docking station's software. I have now purchased the DX7590 and docking printer station. I have yet to learn all the possibilities which I will be able to achieve with such a digital genius. The feel of the camera is excellent and very important to take fabulous photos. The ease of use......I could go on and on but most of all, I am in love with my camera and expect to take award winning photos. Thank you for having the inteligence to take two steps forward, and none backwards. Keep up the good work! Joannah

I have been buying digital cameras for 10 years now, my first camera was a sony and just stopped working one day after only having it for 1 yr so then I switched to Kodak, I have purchased so many kodak cameras, printer, and accessories that it makes me sick- every single camera that I have had has had non stop problems, for instance, the lens just decides one day to stop working and it wont come out that has happened to 3 of my cameras and I just threw em out! Then I purchased 2 polaroid cameras straight out of the box they wouldn't even work! So these are 3 brands I will never ever buy- Kodas polaroid or sony.

I love my Sony's because I can use floppy disks instead of memory sticks or cards. The floppys allow me to keep the photos right on the disk and I don't have to stuff my computer with photos if I choose not to......and the cameras take great photos and provide good battery life....I own about 6 or 8 of them that I use in my real estate appraisal business. They take a beating and keep on flicking!!!!

JB

You listed some fine cameras in your report but We think you missed one very nice deal with qualities for the money you can only find in much more expensive cameras.
We are Talking about the Concord 6363Z with such features as 12X total zoom, higher than 1024X768 jpg picturs at 4 Megapixel quality AND full AVI movies with sound comparable with any more expensive camera on the market today. And with an additional SD memory card added you can increase your storage capacity for those wanted long movies or a whole lot more pics. And of course it has LCD on the back for easy menu choices and good quality picture previews.
We found some hidden nice features such as thumbnail viewing and slideshow viewing of pics, choice of backgrounds for your pics with the included software.
The best feature was the support. At first we had a minor problem retrieving the pictures from the camera since we prefer to try it ourselves rather than read the manuals which by the way are very through and pretty thick for this camera so we called the support line and got someone who easily showed us the easy way to get our photos but also followed up in a couple days to see how things were going and how we liked the camera with a few suggestions of getting quality pics from the camera.
Now the Best feature of all. We got this camera from Tigerdirect for and yes under $100.00 complete with it's first set of batteries, all the cables and mauals needed and a nice little soft pouch. These cameras were so popular just a month ago with Tigerdirect they had trouble keeping them in stock.
We rate this camera at or above Sony quality for hundreds less.

Rick Shover
A.T.A. DATA RESEARCH SYSTEMS

http://www.epinions.com/pr-Concord_Eye-Q_4363z_Digital_Camera/display_~full_specs

Sony is the best digital camera for three main reasons:

1) Traditional Sony quality and design.

2) Carl Zeiss T* lenses. Considered the best in the world. Most people sometimes tend to forget that the heart of any camera is the lens.

3) The 4 colour Super HAD CCD.

I like the options of fully auto, and fully manual. I do a lot of shooting in auto the switch to manual to get exactally what I want. The number of options available in manual are what I would expect from any quality 35mm camera.
Rich

Back in 1990, I bought something new on the market. It was a Panasonic digital camcorder vhs-c. It still works fine. They still sell them today. I now have a DMC-FZ20k still camera. Why would you not list Panasonic. Konica Minolta just caught up with them, but the year isn't over yet. Why would you leave Panasonic off your list?

I've had my FZ15 for about 7 months now...12x zoom, image stabilization, full control, the Leica lens, metal body (not a toy camera plastic one), great macro capability...easy to use, takes superb images, feels and looks like a "real" camera. I love it.

But everyone knows you have to have the "name" to take the best photos.

In time, Panasonic will have a name you can trust. Reputation is important, since you have to trust what the company is telling you to be true about their product. Trial and error is costly, and not the way to go.
Joannah

p.s. The best camera does not mean the best pictures, there is that human element which could make or break your efforts.

I know that floppies are "old news" but it is hard to beat the 10x optical zoom on the Sony Mavica. And they are easy to use in the classroom as well. All the bells and whistles are great, but to me, a great optical zoom is what sells me!

because i have a Nikon 3200. i love it the pics are excellent resolution wise then tere's the Nikon name what more can i say LIECA!!!!!! there is'nt any in digital

Frankly, I do not believe there is one BEST company. I've tried several including Olympus, Kodak, Nikon, Minolta, Sony, Konica (before the merger), and others. From experience there is no single best company.

I'm currently using Nikon and Minolta and like quality in both. I may get a Cannon next - I hear many good things. I will avoid Olympus because of past problems. I'd even consider Kodak although I have had business problems with their bloated corporate structure.

Nikon and Minolta both have good quality. Repairs may be expensive. I like my Minolta 7hi for the extended zoom lens and other convenient features. I notice that the big photo-rags seldom even mention Konica-Minolta. I suspect some of that is due to their advertising dollar income. Sony is a good or even great camera, but seldom is it a good dollar value from my past experiences - you pay a premium for Sony. YMMV on this point.

When I buy a camera it will be from a reliable company that has the most to offer in terms of operating functions at a reasonable [ fair, not cheapest ] price. What works for me may not work for someone else!

While there is seldom one BEST product or one BEST company there is usually one product that provides the most bang for the buck. It may not be the latest and greatest but cost:benefit ratio establishes what is best for me the consumer.

FWIW YMMV, Clif