Question about brand status

[mianileng]

I'm posting this with some trepidation. It's not my
intention to start any Brand A vs. Brand B debate,
which I'm sure the regulars are tired of. What I'm
asking for is mature and objective explanation of the
overall situation rather than personal preferences.
Here goes -

(I neglected my former keen interest in photography for
more than two decades and have only very recently gone
digital. Which means that I'm very very rusty about
photography and the camera business, and what I know
about digicams is what I've collected during the past
few months).

Most of the local self-styled experts and enthusiasts
seem to think that, for anyone who cares at all about the
kind of camera he owns - from entry-level P&S to DSLRs,
there's only one brand : Nikon. They either laugh
scornfully, sniff disdainfully or smile tolerantly at
any mention of other brands. They think Sony and
Panasonic are amateurs, that Olympus, Fuji and Kodak
are for snapshooters who don't know or care about quality.
I don't have anything specific to quote on what they say
about Canon or Minolta, but the general idea is that
anything other than Nikon is second-rate. Comments ?

[Tony Cooper]

As a person who opens this newsgroup and scans all the subject lines
(and opens only the messages with a subject that interests me), I'd
have to say that Canon is the most popular brand with posters in this
newsgroup.

I base that only on subject lines that contain the brand name of a
camera.

Olympus might be second. Nikon would be down the list quite a bit
using *only* this means of combannedbannedbannedbannedbannedon of popularity.

[Justus]

That is (as I'm sure you will agree) a faulty approach. It might be
because Canon causes more problems than other brands (unlikely), or
because Canon has a policy of flooding the market with camera types. They
seem to bring out a new camera every month or so.

JL

[David J Taylor]

Nikon produce some very good cameras, as do Canon. I have only owned
Nikon of those two brands, though.

In the past, Kodak had a reputation for using a poor JPEG compression
algorithm which spoiled the pictures.

Panasonic produce some excellent cameras, good value for money, and many
include both Leica lenses and the excellent Panasonic image-stabilisation
system. I would rate them as being as worthy of consideration as the
Nikon or Canon brands.

There is a vast range of camera types, though, with many different
options, and it would probably be better to make your choice based on the
specific photographic needs you have, and how the cameras actually feel in
your hands. Is the menu system OK for you?

For example - when I wanted a wide-angle camera, I went for the Nikon 8400
with its 24mm lens. Great for interiors and groups. When I wanted a
light telephoto camera, I went for the Panasonic FZ5, rather than the
Nikon 8800. I find no difficulty having both cameras in my gadget bag and
switching between them according to the needs of the shot. I have no wish
or need for a DSLR.

The major limit of the picture quality is the person behind the lens!