End of an era, DPReview.com will shut down next month
- Thread starter Canon Rumors Guy
- Start date
Interesting too from an industry point of view, in that they would clearly have tried to resell it rather than just shutting it down and writing off the loss against tax. The fact they couldn't seem to do so says nothing good about the profitability (and future earnings prospects) of sites such as DPR. And equally CR.
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Running a site like DPR requires a higher level of availability than spot instances can provide, and even those are not free.
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Yeah as I said, there would have been some running expenses, but it wouldn't have been a heavy burden on Amazon - the bread is cheaper for baker.
It's a moot point anyway, Amazon isn't doing that.
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I loved DPreview under Phil Askey (the founder). I was ok with it under Amazon. But once they started doing "video reviews" on cams, I basically stopped using them. And yes, the forum was full of rabid commenters who's sole purpose was to create toxic atmosphere. I don't really regret they got shut down. There are better review sites out there.
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I avoided the forums for some time now due to their toxicity but it sounds like the mods were really clamping down eg max entries per thread etc so maybe it improved somewhat. I used the reviews as one input amongst a number. Each reviewer has pros and cons... buyer beware etc.
What is unusual for me is that they are deleting the site. I get that the resources (people/test labs etc) are an ongoing cost so closing down that side of things makes sense but the incremental server/storage cost to archive the site with its historical information does sound strange and is regretful.
Maybe the lawyers don't want anything coming back to bite them in the future but it sounds unlikely especially if they just deleted the forums.
What is unusual for me is that they are deleting the site. I get that the resources (people/test labs etc) are an ongoing cost so closing down that side of things makes sense but the incremental server/storage cost to archive the site with its historical information does sound strange and is regretful.
Maybe the lawyers don't want anything coming back to bite them in the future but it sounds unlikely especially if they just deleted the forums.
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Exact humourous expression of what I was thinking. I left DPReview some years ago because their "commercial tendencies" were too much biased for me.
Since two years or so, I went back reading it, partly because Chris and Jordan have entered their team - and probably influenced it in a good way -, and also partly because I guess some changes in the terms of contract between "I'm a zone" and So..me other camera manufacturers changes the way they build their editorial line.
I thought they were really getting better.
Looks like another sad demonstration that better is worse for some deciders.
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When I read a DPR camera review, the first thing I read was "Conclusion, What we don't like" to see if there were any deal breakers".
Everyone has their personal biases, but their reviews still contained a lot of useful information.
(And yes, before Canon's latest wave of sensors DPR was obsessed with the brand's dynamic range.)
Everyone has their personal biases, but their reviews still contained a lot of useful information.
(And yes, before Canon's latest wave of sensors DPR was obsessed with the brand's dynamic range.)
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Awful news. Really grateful to all the staff at dpr for the reviews, technical articles and other content that has kept me visiting the site for the last 10 years. I'll miss Chris and Jordans videos in particular.
I really hope that the *end* of dpr will signal the creation of another site, even bigger and even better. Such talent can't go to waste!
I just hope that if/when a new site emerges, that it isn't ruined by the brand-warriors and wokeys that made the dpr comment section unbearable.
I really hope that the *end* of dpr will signal the creation of another site, even bigger and even better. Such talent can't go to waste!
I just hope that if/when a new site emerges, that it isn't ruined by the brand-warriors and wokeys that made the dpr comment section unbearable.
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I never really detected any anti-Canon bias, but definitely a pro-Sony bias. I didn't find that a problem, because the reviews were objective and quite thorough, although I'd always check multiple reviews on youtube etc before buying anything. It will be quite sad to see dpr go, but I'm very confident something else will take its place, or that it will somehow be rescued.
Where I have to disagree completely with you is when you say "it's a great community". I feel the exact opposite. The comments section had a handful of intelligent and unbiased contributors, but most of it was extremely toxic and often very unpleasant. Just a centre court for brand-warriors, wokeys and generally unpleasant people to hurl hate at each other.
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I have the site bookmarked and would visit, but it was hard, because the images that accompanied the reviews were just so lackluster. It was painfully obvious that they were techies and not real photographers.
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Thats' a bit unfair - the whole point of the site was to provide technical reviews, so it's inevitable that photography as an art would take second place. Nevertheless there were some excellent technique articles by contributors. I don't think you can really expect the reviews to be illustrated with great photography - they have a huge amount of gear passing through their hands and often just a few hours to use it, often in poor weather conditions, so their opportunities to take great photos are pretty limited.
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roby17269
R5, H5X + IQ1-80, DJI Mini & Mavic 3 Pro, GoPro 10
As I wrote, I believe those costs to be small in the grand scheme of things. But Amazon is also notorious for being "ruthless" with their business practices and some would say it's one of the reasons they are so successful.
Having said so, from a personal perspective, dpreview was my main photography-related site and I am very very sad to see it disappear
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Well at least we still have Imaging Resource, who produce excellent reviews. They went through a similar crisis a year or so ago, but a rescue package of some sort saved them. It would be great if dpr was rescued, and if so, I'd like to think that they'd get rid of the comments section entirely, which ruined an otherwise excellent site. I just hope that CR isn't invaded by ex-dpr commentors, as it would be the downfall of this site.As I wrote, I believe those costs to be small in the grand scheme of things. But Amazon is also notorious for being "ruthless" with their business practices and some would say it's one of the reasons they are so successful.
Having said so, from a personal perspective, dpreview was my main photography-related site and I am very very sad to see it disappear
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I read Bryan's reviews because they sometimes have useful info that is missing from other reviews, but his reviews are so favourable that it kinda feels like Canon is paying him, although that may not be the case. Some of the best "mini-reviews" are/were those by Chris & Jordan on dpr - they are great at conjuring up a "hand-on" feel to the reviews, and explain the pros and cons very well in their comparison reviews.You do have to keep in mind that Canon gear will never ever score lower than ‘good’ at TDP. Thankfully all their reviews are comprehensive enough with samples you can inspect yourself, just skip the conclusion
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