Reliability & repairs: don't pay for an extended warranty or for some fixes.(digital cameras)

Digital cameras are among the more reliable products we track in annual product-reliability surveys conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Fewer than 10 percent require repairs in their first three or four years of life. Brand-to-brand differences are generally modest. But statistics won't help if you're among the unlucky camera owners who will wrestle with a repair.

If you have a broken camera, or worry that you'll end up with one, here's what you need to know:

THE WORD ON WARRANTIES

Most cameras come with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty. A significant exclusion, however, is damage from dropping or otherwise mistreating the camera. Nonetheless, three out of four owners of broken cameras that were covered under the factory warranty reported that the warranty was honored completely.

About 15 percent of people who bought a digital camera bought an extended warranty for it, according to another of our surveys. But such coverage for cameras, as for most other products, is generally a poor buy. Survey respondents who bought extended warranties paid an average of $50. Those who did not have warranty coverage and paid for a camera repair spent an average of $120. So with a warranty you're essentially spending $50 to protect yourself from paying for a repair that would cost only about $70 more, on average, and has just a 1-in-10 probability of occurring.

CR's take. Skip the extra warranty coverage. Instead, consider no-cost ways to extend coverage, including buying with a credit card. Many premium cards extend factory warranties for up to a year.

WEIGHING A REPAIR