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2012Which DSLR camera brand is the best?
J.D. Power and Associates, a company best known for their car satisfaction surveys, have recently published a buyer satisfaction comparison for the major DSLR manufacturers. In the car world we know that Japanese cars tend to be the most reliable/satisfying, but in the camera world we deal almost exclusively with Japanese brands – so who is going to win?
Since bars speak louder than words, I'll skip to the results:*Note that the term "DSLR" excludes mirrorless and compact cameras. Olympus and Panasonic are leaders in mirrorless system cameras, at the expense of their DSLR product lines.
While not saying which camera will be be best for you, it does show how satisfied people were after their purchase. Personally I was surprised at Pentax’s high and Panasonic’s low scores.
It is interesting to compare the results to current market share. Up-to-date figures are hard to find, but it goes something like this:
*Note that the term "DSLR" excludes mirrorless and compact cameras. Olympus and Panasonic are leaders in mirrorless system cameras, at the expense of their DSLR product lines.
What we see is that the cameras with the largest market share are not the ones to leave customers the most satisfied. Then again, this doesn’t prove anything in itself. I doubt whether an unsatisfied owner of a Canon or Nikon will suddenly become satisfied if you swap his camera for a Pentax. Maybe people who buy Pentaxes are just easier to please. Or maybe Pentax cameras are indeed a lot better than their brand image.
In the end the continued and consistent success of Canon and Nikon probably depends not on customer satisfaction alone, but because they combine all of these attributes:
- They build very good cameras,
- they have deep product lines,
- they excel at marketing,
- they play it safe and
- they have strong brand reputations.
Richard
I own and use both Nikon and Pentax dslrs: Nikon for flash accuracy and Pentax for most everything else. Both brands are very good. I particularly like the external WB, ISO, Flash, self-timer and INFO Buttons, present even on the humble entry-level KX. I like the easy ‘delete’ function on Nikons, as well as the self-timer function, AF assist light, and flash accuracy, even if my D5000 auto iso performance with flash is poor compared to my D40.
Jerry Suppan
It’s brand concsciousness. If it’s a Canon or a Nikon, then it ‘must’ be good because they are the ‘professionals’. Go to any wedding venue in Japan and you will see testimony to this. They (the photographers) will always be touting Nikon and Canon cameras and be sure they are wearing the appropriately advertised and labelled ‘Nikon’ and ‘Canon’ carrying straps to make it blatantly obvious to the attendees at a wedding.
I used to use Canon (KISS) quite a while back. The big change factor for me was when it became a given that DSLRs, SLTs, etc., all became video-capable all of a sudden. That threw in a new factor for me. Video capability, any time, any where, I treat just as equally as taking photographs. As such, Nikons and Canons had to go. The fundamental reason was the flippety-floppety mirror systems, the prism system etc, still embedded in Canon and Nikon cameras. Mirrorless is where it is headed, and both brands are finally waking up to the fact and giving a nod of recognition to the mirrorless era. When it comes to video production within these camera, the nod of approval goes to both Sony and Panasonic. Canon and Nikon’s initial offerings in the mirrorless market (J1 and J2 I think for Nikon) are a joke for the most part.
Looking to buy my first DSLR - Page 3
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