Sad news for visitors to DPReview.com UPDATE: DPReview sold, will not close

[Fishrrman]

I'm thinking that perhaps amazon is reconsidering a flat-out "close down", and might be considering other options, such as a "stripped down" site (mostly just the existing forums), or perhaps may decide to sell the site rather than simply close it...

 

[retta283]

It would be fantastic to see it live on; in any event I am thrilled that they seem to be committing to keep it up as an archive instead of shutting the entire site off. It does surprise me that there was seemingly no attempt to sell it first, perhaps Amazon is apprehensive about getting rid of its acquisitions for some reason.

 

[Clix Pix]

Staff and ambassadors yes. But not independent reviewers. They would only get something for a short period a few weeks before.

Agree.....those YT so-called "Influencers" and "Reviewers" wouldn't get a sample of a new camera or lens until right before release time. Professional reviewers, those who actually have a reliable reputation in the field and are approved by the manufacturer(s) would receive the gear earlier than that, and as I mentioned, sometimes pre-production. There's a handful of those, and DPR staff would be among them. Manufacturing staff and Brand Ambassadors would be the ones who have the greatest amount of time to spend with new gear pre-production so that they can discover any glitches which need to be fixed prior to entering mass production and distribution.

So, the bottom line here is that DPR indeed did receive a new Nikon Z8 and were able to put their comparison and info about it on the website, which, last I looked, was indeed still perking right along. From what I've seen so far, Nikon fans have been expressing mixed opinions about the gear, which of course they haven't had a chance to actually handle, just going by the information provided about the specs and such. Some are disappointed, others are excited, some are neutral. A few may sell or trade in their current Z9 for the less bulky Z8, others may purchase the Z8 as a companion/backup camera to the Z9, while some who had held off on the Z9 may go for the new Z8.

 

[Clix Pix]

Yes, it does seem as though maybe DPR is going to rise from the ashes that it never quite settled into in the first place....and that would be fantastic news for everyone, from consumers to professional photographers to camera manufacturers and those interested in the history of photography and technology.

I think one reason (aside from the uproar back when the announcement was first made) is that because the site hasn't yet closed its forums people have kept participating and actually even a few new members have joined (which I find interesting and rather odd). Other people deserted what they thought was a sinking ship but a few members have kept hanging in there with it anyway. I know that I've posted a few times just to keep things moving along rather than sitting back waiting for the site to die.

 

[mollyc]

The question at hand is whether or not DPR is actually closing or not. It doesn't matter what gear they tested and what other people feel about that gear.

DPR stated they had a pre-production model of a newly announced camera for one day and used it in NYC. Photos they included showed redbuds and daffodils blooming. Given that I have photos of redbuds in bloom here in the DC area on April 9th, DPR must have had that camera at least a week or two later, which means likely somewhere around May 1st.

I can't see any major camera company giving a pre production camera to a website with an imminent demise. That all references to the impending close have been removed, and that DPR employees/contractors are being cagey with direct answers for clarification indicates the that some version of DPR is actually going to survive this debacle.

And again, if people wish to discuss the camera that was reviewed, make a new thread for it....it's always the case to make a new thread...do not derail the discussion of DPR with discussions about a specific camera.

 

[MacNut]

A post on their instagram page said they will keep doing reviews until they are told to stop.

 

[Clix Pix]

There is an update on the DPR site on May 11th stating that they know people are wondering what's happening and are concerned, etc., but essentially they didn't share anything new in the way of information, which does suggest that maybe something is in the works behind the scenes to save the site or at least most of its features. Someone today on DPR posted an interesting thought: he predicted that maybe DPR would merge with Petapixel! Actually, when one thinks about it, not a totally off-the-wall idea....

 

[mollyc]

Exciting News: DPReview Has Joined Gear Patrol!

Gear Patrol is excited to announce the acquisition of DPReview, an industry-leading publication and community dedicated to digital photography gear and news.

www.gearpatrol.com

I have never heard of Gear Patrol but has to be better than Amazon closing DP.

ETA: the article on DP

DPReview.com looks forward to a new chapter with Gear Patrol

We’re thrilled to share the news that Gear Patrol has acquired DPReview. Gear Patrol is a natural home for the next phase of DPReview’s journey, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together.

www.dpreview.com

 

[Clix Pix]

Very interesting news! Rather than bleating "Oh, I never heard of this site!" I (and I'm sure many others) took the time to actually explore the Gear Patrol site and its approach and presentation. Interesting, and yes, definitely varied in their offerings. I can see how they are viewing DPR as a potentially good fit for them and the way they function on the internet.

They write about all kinds of new products -- gear -- as they come along and so, sure, a site wholly based on photographic gear, complete with reviews going way, way back and comments in the discussion forums also going way, way back, lots of history being preserved plus also a ready-made audience for announcements and reviews of new gear and discussion forums already set into place is undoubtedly viewed as a valuable asset for this particular company.

Looking forward to see how things progress on DPR now that we finally have an answer to the questions which has been in everyone's mind since last April....

 

[mollyc]

Very interesting news! Rather than bleating "Oh, I never heard of this site!" I (and I'm sure many others) took the time to actually explore the Gear Patrol site and its approach and presentation. Interesting, and yes, definitely varied in their offerings. I can see how they are viewing DPR as a potentially good fit for them and the way they function on the internet.

They write about all kinds of new products -- gear -- as they come along and so, sure, a site wholly based on photographic gear, complete with reviews going way, way back and comments in the discussion forums also going way, way back, lots of history being preserved plus also a ready-made audience for announcements and reviews of new gear and discussion forums already set into place is undoubtedly viewed as a valuable asset for this particular company.

