The Worst Digital Cameras Ever

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The Worst Digital Cameras Ever
An unbiased look at the worst digital cameras ever made, where they went wrong, and how consumers can avoid such products in the future.

By Michael Brady,

Sometimes, they're pleasing, when it's clear that a person has found the perfect camera for them, and is happy enough to contribute a five-star review and recommend it to others. Occasionally, they're extremely entertaining, like the first-person narrative of how a faulty camcorder spoiled the documentation of a user's vasectomy . Every once in a while, they are loaded with colorful expletives that, no matter how justified they may be, I am unfortunately forced to censor. This is a family site, people!

In the midst of all these different types of reviews, however, there's one that I always make a special note of: "I will never buy from this manufacturer again." Zelda, who had a bad experience with a Nikon 3200 will never buy from Nikon again. William, whose Sony M1 wouldn't recognize his memory card will never buy Sony again. A busted LCD convinced Patrick never to trust Fuji, while the Kodak LS443 was so terrible it not only convinced Van to avoid Kodak, but to "spread the word about their poor products and customer support." I could go on, but the gist of it is, every single manufacturer, from the vaunted Canon to the lowly Pentax, has created a camera that completely disillusions consumers to the point of swearing off the entire brand. There are literally hundreds of these reviews, and sometimes I wonder if eventually, enough people will have sworn off enough brands to completely undermine the digital camera market.

This drastic methodology is flawed, however. Because of his solitary bad experience, William is missing out on the Sony H5, a camera that has inspired so much gushing praise, it's almost embarrassing. Van's vow of avoidance is keeping him from discovering the Kodak V610, one of the last year's most interesting and highly reviewed cameras. If you were to read through every negative, "never buy from this manufacturer" review, you'd get the impression that there weren't any digital cameras worth picking up at all. We know that's not the case, and so do plenty of users, but some people are still stumbling on land mines in their search for a good camera. While it's easy to get upset, we urge spurned users not to write off an entire brand. Make a fuss to customer service and by all means, voice your extreme displeasure, but realize that sometimes a camera is just a dud. If you really want to find the right one for you, you'll examine them carefully on a camera by camera basis.

Now, we understand that we're leaving out legions of low-quality no-name cameras that are, almost certainly, extremely terrible cameras. There's no sense in beating up on obviously bad cameras like the Saitek Credit Card Digital Camera or a Concord Eye-Q. The cameras you'll find are all from manufacturers who should have known better, and from whom a higher standard of quality is expected. At best, they are examples of neglect and a lack of thoughtfulness. At worst, they are mendacious con-jobs taking advantage of trusting consumers. We at Digital Camera HQ hope that readers are able to see where these cameras went so horribly wrong and how those who bought them were mislead or confused, so as to avoid the same fate.

to be continued...