Quality Control (or lack thereof)

[Nomad57]

I've been looking at a point and shoot camera, reading the magazine reviews, which are positive. I've also read some of the user reviews, which are mostly positive, (about 75 percent, or so), but when I read some of the negative reviews, it seems that some people are having some real serious problems with the camera. Batteries seem to come up for criticism quite a bit. It seems that quality control is slipping, at least with this manufacturer, (and, I wouldn't be surprised if it were happening at others, as well).

Is there a manufacturer of point and shoots that isn't having quality control problems? I didn't mention the brand of camera, as I didn't want to start a firestorm of controversy.

Nomad

 

[CdTSnap]

Go Canon or Nikon and you should be fine.

 

[hamlet]

The thing comes with a warranty for a reason.

 

[usayit]

They all do….. warranty. Most electronic failures due to defect will occur sooner than later.

 

[KmH]

Be sure and factor in that a lot of people writing those reviews read little or none of the users manual, and if they do RTFM are illiterate when it comes to technology and only understand a small fraction of what they do read.

 

[Nomad57]

Reply to CdTSnap: Perhaps I ought to have identified the camera. It IS a Canon, the ELPH 330 HS. I am thinking perhaps Nikon next time. Most of the negative comments seem to revolve around battery issues, such as the camera saying, "Charge Battery" when it is fully charged. Users report removing the battery, then putting it back in, and everything is fine, but by then they've missed the shot they wanted to take. Regards, Nomad

 

[Nomad57]

The thing comes with a warranty for a reason.

A couple of the complaints referred specifically to the "warranty". One user complained that the standard repair/replacement under warranty was 82 percent of the camera cost. Another user complained that his unit was replaced under warranty with a refurb, which carried only a 30 day warranty. Sure enough, 60 days later... Regards, Nomad

 

[Nomad57]

Be sure and factor in that a lot of people writing those reviews read little or none of the users manual, and if they do RTFM are illiterate when it comes to technology and only understand a small fraction of what they do read.

I can't quarrel with that. I have a habit of downloading and going through the manual before I even think about buying a camera. I found something in the manual for the ELPH 330 HS I was looking at that didn't make sense (the manual says that when you record a movie, the recording stops after ten minutes due to the 4 GB recording limit, whether recording in [1920] or [1280]. This didn't make sense to me. I phoned Canon Canada, asking if this was a misprint, and was told it wasn't. I e-mailed Canon U.S., and they replied with an answer that didn't sound right either. They basically gave me the recording times from the manual, saying it was for a 4 GB memory card, when those figures are for an 8 GB card. I still don't understand how a 4 GB buffer can be filled in 10 minutes, whether recording in [1920] or [1280]. There are only half as many pixels per frame in [1280]. Regards, Nomad