For most people the purchase of a camera is a big deal and they want to know that their equipment will last. Most camera
manufacturers offer similar warranties; just make sure that your camera comes with at least a one year warranty.
So what differentiates one manufacturer from another? It's not what they promise you, it's how they honor their promises that's important. In other words, how will they treat you when things go wrong? And how often do things go wrong?
To find out you'll have to do some research. First, how can you find out often things go wrong? That's easy. Look at the reviews. If you look at a camera on Amazon and there are 1000 reviews and more than 20% the reviews are under 2 stars there's a problem. Most people who give fewer than 2 stars on a product review likely had a serious problem and the product was probably not fully functional. Almost all 1 star reviews are about cameras that were DOA (dead on arrival); in other words it didn't work at all. With today's manufacturing standards, you can expect about a 10% failure rate right out of the box. So if you see a camera with fewer than 10% one star or less ratings, you are likely looking at a decent piece of equipment.
How will you know what kind of support the manufacturer will give you? That's not difficult to find either. Again you will need to read through the reviews. If reviewers purchased a bad product and sought assistance from the manufacturer and didn't get the support they needed, they will tell you in the review. If a manufacturer made a mistake and produced a bad product (mistakes happen) but if they refuse to own up to the problem, this is a manufacturer to avoid.
In conclusion, it's important to know that there is a nice long warranty on your equipment, but it's more important to know if the manufacturer will honor it.
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