I'd say camera choice is a more relevant analogy, Alan. There have always been consumer cameras, right down to disposable cardboard ones, versus pro gear expected to last reliably for decades. Now its short-term cellphones versus just about everything else, although an amount of cheap plastic film camera mfg is still going on. Being a tool distributor, I was keenly aware of the distinction. I've known of workmen being fired on the spot for bringing a home center power tool to the jobsite. "how ya gonna get any real work done with that thing?" Often the most expensive option, twenty times more expensive, would pay for itself within two days due to its dramatically better efficiency. The fact a cheap substitute might be warranty replaced for free, over and over again if necessary, means less than zero if the labor rate is tied up running back and forth to Cheapo Depot or whatever getting replacements. The junk version ends up being the most expensive option nearly every time.
And in fact, many junk "warranties" have some very deceptive fine print, not in fact always honored. For example, you buy a tool with a "lifetime replacement warranty", and they change the color of the switch or some other silly thing every few months, and with it, alter the model number too. So you bring in your failed tool, and they tell you that specific model no longer exists, so cannot be warranty replaced. Happens all the time.
Likewise, I don't want to spend a whole lot of time and money and gasoline expense, let alone days of strenuous backpacking, guessing whether or not my camera is going to keep operating properly. Nor do I want enlarger bulbs going brown and popping during printing sessions, especially making big expensive prints. Needing to replace a bulb once a decade on average, for any of my enlargers, is certainly tolerable, and what I'm accustomed to. But the cheap versions of the same bulbs sometimes don't last half an hour. So it's important to recognize such qualitative distinctions, and whom sells which.
