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Your Panasonic Trouble-Free?

Like so many others (see Forum!) we're burned by Sony and looking to buy something that isn't perpetually malfunctioning in one idiotic way or another. Are Panasonic users getting more "use" out of their cameras? Thanks!

tomatozilla
Sun, 29 Apr 2007 15:23:35 -0700

Like most products these days it's not the manufacturer but the product itself. These are all big multinationals that outsource and create products of various qualities�. And this is just my own opinion; everyone has one. These issues also seem to matter less as a product becomes a commodity item to the point that performance wise it makes nearly no difference what you buy.

Sony makes some great stuff but they also put out quite a lot of crap... but this applies to everyone. Sony does seem to be the most inconsistent in recent years. I'm a big Panasonic fan for video and a Canon fan for digital still cams. But then again I'm biased. We have four Panasonic DV cameras within our family which are now badly outdated however they work as well as the day they were purchased. BUT one of the later generation ones in the same series has a bad pixel in the CCD; I've never been happy with its overall construction but it DOES have a few more features. I also like JVC products; they have always seemed behind the curve performance wise but tend to be as reliable as Panasonic. (I always liked JVC VCR's). Among professional videographers Panasonic is generally felt to be consistently reliable especially in more recent years.

My general feeling is that "bleeding edge" products tend to be the best physically engineered. I like Japanese manufactured products which the newest stuff usually is. The Japan market ALWAYS has the newest and best engineered electronics; they are not as price sensitive. As a culture they generally value quality above price. I look for slightly outdated products that are heavily discounted but were once the cutting edge. The downside is that the usability and the firmware tend not to be as great as the newer generations� especially new products put out at LOW price points�.. the “wal-mart” syndrome I like to call it. “OK, we have something nice that works well but let's make it cheaper and make it look more flashy�.. and it needs to be high gloss black”. (NEVER buy anything you expect the last at wal-mart. Maybe their good if you want to buy a new one next year.) It's cliché but the physical feel of a product seems to say a lot about its quality. Does it seem heavy for its size or “hollow”? How is the construction; Do all the parts and pieces seem to fit together well? Last of all do your homework. Read as many reviews as you can but note that reviewers tend to value performance and usability over durability and build quality. Compare the technical specifications. Download and read the PDF manuals which are nearly always posted online.

Menomenation
Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:49:16 +0000

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