Alternatives to DPReview

brentbrent wrote:

There is another thread lamenting DPR's impending shutdown, but I'm starting this one to hopefully gather suggestions for where to go next for camera info.

There is a Micro Four Thirds forum here: https://www.mu-43.com/forums/ The few times I checked it out it didn't seem nearly as vibrant as this place, but perhaps a big influx of members from this place might change that.

mu-43 is likely to be the closest match

Please post links to any other photographic forums, review sites, or other sites that you know of that might be sources of info about MFT, camera gear, or photography after this place shuts down

This is another place I sometimes visit. It has 22k members, but I find it somewhat difficult to navigate: https://www.reddit.com/r/M43/

It's easy enough to set up a server but I wonder if the entry barrier is just too high and it might be too "gamery". On the plus side, no ads.

FWIW, if anyone wants to play around with it and give feedback if it could be worth pursuing, I set up a server:

https://discord.gg/x8kvE3Bz

uniball wrote:

Tom Caldwell wrote:

EarthQuake wrote:

brentbrent wrote:

There is another thread lamenting DPR's impending shutdown, but I'm starting this one to hopefully gather suggestions for where to go next for camera info.

There is a Micro Four Thirds forum here: https://www.mu-43.com/forums/ The few times I checked it out it didn't seem nearly as vibrant as this place, but perhaps a big influx of members from this place might change that.

Please post links to any other photographic forums, review sites, or other sites that you know of that might be sources of info about MFT, camera gear, or photography after this place shuts down

There is a decent amount of activity on MU43. The thing to understand is that the site is split into many sub-forums, rather than the single M43 forum we have here.

Some of the sub-forums on MU43 are invaluable, like the lens sample images.

People are generally less argumentative on MU43 as well, so that's another benefit. Though if we see a mass migration from DPR I'm not sure if that will remain true.

I looked at mu-43 and was immediately assaulted by a snowstorm of advertisements inserted between paragraphs.

I had a look at Cameraderie and it does have many sub-forums - seems presently mainly a Fuji forum but it does have a very quiet M4/3 sub-forum and if acceptable we could soon fix that. The advantage of Cameraderie is that it reads well right out of the box. Try browsing a large Fuji thread ..... the different ambience is collossal.

On the other hand a brand new start up mftcommunity looks alike a good starter albeit M4/3 only oriented and very few posts there as of yet as it is brand new.

There are likely to be others.

You repeatedly talk about ads. What are ads? Join today's world and use ad blockers.
I would characterize mu43 as a more “adult” alternative. Better balanced between photography and gear. Less about pixel peeping and incessant arguing. I suspect a good number of posters here wouldn’t last long before they’re tossed.

Some may find that appealing.

I agree, I found this M43 forum the most argumentative of all on this site. Never ending juvenile arguments defending M43 with moderators seemingly absent (on purpose?).

This site is especially well constructed, the interface the layout etc., and I've not seen any which come close. Many of the news stories were interesting and better yet they are archived. Ability to bookmark is also unique feature. Thats what I will miss. Also liked the challenges especially being new to any system camera as my only other camera was (is) a LX7. Challenges gave me the opportunity to challenge myself in order to challenge some very good veteran photographers where I was proud of my very first efforts.

I came to this website when I considered M43 as my first mirrorless system a little more than a year ago but not to this forum. I used the camera/lens database, reviews etc., & side by side comparison. After I bought my gear I came to this forum not to argue nor give advice but to share photos I took with my gear. My thoughts were that a photo says a thousand words. I take my photography serious but it seemed that most of the time this place was reduced to a chatroom where photography too was notably absent. It soon became obvious to me that not only this form but a few others had become a social chatroom.

With a countdown to closure I'll enter a couple more challenges.

Nothing lasts forever and the short timeline for announcing the closure at first seemed inappropriate but then I thought there was no point to significantly extend the closure timeline. Better to get it over with.

Keit ll wrote:

fredmiranda.com

This is a civilized site that does not tolerate trolls.

I guess that means that Tedolph will not be able to go there?

It has various user groups including MFT. It is a mature site that has been around for a long time.

Tedolph

40Eridani-Vulcan wrote:

jrsforums wrote:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/

I can't register. I get this odd message...

REGISTRATION IS DENIED FROM ALL THOSE COMING FROM SERVER HOSTING COMPANIES OR ANONYMOUS SERVICES.

My internet connection comes from Xfinity. I'm puzzled.

Try Tor Browser. It blocks your IP address.

As a Mac-based Safari user, sometimes I have to try several browsers for things to work properly. Brave, Chrome, Firefox, Tor.

Arifination wrote:

I'm looking for an alternative site that has a feature of comparing camera specifications side by side like dpreview or gsmarena (in the world of smartphones)

mu-43.com and/or micro43.org

Not real alternatives, but micro43.org is new because dpreview.com will close.  mu-43.com is not new.

Jon Schick wrote:

Arifination wrote:

I'm looking for an alternative site that has a feature of comparing camera specifications side by side like dpreview or gsmarena (in the world of smartphones)

I will probably switch to imaging-resource for camera/lens announcements along with their reviews and interviews

tedolf wrote:

Keit ll wrote:

fredmiranda.com

This is a civilized site that does not tolerate trolls.

I guess that means that Tedolph will not be able to go there?

It has various user groups including MFT. It is a mature site that has been around for a long time.

Tedolph

They would have banned me too when I called the Pen F a "dud". Not a troll, my honest feelings when the camera when first announced/reviewed.

On DPReview, nothing happened when I made these comments. On forums more concerned about not rocking the boat AKA we do not tolerate trolls... automatic ban stick for sure.

Time for a revival of "my-four-thirds"? who were those guys running that site?

I really missed that site when they closed down more than 10 years ago, especially the galleries with their different themes like:

Architecture

Art

Candid

Documentary

Fashion

Wildlife

among others