Looking forward to see how things progress on DPR now that we finally have an answer to the questions which has been in everyone's mind since last April....

I am glad you feel so superior for having looked up the site, but not all of us spend all our time hopping from site to site; I legitimately have never heard of Gear Patrol and so could not give an informed opinion as to the quality of the site. I still thought the news was worth sharing.

Please stop finding fault with everything I say.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Glad its staying! Yay.

 

[AL2TEACH]

I legitimately have never heard of Gear Patrol

Likewise

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Glad its staying! Yay.

As am I.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

But didn’t the two main guys still head off to another site?

 

[Apple fanboy]

But didn’t the two main guys still head off to another site?

They did, but I'm sure they will survive without them.

 

[Clix Pix]

I guess I am the only one who takes the time to not only read the official announcement(s) but also the comments following those announcements....and, yes, there were several comments bleating about how the writer had never heard of this Gear Patrol site. So if someone hasn't heard of a particular site before, why not take a few minutes to check it out before just immediately posting that he or she has not heard of it before?

What difference does that make in the long run to any site if someone hasn't heard of it before? Sure, maybe to the individual it might feel like a big deal but that's his or her own concern, isn't it, why should it affect others, and something which can easily be remedied in a few clicks of the mouse button. After all, they're hearing about it now, right?

So DPR isn't going away, and that is a huge pleasure and relief to many of us, isn't it?! What happens next is up to the new owners / Gear Patrol site personnel and whatever decisions are made now and in the future to handle its newest acquisition.

Yes, there also were quite a few comments mentioning hopes that the two TV/Video guys would come back. I forget what their names were, but yes, for a while they seemed to be really active and a fairly dominant presence on DPR.). I know a lot of people have missed them. Right now they've been settling in at Petapixel so may prefer to just stay right there, but with regard to the newly-moving-forward DPR, well, any changes in their employment and/or participation, that's up to both the Gear Patrol folks and the two of them, isn't it?

I am definitely very happy and relieved that DPR is staying intact for the time being at least, and that the reviews, news and forums will (hopefully) continue as they have over the many years. Great news for the entire photographic community......

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I have never heard of Gear Patrol but has to be better than Amazon closing DP.

Agree 100%. I checked out their site after seeing the announcement & link here, and so far I'm agnostic on whether it's a good or bad thing. If the reviews & ratings aren't affected by advertiser pressures, then I'm all for it. We'll see.

But in the meantime, it's great news at last that the site and all its decades of content and the forums won't disappear overnight, which is what many of us have been fearing.

 

[someoldguy]

Seems that Hearst has their fingers in Gear Patrol . Let's see how this works out . Hope they don't mess DP up.

 

[AL2TEACH]

So if someone hasn't heard of a particular site before, why not take a few minutes to check it out before just immediately posting that he or she has not heard of it before?

Good gawd, mellow out a tad. It was just a statement about not knowing the site, whew.
My bad!!!!!! I jumped the something and then read the whole post, lol.
Will have to find how to delete a post but in the meantime, I hope my premature reaction serves as a lesson as to why one should read the whole post before acting!!!!!!! I hope this serves a greater purpose, lol.
damn, how the heck do you delete a post lol.
I now leave with head to the floor in shame!!!!!!!
But let us take this/my lesson to a higher plane and let it flow to all matters in our life.

 

[Nick on the Baltic]

But didn’t the two main guys still head off to another site?

The two main YouTube guys left. They ran the video content, but the core team has stayed and most of the content is old-fashioned text and images. DPR is fine without them and, for all their boyish charm, they are replaceable.

 

[_timo_redux_]

I followed Gear Patrol for awhile on Twitter.

I found it to be have a lot of manufacturer's PR masquerading as reviews; I unfollowed after some real naked examples.

Maybe a little "bro" too ... it remains to be seen if they'll keep up the "love of photography" portion of DPreview, as opposed to the more typical tech hype that fuels GAS and, I guess, advertisers.

 

[r.harris1]

I followed Gear Patrol for awhile on Twitter.

I found it to be have a lot of manufacturer's PR masquerading as reviews; I unfollowed after some real naked examples.

Maybe a little "bro" too ... it remains to be seen if they'll keep up the "love of photography" portion of DPreview, as opposed to the more typical tech hype that fuels GAS and, I guess, advertisers.

Yeah, ultimately, we all need to be discriminating in how we consume information - always follow the money because it's there somewhere - and pick out the useful information where we can. I felt it was easy with DPReview to pick out biases and set them aside. We'll see with Gear Patrol, I guess.

 

[sparksd]

Yeah, ultimately, we all need to be discriminating in how we consume information - always follow the money because it's there somewhere - and pick out the useful information where we can. I felt it was easy with DPReview to pick out biases and set them aside. We'll see with Gear Patrol, I guess.

I joined it back in 2001 and I'm looking forward to giving the new host a chance.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I am cautiously optimistic, in the sense that in the short term anything seems better than DPReview evaporating.

But Gear Patrol does seem to be pretty uncritical in their reviews. Some of it sounds like outright shilling. I can see a scenario where the essential quality of DPReview is watered down.

 

[sparksd]

I am cautiously optimistic, in the sense that in the short term anything seems better than DPReview evaporating.

But Gear Patrol does seem to be pretty uncritical in their reviews. Some of it sounds like outright shilling. I can see a scenario where the essential quality of DPReview is watered down.

My interest was always more on user interchanges in the forums, not on reviews from the site itself; there are a lot of other review sites available so I didn't view it as critical.