Panasonic reliability??

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (More info?)

I read all of the posts in the "comparitive results Canon S2 vs. Pan FZ5"
thread because I too am going to buy one of them. I noticed that no one
brought up the subject of construction and reliability. I'm leaning toward
the Panasonic, but everything I've bought with that brand name - vcr,
camcorder, TVs, etc - has been junk that quit working before its time.
However, my old film cameras - Pentax, Canon, and Kodak, and Minolta and
Sony Mavica digitals - have NEVER caused any problems. Can anyone attest
to
the reliability of Panasonic cameras? Or have they even been on the market
long enough to do so?


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Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (More info?)

Jack Carter <jcarter10@comcast.net> wrote:
> I read all of the posts in the "comparitive results Canon S2 vs. Pan FZ5"
> thread because I too am going to buy one of them. I noticed that no one
> brought up the subject of construction and reliability. I'm leaning toward
> the Panasonic, but everything I've bought with that brand name - vcr,
> camcorder, TVs, etc - has been junk that quit working before its time.
> However, my old film cameras - Pentax, Canon, and Kodak, and Minolta and
> Sony Mavica digitals - have NEVER caused any problems. Can anyone attest
> to
> the reliability of Panasonic cameras? Or have they even been on the market
> long enough to do so?

Interesting. It's a brand I've always had good experiences with - my
TV's a Panasonic Quintrix that I've had for about 5 years, I used to use
a Panaflat PF70 monitor for ages, I've had a Panasonic printer... and
now I have an FZ10. All of them are solidly built and went on for years,
and the FZ10 feels pretty much indestructible.

pete
--
pete@fenelon.com "There's no room for enigmas in built-up areas" - HMHB

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (More info?)

Jack Carter wrote:
> hear the positive replys. I think I may be in love with the
> FZ5. A friend is trying to persuade me to buy a Kodak 6490 and "save
> some serious money". If it had the stabilization feature, I might be
> interested because I've seen some good results from his 6490. And,
> except for the stabilization, they have very similar features.

I don't know if it applies to the 6490, but some Kodak cameras had a
reputation for using far too much JPEG compression and creating many
artefacts on an image as a result. Of course, as you say, just the lack
of stabilisation means the camera is not in the same league.

Cheers,
David

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (More info?)

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:34:03 -0500, Jack Carter wrote:

> I read all of the posts in the "comparitive results Canon S2 vs. Pan FZ5"
> thread because I too am going to buy one of them. I noticed that no one
> brought up the subject of construction and reliability. I'm leaning toward
> the Panasonic, but everything I've bought with that brand name - vcr,
> camcorder, TVs, etc - has been junk that quit working before its time.
> However, my old film cameras - Pentax, Canon, and Kodak, and Minolta and
> Sony Mavica digitals - have NEVER caused any problems. Can anyone attest
> to
> the reliability of Panasonic cameras? Or have they even been on the market
> long enough to do so?

I don't know about Panasonic cameras, but the other Panasonic products
I've owned have all been at least reasonably rugged and reliable; if I
were buying a new camera today, I wouldn't have any concerns about
Panasonic quality.

Having said that, let me add that I recently bought a Canon Powershot S2
IS and love it. Why did I choose the Canon? Simple: I was impressed with
previous Canon cameras, both film-type and digital. The S2 IS is a
wonderful camera for the money, one I'd recommend to anyone who doesn't
genuinely need a DSLR and is willing to spend a little time getting to
know its many features (you will need to RTFM, or at least refer to it).
My only complaint so far is the one so many have voiced -- I wish the lens
cap gripped the lens barrel a bit better, because it doesn't offer much
protection when it's dangling from its little strap.

--
Walter Luffman Medina, TN USA
An equal opportunity annoyer

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (More info?)

Still haven't bought an FZ5 yet, although I'm on the verge. (I've been
studying the Sony and Canon "rivals".) I spend FAR too much time
researching
things before buying!!


"Stuart Walker" <post.sw@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:S7NCe.77929$GC3.7200@fe03.usenetserver.com...
> I've had my FZ20 since September, not had any problems so far
>
> Stuart
>
>


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Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (More info?)

"Jack Carter" <jcarter10@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:KO-dnW_FT-B6s0XfRVn-vA@comcast.com...
> I read all of the posts in the "comparitive results Canon S2 vs. Pan FZ5"
> thread because I too am going to buy one of them. I noticed that no one
> brought up the subject of construction and reliability. I'm leaning toward
> the Panasonic, but everything I've bought with that brand name - vcr,
> camcorder, TVs, etc - has been junk that quit working before its time.
> However, my old film cameras - Pentax, Canon, and Kodak, and Minolta and
> Sony Mavica digitals - have NEVER caused any problems. Can anyone attest
> to
> the reliability of Panasonic cameras? Or have they even been on the market
> long enough to do so?
>
>

I have dropped my FZ-20 twice from head height and still working like a
charm.

Pansonic products are very consistent and QA is much higher than Sony.

I would definately buy another Panasonic digital camera

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (More info?)

Many thanx for the replies. I've decided to give Panasonic another chance.
My only dilemma now is whether to go with the FZ5 or 20.


"Jerry Park" <jprboss@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:JQZHe.1136$fJ1.576@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
>
> "endorphine" <thedirtyyellowbastard@hotmail> wrote in message
> news:6MydnVpg9Mo-rG3fRVn-ug@giganews.com...
>>
>> "Jack Carter" <jcarter10@comcast.net> wrote in message
>> news:KO-dnW_FT-B6s0XfRVn-vA@comcast.com...
>> > I read all of the posts in the "comparitive results Canon S2 vs. Pan
> FZ5"
>> > thread because I too am going to buy one of them. I noticed that no
one
>> > brought up the subject of construction and reliability. I'm leaning
> toward
>> > the Panasonic, but everything I've bought with that brand name - vcr,
>> > camcorder, TVs, etc - has been junk that quit working before its
time.
>> > However, my old film cameras - Pentax, Canon, and Kodak, and Minolta
>> > and
>> > Sony Mavica digitals - have NEVER caused any problems. Can anyone
>> > attest
>> > to
>> > the reliability of Panasonic cameras? Or have they even been on the
> market
>> > long enough to do so?
>> >
>> >
>>
>> I have dropped my FZ-20 twice from head height and still working like a
>> charm.
>>
>> Pansonic products are very consistent and QA is much higher than Sony.
>>
>> I would definately buy another Panasonic digital camera
>>
>>
> Having sold consumer electronics at one point in my life, I couldn't
agree
> more. Panasonic - or for that matter any of the other Matsushita group -
> manufactured products stood out with their ruggedness and reliability.
> Relatively speaking, we had far more issues with Canon and especially
Sony
> products that were over-priced and fragile to a fault. The clincher is
> that
> Sony also relabels generic components with "custom" Sony part numbers to
> overcharge for any repairs.
>
> Don't even get me started with Sony service, as that is nothing less
than
> a
> pure myth.
>
> Jerry
>
>


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