Panasonic makes great cameras, their service is above reproach, but the cameras are too slow. My personal experience with Panasonic? I had an issue, admitted to Panasonic that it was my fault, they sent me a brand new camera at no charge anyway.

I don't have personal experience with any other digital brands and the internet reviews don't offer any real help.

Case in point, all the professional review sites praise Canon; they say Canon makes great cameras but fail to mention 'as long as they work', 'their failure rate', or 'their customer service'.

Canon customer service is less than zero and expensive. I spent $1500 for a 40d which failed right after the short warranty period expired.

Canon wanted $285 just to look at it. $285 later; I took 7 photos before the camera failed again with same problem, something to do with the mirror hanging up and shutting down the electronics.

Canon's response? Another $285 and they will look at it again. Not only is it expensive, Canon representatives are downright rude. No, the camera was not abused, no it was not used professionally, and yes it is kept in a well protected camera bag.

Seems the 40d had issues and was almost immediately replaced with the 50d.

Where does one find a good reliable fast camera for under $2k, and what does one do with the canon lenses? Does one take the risk and buy another Cannon or go off into the unknown with a Nikon, Sony, etc.?

I really loved the 40d, when it worked, but all I can say is Canon as a company really sucks!

These mainstream camera brands are all mass produced. One gets pulled off the assembly line at what I suppose are random times and are supposedly checked out but aside from some cursory quality control, they go in the box, are distributed and sold. Glitches are bound to happen. You pays your money and takes your chances. A Pro Shooter for one of the big papers in the East told me years ago, never buy new cameras. Wait until the refurbished ones come out and buy then. Why? Because refurbished cameras have been updated to clear out bugs, hangups and circuitry problems that popped up after introduction. They've been checked individually by a tech and firmware has been updated. They also come with a one year factory warranty and they're much cheaper. The only camera I've bought brand new was the Nikon D600 and It appears I got lucky. All the rest over the years...D40, D40X,D90, And D700 were all refurbished by Nikon. Never had a problem with them. I should say I did buy an F-5 and F100 brand new. Still use both and never had a problem. Both are built like a tank. They remain the best cameras I've ever owned.

These mainstream camera brands are all mass produced. One gets pulled off the assembly line at what I suppose are random times and are supposedly checked out but aside from some cursory quality control, they go in the box, are distributed and sold. Glitches are bound to happen. You pays your money and takes your chances. A Pro Shooter for one of the big papers in the East told me years ago, never buy new cameras. Wait until the refurbished ones come out and buy then. Why? Because refurbished cameras have been updated to clear out bugs, hangups and circuitry problems that popped up after introduction. They've been checked individually by a tech and firmware has been updated. They also come with a one year factory warranty and they're much cheaper. The only camera I've bought brand new was the Nikon D600 and It appears I got lucky. All the rest over the years...D40, D40X,D90, And D700 were all refurbished by Nikon. Never had a problem with them. I should say I did buy an F-5 and F100 brand new. Still use both and never had a problem. Both are built like a tank. They remain the best cameras I've ever owned.