Photoclubalpha

I despair some times with the review sites. After reading other peoples posts including posts from Barry, I can see which to believe and which to steer clear of. One very old established British Photo Magazine ' Amateur Photographer' Just cannot bring themselves to give the Sony SLT cameras high praise, yet Pentax in their eyes cannot put a foot wrong and nor can Canon. Is this just old fashioned bias or technically valid.
Pete

Well most of the review sites seem to avoid being too controversial printed magazines tend to be even worse it's not really the rating % that bothers me (most cameras are good some more so than others) but they often overlook niggles/points issues that might be worth a mention and important to some users. I can accept that sometimes a deadline might mean not enough time to fully get to grips with a camera, other times they simply decide to not mention things.

I've been caught out a few times esp DPR where they have missed fairly obvious points which they should not have and I found them fairly quickly. But maybe that's me I'm tuned into looking for small things that might bother me I've also used a lot of cameras so know what to expect, but then so have the DPR team if not tons more than I have. They're not alone though Imaging Resource I used to like a lot they seem to have "gone soft" too I prefer their format but there isn't a lot of critique to be had either.

I was talking to a friend who works for a large marketing company, he said that the trend is more towards "user reviews" and that the professional review sites were falling by the wayside a bit. Look at DPR their review output is quite low in some ways it's become more of a "news site" than a review one.

That's a good point, Barry. The big review sites are now having to compete with every photo blogger around the world. It is interesting that people are perhaps more comfortable with the recommendation of a favoured photographer than a big site.

I also agree with Barry that all cameras can take great pictures and so it is often the little usability features that will influence decision. I like being able to check out a number of different sites to try and pick up on these. DPR is probably my least favoured review site.

DK gives great in-depth and carefully considered reviews. I've always waited to read his review before making big investments. Just a shame he hasn't been better supported by the camera companies with things to review.

Birma wrote: DK gives great in-depth and carefully considered reviews. I've always waited to read his review before making big investments. Just a shame he hasn't been better supported by the camera companies with things to review.

Seconded, or at least ignored by one particular camera manufacturer

I wouldn't rely on DPreview alone but it is a starting point. For me the issue is that my topic of interest is probably more akin to a hybrid of sports, action and wildlife rather than a more general use. For instance the a7 series takes me back to the more compact body styles of the Minolta XD7/XD11 series and I quite like the concept but the more slim and compact body is not ideal for action where I want a good grip (I haven't used a tripod for over a year) and compatibility with longer, heavier lenses (300mm+). I'm sure they are excellent cameras suited to landscape, streetscape etc. but just not my type for now.

DK's comments on the a99 were soaked up and processed in my tiny brain along with DPR info and in the end I decided the compromises were acceptable to me (that's not to say I don't still complain about them though). I'm so glad I bought it now but at least I was aware of most of the pitfalls beforehand (limited focus sensor area, poor battery life and buffer among others).

Mike

Birma, you and Barry make some good points, often a collective user review is a better indication than a Media review, It just annoys me at times at how blatantly bias some sites are, AP being one for Pentax praise. Most sites though have made more negative remarks about Sony SLT system than the competition, namely, Canikon. I don't think Sony deserve that, but one Nikon rep said to me, we use Sony sensors in our cameras but its a pity Sony don't get the best out their own sensors like we do and are still struggling with their noise options, interesting point but not that valid with the latest Sony products I think.

Couple of points from me. I would like to see more reviews from DK but I assume he's busy and I think he mentioned he has to buy the stuff himself to review, review sites get review samples thus it makes it a lot easier.

Some bloggers get review cameras I read some of their reviews though I take some of it with a pinch of salt though some of them do have useful information and are genuine (not all though). I'd actually love to do reviews because I've quite a bit of experience in that department But it seems that it's not that easy to break into. For avid bloggers maybe you'll get somewhere. I have not bought a copy of AP for a while I only pick up the odd one now and then it's really a re-hash of stuff I've read lots of times before no knocking that but after a while you lose interest. I still see a place for a dedicated review site but it would take a lot of work to get up and running I have had an interest in that before when I did some reviews on alphamountworld, but it is time consuming and ultimately I think it is difficult to strike a balance between technical points and hands on aspects that is something all review sites have to struggle with and DPR got a bit too "test mad" and a bit less real stuff for my tastes.

But I am aware that makers want favourable reviews and blogs so I think maybe "wishful" thinking to try to get unbiased reviews from online sources or printed magazines. I was quite stunned though that DK was not given review samples a site and at the time a publication which was actively involved in A Mount, very strange.

bfitzgerald wrote:I would like to see more reviews from DK but I assume he's busy and I think he mentioned he has to buy the stuff himself to review, review sites get review samples thus it makes it a lot easier.

David's Sony/KM reviews are very good, but the ones I have read that he has done on other brands are not good, IMO. I have read him post in defense of Nikon, etc. reviews where he only used default settings and criticized things, even when for some situations they are not the best settings (sometimes far from the best), by saying that he only reviews as if he was a novice user who knows nothing about changing settings. Okay as far as it goes, but then when he reviews Sony he delves into the minutiae and susses out the optimal settings for all kinds of things to get better results and performance than the default settings. We like that, but you can't have it both ways, IMO.

bakubo wrote:

bfitzgerald wrote:I would like to see more reviews from DK but I assume he's busy and I think he mentioned he has to buy the stuff himself to review, review sites get review samples thus it makes it a lot easier.

David's Sony/KM reviews are very good, but the ones I have read that he has done on other brands are not good, IMO. I have read him post in defense of Nikon, etc. reviews where he only used default settings and criticized things, even when for some situations they are not the best settings (sometimes far from the best), by saying that he only reviews as if he was a novice user who knows nothing about changing settings. Okay as far as it goes, but then when he reviews Sony he delves into the minutiae and susses out the optimal settings for all kinds of things to get better results and performance than the default settings. We like that, but you can't have it both ways, IMO.

Some examples of those points would be good H, any comments for the defence DK?
Greg

I've not come across non Sony DK reviews but I'd have a look if I can find them somewhere?

Barry I liked the alphamount world reviews, which I think you did a few?

Pete

classiccameras wrote:Barry I liked the alphamount world reviews, which I think you did a few?

Pete

I did a few Dynax 60 and a Ricoh loaner compact
Carl is blogging now and gets stuff to review from makers he suggested I do the same

I am working with one flash maker to improve their product they're not a well known maker