This continues to be as relevant an issue as when I first discussed it in 2003, though the digital production landscape has changed a great deal since then.  High-end cameras (Sony F23’s, the Panasonic Varicam, Sony f900, Arri D-20, possibly the Red and so forth) and medium-end cameras (Panasonic hvx200, Sony EX1, and offerings from JVC and Cannon) are computers, powerful, creative computers, with tremendous built-in software control of the image.  Therefore, very risky for your production  – risky, that is, if you don’t allow for proper preparation and testing of the equipment, or don’t work with someone who controls their own gear.  Even bench engineers can have difficulty determining exactly what changes may have been made to a camera’s software by a previous renter.  By and large, rental facilities continue to improve in terms of their quality control and base-lining of cameras and accessories when they return from a job, but the number of different camera systems they might have to deal with on a daily basis makes it almost impossible to know everything about every system.  If you add to this a reluctance on the part of the Production to schedule and pay for the resources to give a digital camera package a complete work-over before entrusting it with image (and most likely sound) capture, you’re flirting with disaster.  Knowing and understanding the imaging tool and the way it is configured, either through ownership or a thorough technical prep, is a key part of achieving consistently high-end images.