Holger Bargen
Veteran Member
There was a time when dpreview results had an impact on my buying decision - but that time was long ago, maybe10 years or something like that.
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How Do DPR reviews affect your buying choice?
- Thread starter petebfrance
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petebfrance
Leading Member
It's a problem with all reviews, really, that they rarely reflect what an individual wants from a camera. I used to work in IT (statement of the obvious coming up, please excuse) - one of the things we needed to do was buy in software or services and a scoring method (is it Kepner Trego or something like that?) was used. Features (or whatever) were given a rating and a weighting - these would differ from company to company depending on requirements as they will differ from individual to individual when buying a camera. If it didn't have something we needed it was discounted completely, and features that were of no interest to us were, of course, totally ignored. Kind of the same as some of us do when buying gear.I guess it is possible for camera manufacturers to figure out what reviewers will like and then design a camera that performs really well in a review . . . but, then does that mean what really is important for real world shooting takes a back seat?Many thanks for responses and interesting discussion so far. Voting and responses have slowed down, so I am not expecting a lot of change from here on in so have decided to have a look etc. Pity there isn't an option for an 'end date' on polls - at least if there is, I didn't see it.
Here's a snapshot of the poll as it stands when writing this:
As has been mentioned, I should have added 'none of the above' as an option. I have been through the responses and there are are 7 where people said the options were not suitable, of those I suggested options to 2 people, but don't know if they voted, and one said 'between 1 and 2' so I've assumed that these 3 did not tick any boxes. That raises the number of responses from 94 to 101 and reduces the percentages accordingly, so the poll looks like this:
What conclusions? Will think some more, a small sample, imperfect questions and so on, but my initial thoughts are:
- Option 1: a high response. I wonder why.
- Option 2: good to see a high response. Well, I voted on that too (I only voted because I couldn't see the numbers unless I did - not sure about voting in one's own poll)
- Option 3: the percentage of those who would not buy gear with a 'poor' DPR review, though quite small is sufficient to suggest that a poor review here could prove damaging and that this effect is possibly measurable.
- Option 4: understandable situation, and I think one that some of us find ourselves in. However, in hindsight I guess it's not clear if those voting were only taking DPR reviews into account.
- Option 5: surprisingly low.
Any thoughts?
Will that result in a camera that has a lot of cup holders? (Remember when the number of cup holders in a car was a big thing? LOL.)
I would prefer a camera manufacturer figure out how to make their camera perform well in the real world and not worry so much about how it will perform in a review. Unfortunately, a poor review can be damaging to the interest in their product. That IMHO is a shame. But I hope that if a camera (tool) is competent enough, the potential consumer can see that even after reading a poor review.
Also, I guess that might be like comparing cameras only on the specifications. If you only compare cameras on specifications, you can get a camera with the most megapixels, fastest shooting speed or most / best video output.
But . . . how does it handle? How a camera handles isn't necessarily something you can enter into the specifications. IMHO it's a bit more abstract than that. And . . . that is where these reviews come in handy. Stepping outside the specs, these reviews touch on many of the things that can't find its way onto the spec sheets.
Take care & Happy Shooting!
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In these reviews what is included is decided by the reviewers, as are the scores and the weightings. Some of these scores are measurable, some are subjective - kind of boils down to something that may or may not match an individual's requirements. Don't get me wrong, I find them useful because I cannot try out all the equipment, although quite often they are just an entertaining read to help keep up with the technology.
Things like video (I don't use it much), loads of autofocus points don't influence my decision, and I expect there are nearly as many different views as there are people (well, perhaps that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean...
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regards,
Pete
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tbcass
Forum Pro
Possibly from people sticking with a camera that doesn't get the best reviews?
tbcass
Forum Pro
Unfortunately an hour tryout in a store is far from sufficient for me to reach a decision. All I can find that way is the general handling which might eliminate a camera but will not give me enough info to actually buy one. Because of that it's the last thing I consider before buying.
I certainly will never go through the process of buying a camera online, trying for a few days, sending it back, trying another etc. Reading reviews eliminates the need to do that. They have never failed to give me enough info to make a decision and I have never had to send a camera back.
I decide well ahead of time what I'm looking for in a piece of gear so it doesn't take me long to determine if it will work for me. The gear has to convince me to buy it.
I've only purchased cameras in person and never had to return one. Due to sample variation, especially in lenses, I've found that reviews can't be trusted so I stopped using them. About a year ago I stopped making major gear purchases on-line.
I don't find trying gear to be a chore, I find it's of the more interesting parts of the job description.
