The Stoga Dfun SC001 digital camera is one on a long list of cheap cameras that are produced and sold by companies located in China. The actual design of the Dfun SC001 is not unique either. It's a generic housing that many companies also operating from China are using. Other than Stoga, there's also Aberg Best, Treetech, PYRUS and PowerLead to name a few. The only real difference between them all is the occasional variation in specification, such as mega pixel count. In appearance they all look exactly the same except for the different brand names that appear on the front of a select few.
In terms of specification the Stoga Dfun SC001 appears quite impressive for the price. 18 mega pixels, 8 x Zoom, 2.7 Inch TFT LCD screen, built in flash, SD card slot (32GB max), Lithium Ion rechargeable battery, an adjustable ISO range from 100 - 400 (as well as auto mode), and it claims to have built-in anti-shake technology. Judging by the reviews and questions most widely asked about the Stoga Dfun SC001, one of the main reasons people are interested in purchasing this camera is for their young son or daughter. This is so they can give them a cheap, early introduction into the world of taking pictures with a camera rather than using a Smartphone.
This is great, but as is the case with many cheap products such as this, what they claim to have in terms of specification usually doesn't live up what you would get in comparison to if you bought one of the top branded cameras (for the same price second hand) with the exact same specification. The image quality just isn't the same. And their track record for reliability is also not that great.
That's not to say that all branded cameras are excellent, far from it. As many people have found out the hard way, they have their fare share of poor products out there too, and some horror stories to go along with them. However, eight out of ten times you stand a much better chance of buying a good reliable camera from a well-known brand than you do from a no-namer.
The electrical components, including the image sensor, LCD screen, housing and battery are almost always far inferior to those used in the top brands, and even in Smartphones. The price may make the unknowns seem like a bargain, but its much wiser to go with something from a renown brand. And just because its a well-known brand don't think that you can't pick one up for around the same price as a brand new Stoga Dfun SC001.
You can, only it will have to be second hand. However, this is certainly the much better option. I buy second hand cameras all the time, most of which are in excellent used condition. If you haven't done so already, take a look on eBay and I think you might be surprised at just how cheap some of them are selling for.
As well as the low price, the other good thing about buying a used, well known digital camera other than getting a far more capable and potentially much longer lasting product is the reviews. Buying an old, top branded camera already has hundreds, if not thousands of customer reviews, and because the camera in question was very popular in its day, you know that the large majority of those reviews have a good chance of being genuine. A top camera brand is far less likely to write fake reviews for their products, they don't need to.
Whereas the smaller, widely unheard of brands need sales, and to get the ball rolling so to speak. So some of them pay people to write fake reviews. I'm not saying that Stoga has done this with the Dfun SC001, but in my opinion, some of their reviews on Amazon do look suspect. It's probably not a bad little camera for kids, or adults who want something cheap and cheerful to take with them on their travels, but when you can buy something better for around the same price used, or even cheaper in many cases, from a brand like Canon, Panasonic or Samsung, why take the risk.
In terms of specification the Stoga Dfun SC001 appears quite impressive for the price. 18 mega pixels, 8 x Zoom, 2.7 Inch TFT LCD screen, built in flash, SD card slot (32GB max), Lithium Ion rechargeable battery, an adjustable ISO range from 100 - 400 (as well as auto mode), and it claims to have built-in anti-shake technology. Judging by the reviews and questions most widely asked about the Stoga Dfun SC001, one of the main reasons people are interested in purchasing this camera is for their young son or daughter. This is so they can give them a cheap, early introduction into the world of taking pictures with a camera rather than using a Smartphone.
This is great, but as is the case with many cheap products such as this, what they claim to have in terms of specification usually doesn't live up what you would get in comparison to if you bought one of the top branded cameras (for the same price second hand) with the exact same specification. The image quality just isn't the same. And their track record for reliability is also not that great.
That's not to say that all branded cameras are excellent, far from it. As many people have found out the hard way, they have their fare share of poor products out there too, and some horror stories to go along with them. However, eight out of ten times you stand a much better chance of buying a good reliable camera from a well-known brand than you do from a no-namer.
The electrical components, including the image sensor, LCD screen, housing and battery are almost always far inferior to those used in the top brands, and even in Smartphones. The price may make the unknowns seem like a bargain, but its much wiser to go with something from a renown brand. And just because its a well-known brand don't think that you can't pick one up for around the same price as a brand new Stoga Dfun SC001.
You can, only it will have to be second hand. However, this is certainly the much better option. I buy second hand cameras all the time, most of which are in excellent used condition. If you haven't done so already, take a look on eBay and I think you might be surprised at just how cheap some of them are selling for.
As well as the low price, the other good thing about buying a used, well known digital camera other than getting a far more capable and potentially much longer lasting product is the reviews. Buying an old, top branded camera already has hundreds, if not thousands of customer reviews, and because the camera in question was very popular in its day, you know that the large majority of those reviews have a good chance of being genuine. A top camera brand is far less likely to write fake reviews for their products, they don't need to.
Whereas the smaller, widely unheard of brands need sales, and to get the ball rolling so to speak. So some of them pay people to write fake reviews. I'm not saying that Stoga has done this with the Dfun SC001, but in my opinion, some of their reviews on Amazon do look suspect. It's probably not a bad little camera for kids, or adults who want something cheap and cheerful to take with them on their travels, but when you can buy something better for around the same price used, or even cheaper in many cases, from a brand like Canon, Panasonic or Samsung, why take the risk.
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