Photoclubalpha

I get a monthly UK magazine called "Which?" with is produced by an independent organisation called the Consumer Association. Basically they independently test and review lots of products (from fridges to financial products) and publish results to their subscribers in a magazine and a web-site. I find this a very useful service for products which I don't know much about - e.g. when you come to buy a new fridge, what models are there out there, what features should you look for, which are reliable, and what is a good buy. They don't take advertising, only subscriptions from members, and so they claim to be truly independent. When it comes to products that I do have some background knowledge of (e.g. cameras) then there review choices some times seem unusual. I was therefore interested to read this month's review of dslrs

The review was of entry level dslrs (with typical kit lens) for those interested in upgrading from compacts and so "ease of use" was a factor. The top three "best buy" spots were Canon 500D in first place, with Olympus E620 and Sony A330 in joint second. The 330 scored higher than its stable-mate 380 as well. Obviously this doesn't amount to a "hill of beans" to camera fanatics that hang around photography forums, but it was interesting to see the 330 in the Which? best buys, and I expect the 330 will attract more attention in the shops because of Which's recommendation. (Looking at further details on the Which? website it seems that the Canon 1000D would have got the top spot except that Canon have started to ship it with an unstabilised 18-55 kit lens that the reviewers didn't think much of.)