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tbcass
Forum Pro
Probably camera handling is the last thing I consider. I have only tried 2 cameras in my 50 years of photography that I didn't like the handling of. The first was a Sony NEX-5 which I didn't buy because of the way it handled. The other was the RX100 which I bought anyway because at the time it was the only camera that offered acceptable to me IQ in an ultra small format. I wanted that super small portability so I could overlook the things I didn't like about it. I did buy a stick on grip that improved things quite a bit but no camera that small will ever offer what I consider good handling.
tbcass
Forum Pro
Same with me but reviews are an integral part of that. I have to ask, why don't you use reviews? Regardless of sample variations they can still give a huge amount of useful information.
For me they amount to little more than opinion pieces. I may read the odd one once in a while for entertainment purposes. Along with photography, I had a 25 year career as a test engineer designing, developing and conducting tests so I only accept what I can actually test for myself.
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I fail to see how they're "just" opinion pieces. Along with some opinions, there is a ton of objective data in them. If you can't rely on someone else's tests, are you going to test before you buy?
That data is only specific to the particular piece of gear being reviewed. It doesn't really tell me anything about the piece I have in my hand except in the most general sense.
I try a piece of gear at the shops to see if it might have the potential suit my intended purpose. They know me there so I they let me out of the shop to try on local scenes. If it passes that initial try, I'll buy it and then do further testing. I very rarely have to return a piece.
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tbcass
Forum Pro
I have an engineering background myself. Most of DPR's reviews are objective which I find very useful. They do a lot of objective testing that I cannot do myself without owning the camera. The opinion part of the reviews is easily ignored.
Then you should know that any tests are only specific to the particular piece of gear being tested. Repeatability is not guaranteed. There's even differences and even some contradictions in reviews of the same gear in different review sites. That doesn't engender confidence for me.
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tbcass
Forum Pro
As long as it's the same brand and model that isn't really true because there is little variation between camera bodies. They also give a lot of useful information about the potential capabilities of the camera.
Same with me but reviews supply a lot of useful info before I make that decision to buy. You can do what you want and it seems to work for you but to dismiss the usefulness of a good camera review is, IMO, a mistake on your part.
You mean the gear in your hand is the same as the one being reviewed but you don't trust the review? Or do you mean they're not reviewing what you are interested in buying?
Works great for you. Many of us don't have local shops.
Sorry, that's hogwash.
tbcass
Forum Pro
That doesn't matter. My knowledge of camera equipment in general is quite extensive because I've been at it for over 50 years. Because of that I can garner very useful information despite any shortcomings you or I find in the review process (and yes there are shortcomings). All that means is reading reviews should never be the only thing in deciding on a camera purchase, only a tool in the decision making. Reading as many reviews as possible is useful to see if there is a consensus.
LOL. No, it's a fact.
Like it or not, there is always a range in the criteria for acceptance or rejection of a production piece. Where the specific piece in my hand at the shop falls within that range is essentially a crapshoot.
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There's always a range in the criteria for acceptance or rejection of a production piece. Where the specific piece in my hands at the shop falls within that range is essentially a crapshoot.
Not spending time reading reviews give me more time to do the work...speaking of which it's time to go.
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tbcass
Forum Pro
Actually I have found that what reviewers find is almost always born out with my own experience and it's why I trust the reviews. Because of that I totally reject what you are saying because it's based on assumptions on your part, not on reading a review, buying the camera and then using and testing to see if the review actually agrees with real world use. Maybe in your prior experience you found a lot of sample to sample variation in what you were testing but in general cameras are not like that. They either perform as expected or, in rare instances, simply are faulty in which case you exchange for another of the same model. I have never had to make such an exchange.
--
Tom
Look at the picture, not the pixels
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TacticDesigns
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I guess it is possible for camera manufacturers to figure out what reviewers will like and then design a camera that performs really well in a review . . . but, then does that mean what really is important for real world shooting takes a back seat?
Will that result in a camera that has a lot of cup holders? (Remember when the number of cup holders in a car was a big thing? LOL.)
I would prefer a camera manufacturer figure out how to make their camera perform well in the real world and not worry so much about how it will perform in a review. Unfortunately, a poor review can be damaging to the interest in their product. That IMHO is a shame. But I hope that if a camera (tool) is competent enough, the potential consumer can see that even after reading a poor review.
Also, I guess that might be like comparing cameras only on the specifications. If you only compare cameras on specifications, you can get a camera with the most megapixels, fastest shooting speed or most / best video output.
But . . . how does it handle? How a camera handles isn't necessarily something you can enter into the specifications. IMHO it's a bit more abstract than that. And . . . that is where these reviews come in handy. Stepping outside the specs, these reviews touch on many of the things that can't find its way onto the spec sheets.
Take care & Happy Shooting!
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