Is Samsung, Fuji and Kodak DSLR under-rated?

Most of the discussion in these forums are dominated by either Canon
or Nikon. Are other DSLR brands under rated? I tried a Fuji camera
and it has nice color balance and relatively sharp. The super CCD
sensor must be doing an excellent job. Some Samsung DSLR appears to be
happy with their DSLR camera ( GX-10,GX-1-L or GX-1S). They share
similar technology as Pentax camera. I knew Pentax and Olympus
cameras, and they made excellent cameras in the past. So, are they
actually under rated, which means a better bargain to buy? Or is Canon
and Nikon superior cameras? If you are not a professional, but just
like to get good quality and sharp photos, would these cameras be
sufficient?

 

Kodak isn't what it used to be.
Samsung was never really anything as far as cameras go.
Fuji I think are interesting but they don't do anything you can do with just
about any other dSLR shooting RAW. I think they are overrated by the ones
that buy them and over priced.
Canon and Nikon are too full of themselves and think they know best when it
comes to cameras and lenses. Canon hasn't had an innovative dSLR since the
original rebel and its saving grace wasn't that it was a fantastic camera,
it was just priced really well. The ones that have come after have been
reheated left overs and nothing real special.
Nikon doesn't know how to design a user friendly menu system. Neither Nikon
nor Canon offers in my opinion a very interesting selection of lenses and it
gets worse if you want to spend the outrageous prices for what few
stabilized lenses they have.
Pentax not thought of much any more. Has horrible customer relations. They
announced a ship month for the K10D, then had delays and didn't both to say
anything even when horrible rumors starting spreading as why the thing was
delayed. They too like Canon and Nikon make choices for consumers that are
arrogant and short sighted. Like choosing detail sharpening in the K10D
instead of edge sharpening or adding a edge sharpening option. Pentax of all
of the companies seem to do the worse job communicating and listening to
their customers needs and desires. However, they do have a very interesting
selection of lenses and some very good quality ones as well.

What all this means is outside of Kodak which has slid down the toilet over
the last couple of years and Samsung which really never has had or will have
a marketshare worth talking about all of the others have their own problems.
Oh, I forgot Sony, they haven't earned what they have, they bought it and as
far as I am concerned have not shown that they can handle what they bought.
The Sony Alpha is one of the most unimpressive dSLR's I have seen and they
have one the poorest records for releasing new lenses, they are high priced
(and not worth it) and they have one of the least interesting offering of
lenses.

Somebody!

 

My experience with Pentax's customer service has been very good. Last year
my *ist D, which I had bought when the camera first came out at the end of
September 2003, died after experiencing erratic electrical problems. Pentax
replaced it for nothing.

I have always received answers to my e-mail questions within 48 hours, and
they haven't been cookie-cutter answers, either.

Pentax listened to consumers' concerns about the memory card door on the
*ist D with the introduction of the K10D. And in the K10D, Pentax has
delivered an excellent camera. Weather-sealed, shake reduction -- for under
$900. How is that not responding to consumers' wishes?

 

Sounds like somebody is very poorly informed. Samsung also have several
D-SLRs that are full featured give great results and are keenly priced.

 

I have an Olympus E500, and as a non-pro user, I find it very adequate
indeed. The major criteria that most seem to worry about is the amount
of accessories you can get. Well, if you're not a 'pro', then it's quite
likely that you'll be on a budget anyway, so buying loads of accessories
is probably not a priority.

As it is, you can get enough bits for the other cameras. I can certainly
buy things like flash guns, viewer screen shields, remote controls, and
the Zuiko lenses are rather good too. You can even buy an adapter to fit
older lenses too (albeit without 'auto' features).

As far as image quality goes, I can't say there's any problem there too.
However, you may find that you need to optimize a given cameras settings
to get the best. For example, on my E500 I can set colour balance to
Vivid or Normal, and it seems to work better with the exposure set to
-0.3ev.

 

You listed Kodak in the subject line. Kodak no longer offer DSLRs.

 

Hi,

I agree. I tried the Fuji and liked the results of the tack on great
color shots - so much that I sold my excellent Canon equipment.


Best,

Conrad

 

And I liked the Canon so much better that I sold my excellent Nikon
equipment. I guess that's what makes markets.

Here is my subjective opinion of Nikon vs Canon:

Nikon build feels sturdier in my hand. Nikon autofocus is slightly better
in low light, but this is rarely an issue for me. Nikon flash system is
more sophisticated, but I have not tried the 580EX-II yet. Canon is
heavier, but has a full-frame sensor and I like wide-angle shots. Canon
renders skin tones that look better to my eye. In the end, it came down to
the best rendition of human faces, and I chose Canon.

