Knowledge about IP camera vendor please

For a quick introduction, I'm new in security field. My uncle is too old for continue his integrator career, and none of his sons want to get involved... I try to catch up with the knowledge since it's quite different from what I learned in college (economic major).

According to my uncle, the top camera options are Axis, Digital Watchdog, Hanwha and Samsung. Of course, there are a lot of information online, but I would like to know the real user's opinions. Just curious, is there other vendors of IP camera I should learn about? No Vsaas camera please, just regular IP camera. Thanks.

Axis is the top tier player. If you also need to know about VMS or IVA, DM me. I am a business partner of Axis, Skyrec, Nx, Milestone, and Briefcam for years. Many good VMS with different price levels you should know to go with the cameras.