Currently the BEST Camera Company?

[sevo]

I'd nominate RED - the only ones that only do a radically different and modern concept.

 

[Silva Lining]

I voted Canon as the best company right now - but my favourite of all time would be Hasselblad!!! , with Leica and Voigtlander (the old one) not far behind..

 

[Mephiloco]

I side with Canon. In my opinion they've made the biggest strides as far as performance and features compared to other camera makers. Aslo they have a great lens offering and cover many price points with good samples in each.

I like Olympus as well but just wish they had more fast lenses. They offer a great value and provide excellent results.

I don't group Leica in with anything 'current' since they're so behind the times don't think they know what's going on. They did some pretty sweet stuff in the 50's however.


Moving away from still cameras I'd side with RED as #1 overall. I saw some footage from their 617 sensor (168x56mm compared to FF being 36x24) and it's crazy. After Red I'd go with Panavision--great, reliable cameras.

 

[ruben]

I would not vote, since I have some small problem with the word "currently". It reminds me the song of Shirley Bassey about "History repeating".

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shirley_bassey/history_repeating_with_propellerheads.html

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[Gumby]

I don't know that song; would you be so kind as to humm a few bars for us?

 

[ruben]

My pleasure:

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shirley_bassey/history_repeating_with_propellerheads.html

 

[thomasw_]

Other:> Alpa...

 

[Mephiloco]

Isn't Alpa long gone?

 

[ZeissFan]

Best are those with a good product and excellent customer service. Worst are those that make you wade through a mindless maze of voice mail or transfer you to a different country. That applies to other industries, as well.

 

[giellaleafapmu]

Aren't Fuji and Nikon very related to each other?

Anyway, I put Nikon because it the is the only camera company which always had an almost complete backward compatibility in their products. Leica glasses might be better but if you have a lot of R glasses you already know there will be no bright future for them, Olympus OM cameras had the best light meters but they are out of production and I can use my Zuiko glasses only for macro or on a small sensor, Canon has great stuff but they also changed several times their standards, but I can put a lens from the 70's on the latest digital Nikon and that will work as it used to do on a F with no differences.

Of course I did not mention specialties camera makers like Gandolfi or even Sinar because they only make very special cameras with minimal market...even thought I would not mind having a Sinar P 10x8' if only I could afford it...

GLF

 

[RayPA]

I voted Panasonic, but could easily have gone CV, Oly, Leica, or Nikon.

I put Nikon because it is the only camera company which always had an almost complete backward compatibility in their products.

This is the main reason why Nikon made my list. A stroke of genius that has made a lifelong devotee of this Nikonian.

 

[kshapero]

My problem is that I like them all.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Personally I would pick Cosina Voigtlander, but looking at the big picture I voted Pentax.
They have the best values in the DSLR market, have the coolest lens lineup and offer the best warranty for Canadians.

According to the report in my current copy of 'Amatuer Photographer' - Pentax is urgently seeking an alliance with another company, in order to survive!. The chief executive of Hoya - who merged with Pentax two years ago, told Reuters news agency - " Our digital camera business is not exactly a big operation", and " There are naturally questions among us whether it is big enough to go it alone....I'm afraid it will need some sort of alliance with another company in the long term" 🙁
Dave.

 

[Vitor]

Sony? Great electronics company. I'll judge their cameras better when they have Leica's track record.

Sony its new to DSLR, but they aren't starting from scratch, most of what they have was obtained from Minolta. Sony offering its still in its infancy, but until now its quite impressive what they have achieved, 8 cameras currently being sold, and they had only 3 years, lets see what they can deliver in the next 7 years.

 

[thomasw_]

Isn't Alpa long gone?

Um Pa Pa, Baby! Here.

 

[Mephiloco]

Sony? Great electronics company. I'll judge their cameras better when they have Leica's track record.

Cheers,

R.

Let's put things into perspective. Cameras these days are for the most part, electronics. Sony has a near endless amount of resources, therefore great R&D. They have a MUCH better track record when it comes to electronics than Leica. They were even able to crank out a FF camera before Leica which performs amazingly even without factoring the price point. Everything Leica has done since trying to go digital has been pretty weak. Leica makes things that are great mechanically, unfortunately the need for great mechanics and lifespan is considering diminished when you're working with electronics.

My Canon XTi will become obsolete before it stops working, as will the M8. Yeah it's great that the body itself of the M8 might last forever, too bad that the insides won't.

If we're talking film cameras, I'll give it to Leica--they perfected their product and carved out a niche, but now that they have to actually come out with new products in a timely manner and compete with other companies they're at an extreme disadvantage.



How's Leica's digital track record again? Rebadged Pany's and the M8/M8.2 which has a 3+ year old sensor, which wasn't very competitive compared to Canon and Nikon's offerings at the time.


Who knows, I could be proved wrong in a few days time.

 

[wgerrard]

A poll like this is interesting, but really needs some definition of the criteria (what is "innovation"?) and to be anchored in some specific timeframe.

Leica was certainly innovative early in its history and when it rolled out the M3. Has it been as innovative since? Maybe, maybe not.

My OM-2N was considered innovative when it hit the shelves. Olympus has been marketing rather distinctive cameras recently, but does that count as innovative?

For myself, I think it is very difficult for a camera company to be really innovative. Camera users expect cameras to fit into a pretty small range of designs, designs that pretty much cover the ballpark.

 

[FallisPhoto]

If you're talking about photo quality, then Tachihara, Wista, Deardorf, Ebony, Gandolfi, Linhoff, Alpa, Horseman, and a bunch more companies make better cameras than anything you've listed.

Edit: Heck, I've got an old Speed Graphic I'd put up against any of them.

 

[micromontenegro]

Wow, I see that democracy-for once-works. I am a fan of other marques, but lets get real: the answer is Nikon.

 

[Al Patterson]

Personally I would pick Cosina Voigtlander, but looking at the big picture I voted Pentax.
They have the best values in the DSLR market, have the coolest lens lineup and offer the best warranty for Canadians.
Panasonic would be second except I had such an awful repair experience with my LC1 I doubt I will ever buy one of their cameras again.
I own more Leicas than any other brand but I don't think they're such a hot company right now because most of their gear is way over-priced. I was only able to afford a new 28mm Elmarit because of the rebate program they offered and good deal on a trade-in at my local Leica dealer.

Hey, I like Pentax.

But, I voted for Canon for obvious reasons. Canon seems to be selling boatloads of cameras while the rest are way behind the sales curve.