Do I need an extended warranty on my digital camera?

Do I need an extended warranty on my digital camera?

Mark Comon (Vice President, Paul's Photo, Torrance, CA) gives expert video advice on: What kind of protective case should I have for my digital camera?; What kind of lens-cleaning kit do I need and how often should I use it? and more...

Extended warranty on a digital camera is a really hard question to answer, because an extended warranty is basically an insurance policy. So do you buy insurance for everything, or do you say, "You know what? I'm not going to have any problems, and let it go." My rule of thumb is if the manufacturer of the camera offers an extended warranty that's reasonably priced, I recommend it to customers. I never recommend an aftermarket extended warranty because it's really worth not any more than the paper that it's written on because these aftermarket warranty companies come and go all the time. So you have this five year warranty from a company that no longer exists. What have you got? You've spent 70, 80, or 100 dollars for basically nothing. Extended warranty - it's up to you. I'm not a big fan of long extended warranties.