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A new report in the reliability of digital cameras has thrown up some interesting data – not least that Panasonic models tend to outshine the competition in both cheaper and more expensive categories.
SquareTrade, a US based warranties specialist, analyised three-year failure rates for over 60,000 new digital cameras covered by its Care Plans.
Highlights of the study include:
- On average, 10.7 per cent of digital cameras fail within two years, and 15.6 per cent are projected to fail within three years
- Accidents acount for slightly less than 40 per cent of camera failures
- More expensive cameras tend to be more reliable than cheaper models;
- For point-and-shoot cameras under $300, Panasonic cameras had the lowest two-year malfunction rates (5.3 per cent) and Polaroid and Casio had the highest malfunction rates (11.9 per cent and 13.0 per cent).
- For DSLR cameras, Nikon and Canon were equally reliable
The report sums up: “When breaking apart failure rates by price range, we do see that less expensive cameras fail more often than their more expensive counterparts. Above $300 the reliability of cameras improved significantly.
“Of the brands we examined, Panasonic is the clear leader in digital camera reliability. They are the only manufacturer to have less than a six per cent failure rate for sub-$300 models, and they achieved a less than two per cent failure rate for $300-500 models, much better than the other brands we looked at.”
The full report can be found here.