Ray

 

I have been using one *ist D body since shortly after they came out,
bought a used one last year, and use both extensively in my work. I've
never had occasion to use Pentax customer service, except to check on
an item's availability (speedy response, even if negative), but so far
I've had no problems with either camera. I've generally been delighted
with the results they give me, too. As my skills improve, those
results improve. There's not much more to ask for in a camera, IMO,
when you start with great durability and easy handling. Sure, there
are things I'd change, and if it made economic sense, I'd go for a
K10D, but it doesn't at the moment, so I won't. There MAY be a K12D in
the near future. I'll hold out for that or something similar.

 

I had several reasons for wanting other than a dslr - among them the
amount of time I spend hiking, showshoeing, bicycling in areas where it's
nice to have a big zoom, and not wanting to add any more weight than
necessary. I checked a number of EVF (Electronic ViewFinder) cameras with
long zoom lenses. Most of them have about a 110k EVF. The exception was
the Kodak series with about 220K EVF - I found that I liked the higher
resolution VERY MUCH. I could see myself cursing every time I used a
camera with the blocky undersampled viewfinder. I settled on a Kodak P850
which I purchased (refurb) from the Kodak online store for $250. It has a
12x zoom, IS, full manual mode, and saves files as jpeg, tiff, or raw. I'm
quite pleased. I may purchase a dslr in the future, but plan to keep using
the Kodak in the great outdoors.

 

Samsung is shit. I bought a video camera with a lot of crap like a photo SD
card, but the quality was so poor you just wanna cry. I changed it for a
Canon MV900 instead and the pictures are sharp and brilliant. It started as
a crappy Korean company, like others LG for example, but instead of making
better products like LG with their XD LCD tv´s, Samsung continues to sell to
low end users with very thick eye glasses....

 

Getting service is one thing. Keeping your customers or potential customers
informed and listening to their complaints about your products and trying to
do something about them is another. So far the 5 or 6 complaints I have had
they have told me an I quote "Yes, we are aware of the problem, however we
have no plans to fix it."

Somebody!

 

Your criticism of Samsung may be fair when applied to the company's
compact digital cameras (I would tend to agree!) but it is not at all
fair when applied to Samsung DSLRs.

That's because Samsung DSLRs are made by Pentax and are, for all
practical purposes, identical to Pentax DSLRs. Even the Samsung lenses
are identical to Pentax lenses, except that they are branded (somewhat
bizarrely) "Schneider-Kreuznach".

 

OK, I was reverring to video camera´s. The lenses are terrible and the
electronics are not better I think.
If it´s Pentax, it should be better. I had a few Pentax foto (film) camera´s
that were very close if not the same quality as Nikon or Canon.

Being Dutch-USA and speaking German, I would love to hear you say
"Schneider-Kreuznach" ;-))) LOL

 

You are too kind!

I would argue that Pentax make some lenses whose optical qualities are
still beyond Nikon's and Canon's comparable equivalents.

I have no problem with it. You would not wince *too* much!

;-)

 

Kodak don't make DSLRs.
Mike.

 

And lets not forget the comparatively inexpensive Pentax K10D beat out
the offerings of Canon, Nikon, and every other manufacturer, to win
all three of the highest camera awards this year...

.... the "Camera Grand Prix 2007" by the Camera Journal Press Club in
Japan (CJPC).

.... the "EISA European Camera of the Year 2007-2008" from the European
Imaging & Sound Association.

.... the "Best DSLR Expert in Europe 2007" award from the Technical
Image Press Association (TIPA).

The Camera Grand Prix is considered one of the most prestigious camera
awards in Japan. It's an annual event sponsored by the Camera Journal
Press Club (CJPC), a group of photography writers from Japan's 11
leading photo and camera magazines. The winner is decided by a
49-member selection panel. The Pentax K10D prevailed over 158 other
new products.

The European Imaging & Sound Association (EISA), comprising nearly 50
leading consumer electronics magazines from 18 European countries,
selects the most ourstanding products from all introduced in Europe
each year. The Pentax K10D won top honors in the camera category.

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) consists of editors and
technical directors of the top 31 photo and imaging magazines in 12
European countries. TIPA annually selects the most distinguished
products from all those introduced to the European market. The Pentax
K10D won the "Best D-SLR Expert in Europe" category.

Dwight Stewart