SquareTrade Warranty Blog

Digital Camera Failure Rates: Which manufacturers are most reliable?

Share

Are you in the market for a digital camera? In an effort to keep consumers more informed about the reliability of the products they buy, we periodically publish the results of our research on repair rates. (You may recall our previous studies on Laptops, Game Consoles, Smart Phones, etc.) Our analytics team just completed another extensive study on failure rates, turning their attention to data collected on over 60,000 digital cameras purchased since 2006.

The results are in! So, which models are most reliable? Highlights are below but be sure to check out the full study.

On average, 10.7% of digital cameras fail within two years, and 15.6% are projected to fail within three years. Accidents account for slightly less than 40% of camera failures More expensive cameras are more reliable than less expensive models, with cameras over $300 being significantly more reliable than under $300. For Point-and-shoot cameras under $300, Panasonic cameras had the lowest 2 year malfunction rates (5.3%), and Polaroid and Casio had the highest malfunction rates (11.9% and 13.0%). For DSLR Cameras, Nikon and Canon were equally reliable.

The study found that 11 percent of digital cameras fail in the first two years of ownership. Of these failures, 6.6 percent come from malfunctions while another 4.1 percent experience damage due to accidents. When the data from the study is projected out three years, 15.6 percent of digital cameras are expected to experience some sort of failure – either accidental or a malfunction.

Vote & Invite Friends to Enter Drawing for a FREE SquareTrade Warranty!

Hey fans! On the lookout for one of our PICK'EM Bonus Round Announcements? You're in luck -- Bonus Round #6 is here!

It's no secret that SquareTrade fans are savvy consumers. (After all, you know how to avoid those pushy, pricey warranties!) So, let's see if you can also choose the winning team when it comes to this year's NCAA Tournament!

Vote & invite your friends to enter our drawing for a FREE SquareTrade Warranty!

• Facebook fans, here's how to enter: ➨ Click here to vote in this facebook poll. Post the poll on your wall for your friends to join in on the fun!
  

• One of our awesome Twitter followers?: ❶ Vote in the poll below, then ❷ tweet an invite to your friends to vote too! 

So, how will we pick the winners? 

We use Random.org to keep our drawing square and fair.

• On Facebook: We'll pick a winner from the list of facebook voters.
• On Twitter: We'll pick a winner from all the public tweets that include the link " http://bit.ly/EnterRound6 "  and mention @SquareTrade.

Bracket Broken or Busted? You Can Still Win With SquareTrade!

This year's tournament upsets left most brackets busted or just barely holding on by a string of hope before we even got down to the Elite Eight. Of course, these Cinderella stories are exactly why many say they love the Tourney (myself included)!

 
Over the weekend, our own PICK'EM Bracket Pool standings got another major shuffle with the Kentucky and Kansas St. losses. This left even more fans wishing SquareTrade offered warranties on basketball brackets.

Fortunately, whether you're a basketball fan or not, we've still got plenty of chances for you to win in our daily PICK'EM Bonus Rounds! We'll continue giving away a FREE SquareTrade Warranty every day until April 5th.

So, how do you enter these Bonus Rounds? Just follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and be on the lookout for Bonus Round Alerts.

Previous rounds involved answering simple trivia or posting a photo caption. (If you're wondering about the photo to the right, you should click  to check out the hilarity that ensued that round!)

What's next and who will win?

With just two games to go before the final Big Dance, you've got a one in four chance of picking which team will ultimately take it all. So, who will it be? That's exactly what we asked in PICK'EM Bonus Round #6!

Until the winning team is declared, we'll continue giving away a FREE SquareTrade Warranty everyday on Facebook and Twitter! Join the madness now:

Follow us on Twitter

Become a Fan on Facebook

Calling all SquareTrade Fans! Do you Yelp?

I just came across this great thread on Yelp!  Wanted to share with you and see if anyone else wanted to add their two cents.

