In my line of work, I’ve come across almost every brand of digital cameras out there. So I figured I would post some information on each brand based on my experience. Most of the brands work fine as far as taking high quality pictures. My approach to writing recommendations is more based on my experience with simply getting the average novice user to be able to take pictures and use the thing with their computer. If you’re a professional photographer that will be taking artsy, high quality pictures of a chair’s shadow, this article is probably not for you.

Sony

My top recommendation! I own a DSC-55 model and it’s worked just fine for years even after I’ve abused it by dropping it on the ground and into a puddle once. Almost any of the Sony cameras are a safe bet and they consistently rank high in Consumer Reports magazine.

Nikon

Nikon’s don’t tend to take very good photos. They also take forever to take a picture when you press the button. Generally slow, overpriced, and lacking in features.

Kodak

I can’t stress how terrible Kodak cameras are. The main reason is the EasyShare software you have to install to use the darn thing. All of the Kodak cameras I have seen don’t show up as a drive letter in Windows. This leaves many third party software programs unable to grab photos directly off of the camera. If anybody buys a Kodak, I tell them to take it back to the store and get another brand… any other brand.

Olympus

This brand is for the photographer that is serious about taking pictures. You can usually zoom way in using these models and take very high quality photos if you know how to manually work a camera. Automatic features are lacking. They are usually more expensive than other brands.

Samsung

Terrible all around.  Samsung cameras usually lack the quality and features other cameras have. Every model I’ve used takes forever to take the photo when you push the button. On one occasion, I had a user that said the camera just cut off one day and just stopped working. I don’t tend to like Samsung as a brand for anything because I’ve owned a radio and phone by them and both were crap.

Canon

Canon’s are a nice, average camera that will get the job done. Some of the models don’t use SD or SDHC memory cards though. If you can find one that does though such as the Canon EOS Rebel XSi, or don’t mind going without the flexibility of SD cards, pick one up.

Other notes:

I’ve seen a couple of Panasonic users with no complaints. I haven’t seen any Fujifilm, Pentax or Leica cameras at all.