DPReview alternatives

I remember checking all sorts of sites back in the early 00s. Gordon Laing was good then, and he's still good now. For reviews, I'll go back to him. (better then Northrops, Fro, etc.), but that data base for easy comparisons - that will be harder to do. Maybe the camerzasize guy could put his data into more tabular form (though I wonder that he didn't get his data from DPR, lol).

General, reviews, news
  • imaging-resource.com is pretty comprehensive, just no where as slick and nice as DPR

Rumors/news:
  • photorumors.com
  • mirrorlessrumors.com

Forums:
  • photography-on-the.net is still around I see, though their forum software is super painful. I haven't been there in years. They used to be Canon and Nikon focused more than any others.
  • camaraderie.org is probably the best forum I know of, but of course, so do you ;)

Reviews:
  • cameralabs.com (Gordon Laing's site) - excellent video and text reviews. Good breadth of coverage. More about serious reviews and less about getting clicks (ala Kai, CameraConspiracies, Northrup, Fro, et al)
  • photozone.de still seems to be keeping up to date, though they kind of only do the gear they like.
  • lenstip.com is another. They have a pretty good breadth of reviews. They can be a bit lagged in getting up current reviews. Can take them a while to get equipment for test
  • B&H especially and I also think Adorama do pretty good gear review/coverage and usually have reasonable user reviews
 
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For news:
PetaPixel <- we've already talked a lot about that one; I like it, will use it as my starting point from now on
The Phoblographer <- peculiar, opinionated, but quick and often "on the money", YMMV on reviews!

For reviews:
ePhotozine <- consistent reviews (lens reviews are very usable)
LensTip <- already mentioned above, very comprehensive, very consistent
Amateur Photographer <- they've upped their game big time recently - rather short, only partly technically deep, but solid
PCMag: Camera Reviews and Lab Tests <- also pretty good for news
Photography Blog <- consistent, a bit shallow/repetitive at times (including copy&paste stuff I find quite irritating), good for news as well

In German
digitalkamera.de <- their in-depth technical reviews aren't free, but very consistent, accurate and informative
dkamera.de <- long, detailed reviews, consistent, image quality comparisons available

M.
 
For L-mount gear chat, there's not a lot out there. A guy called Dirk Seffern runs a number of forums (fora?), including the "l-mount-forum" (L-MOUNT Forum). It's a relatively new site, but he has plans to grow it. I think I'll be switching my L-mount gear chat to there.
 
wt21 said:
How many of these sites, do you think, got some of their clues, data, and information from DPR, lol.
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None, to my knowledge. DPR did use DXOmark when that was still a thing, though. As for clues: If you mean news, DPR was really good at picking up things, but rarely first. Spec's can be mined from makers, everyone does it. DPR excelled at image comparison tools, though, and offered a couple of unique visualisations (colour accuracy, dynamic range, lens sharpness - though DXOmark did that a lot better when they were still committed to photography and covered the market well -, even equivalency, at least as far as DoF was concerned). That said, that doesn't mean that there aren't better dedicated tools out there - but DPR did a really good job to offer a nice bundle.

Iron said:
I like the simplicity of Imaging Resource (Digital Cameras, Digital Camera Reviews), though, I rarely check review sites now as many are just specs-oriented.
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I used to prefer Imaging Resource when they still did thorough technical testing because they offered it all: Measurements, optical details, real-world data as well as hands-on experience, well written. But they've all but done away with the technical aspect, at least as far as documenting is concerned. I get why and don't begrudge them for it, but it's no longer a one-stop-shop.

M.
 
Gerald Undone on Youtube focuses mainly on video, but his camera reviews are very comprehensive nonetheless.

I agree with Iron that some of the "review" sites just seem like the spec sheet formatted into paragraphs - especially some of the more general maketing type sites, like Techradar and similar.

Much prefer to hear from a few trusted voices on Youtube, then browse forums and Flickr to see how people are using the gear, and what it can be capable of.

Also re: M43 particularly, there's still noone to rival the late David Thorpe for thoughtful, use focussed reviews.
 
sasquatchphotog said:
Gerald Undone on Youtube focuses mainly on video, but his camera reviews are very comprehensive nonetheless.

I agree with Iron that some of the "review" sites just seem like the spec sheet formatted into paragraphs - especially some of the more general maketing type sites, like Techradar and similar.

Much prefer to hear from a few trusted voices on Youtube, then browse forums and Flickr to see how people are using the gear, and what it can be capable of.

Also re: M43 particularly, there's still noone to rival the late David Thorpe for thoughtful, use focussed reviews.
Click to expand...
That's actually quite true ... My favourite lens reviewer is Christopher Frost; his reviews aren't long-winded, well organised and to the point; he offers plenty of images, too. And for a one-man channel, he covers a lot of ground (Sony E, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, Canon RF as well as M mounts - with lenses from all major makers, and exotic ones, too).

Gordon Laing's videos are fun to watch, and he's very knowledgeable as well as decidedly hands-on.

Dustin Abbott goes deeper than everyone else I've found so far - very informative, but long videos ...

Gerald Undone does a good job, too, no doubt about it. And he collaborates with other well informed people.

And of course, David was great - he's left a big void ...

There are many more.

M.
 
Unfortunately it seems like the whole internet camera landscape has been drifting towards influencer/YouTuber territory for a while now. I enjoy watching these kinds of things for entertainment value (Samuel StreetLife, Art of Photography, Snappiness, Kai W and EYExplore being my regulars), but they're very much not the same as a rigorous camera review. Imaging Resource seems the closest thing left for that, but as has been said, it's not even what it once was).
 
DPR has been my go-to site for this stuff for the last 20 years :( will sure miss Chris and Jordan. Hope they continue the jorney elsewhere.
...well, I just read that they will do, on PetaPixels youtube-channel! 👌
 

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