Nycole H. asked fellow yelpers to help her out:

"Has anyone ever used Squaretrade Warranties? I am buying a laptop from MicroCenter and I don't know if I should go with their warranty which is $400 or squaretrades which is $130 for the same service. A tech guy at my job said squaretrade was good. Has anyone used it??" 

A few fellow Yelpers and SquareTrade fans (thanks guys!!!) have already jumped in:

"squaretrade is very reputable, and is very well known on the interwebs..."

"their warranties for some things are actually better than the same/similar from the manufacturer.  particularly their iphone extended warranty.... it covers accidental breakage whereas applecare does not." -  Dane K. of Chicago, IL

If you're a yelper, I'm sure Nycole would appreciate it if you chimed in about your SquareTrade experiences too!

PICK'EM Bonus Rounds: Enter Daily on Facebook and Twitter to Win!

Bonus Rounds: It's not too late to join the madness! ➨ Join us on Facebook or Twitter to win a FREE WARRANTY EVERYDAY from Today to April 5th. Check back daily for your chance to win! Follow us on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Your answers could score you a FREE SquareTrade Warranty! ➨ CHALLENGE: Invite your friends and fellow basketball fans: Tweet a challenge OR Challenge your facebook friends!

See Official Contest Page for Rules & Guidelines

Starting Today - Enter SquareTrade PICK'EM and WIN an Apple iPad!

Share this with a friend:

See http://www.squaretrade.com/pickem for official rules and details. No purchase necessary to enter. Online help: If you have questions about our services, send us an email or give us a call at 1-877-WARRANTY. SquareTrade, Inc. 575 Market Street 10th Floor San Francisco, CA, 94105, 2010 SquareTrade, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Calling all (basketball) fans! Official details about our PICK'EM to be announced!

I'm excited about the NCAA Tournament and SquareTrade's Bracket Pool. Are you?

Official details about our PICK'EM to be announced next week!

Hrmmm... I wonder what the GRAND PRIZE will be?! Any ideas? Let's browse around to see what we can order or PRE-ORDER, shall we?

In other news, today has been a crazy day. You'd think Apple made an announcement this morning or something!

Awfully convenient that iPad pre-ordering would begin the same week we open up our NCAA bracket pool, eh? ;)

The Secret is Out: Moms Know Best!

Share

I recently came across an awesome blog post from one of our newest customers. Seems her younger sister - another consumer savvy mom - clued her in on a little secret...

"My sister, who is meticulous in her research, was interested in finding the best deal she could on warranties for the high-priced equipment that would soon be in the hands of her rambunctious offspring..." "She was able to purchase inexpensive warranties for a DVD player, a Nintendo Wii, an iPod Touch and a digital camera. In all cases she was able to get coverage well under the cost that the individual manufacturers were offering." -  Mary, SimplyForties

"Shortly after purchasing my Kindle, I received an email from Amazon urging me to purchase a two-year warranty on my new device for $65. Remembering my sister’s experience, I went to Square Trade to see what they had to offer."

(Not So) Secret? OK, so this isn't really a secret to SquareTrade fans -- you already know we OBSESS about finding ways to give you more bang for your buck! But, as Mary's blog points out, you might have family and friends who still don't know they have a choice!

Share your money-saving tips & save more! Thankfully, there's a quick, easy way to share the good news about affordable peace of mind. If you haven't already, check out our tell-a-friend referral program. Your friends will get a coupon for their first SquareTrade Warranty and you'll get five bucks for each referral! (Check out the official details here.) Got the inside scoop on another great deal? Don't forget to make your mom proud and share it! We'd like to give kudos to Mary for sharing her SquareTrade story and helping others by sharing her money-saving tips! Meanwhile... Another SquareTrade customer and frugal mom says she loves to visit Frugal Mom Knows Best to get info on tips and giveaways for the whole family. Several SquareTrade fans on Twitter have also given thumbs up to Slickdeals as an awesome destination for bargain hunting and finding hottest deals on latest electronics. What about you? Submit a tip and let others know where you go to find the best deals. (Your money-saving tip might just earn you a free SquareTrade warranty!) Feel free to post your tips in the comments below or on our facebook fanpage.