DPReview shut down by Amazon as of 4/10

[Steve-arino]

Final day is 4/10. I know there are a number of photographers on the AGF. Amazon is simply shutting the site down. No new owner, no availability of information and/or reviews gathered on the site for the past 25 years, after 4/10.

This was one of the most popular photography sites on the internet.

Sad ending. I'd guess the demographic is similar to AGF. Thank your lucky stars that this site is not owned by Amazon.

[David Eastwood]

I’m very sad to see this. I joined in 2015. In many ways I regard the forum side of DPR as the camera equivalent of the AGF, and have not found anything comparable out there.

It’s also one of the best review sites I’ve found for photo gear - a consistent approach across testing, and no apparent brand favouritism. It will be very much missed.

[1neeto]

Got the email the other day. Really sad, but sadly that’s the future of online forums. Facebook groups have rendered them obsolete.

[raysachs]

Got the email from them yesterday or the day before. I was really active there from about 2010 until maybe 2017 or 2018. In a way it's sad - it could be a pretty valuable resource. But the forums could be a real free-for-all and often not in the good way. I had other, friendlier, forums I spent most time on while keeping a toe in with DPR. Sort of like I spend a lot of time here and keep a toe in the water at The Gear Page.

Internet sites crash and burn all the time. It seems like a big deal, but they're generally quickly forgotten. I'm already kind of over it.

-Ray

[Birdbrain]

This seems part of an ongoing trend away from thorough, neutral product reviews, primarily in written format. DPR reviewed 25 years worth of digital gear using relatively consistent methodology. It was the place to go to compare sensor resolution or camera size or any specific spec that matters to you, and find it fast.

Instead of one universal database, we're getting a barrage of video reviews by aspiring YouTube stars. This kind of information is usually subjective, rapidly produced, and impossible to search through quickly. These videos always feature the presenters instead of the gear. It's more of a daily dose of "content" to draw clicks and eyeballs. It's telling that the one branch of DPR that lives on is DPTV, with Chris and Jordan migrating over to Petapixel.

[Steve-arino]

Originally Posted by Birdbrain

This seems part of an ongoing trend away from thorough, neutral product reviews, primarily in written format. DPR reviewed 25 years worth of digital gear using relatively consistent methodology. It was the place to go to compare sensor resolution or camera size or any specific spec that matters to you, and find it fast.

Instead of one universal database, we're getting a barrage of video reviews by aspiring YouTube stars. This kind of information is usually subjective, rapidly produced, and impossible to search through quickly. These videos always feature the presenters instead of the gear. It's more of a daily dose of "content" to draw clicks and eyeballs. It's telling that the one branch of DPR that lives on is DPTV, with Chris and Jordan migrating over to Petapixel.

Exactly. I'm not a fan of video reviews either.

Thanks for letting me know about Chris and Jordan and Petapixel. I'll check it out. Also fredmiranda.com is a great site. And there are all the manufacturer forums. I guess my comfortable slippers have just been thrown out and I need to get new ones.

There are organizations that would like to continue to run DPReview as is; to buy DPR and continue with it in subscription form ($5 a month sort of thing). From what I read, Amazon just wants to shut it down and not allow access to any of the previous 25 years of material. To have that level of control over previously, publicly available information is what upsets me the most.

Yeah I know this can happen with any site at any time but this is the first time in my memory that one of my favorite sites will be shut down by what I now understand is an "off" switch in the sky. Life will go on :-).

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

Got the email the other day. Really sad, but sadly that’s the future of online forums. Facebook groups have rendered them obsolete.

Maybe in the older demographic. I don't know anyone under 40 using Facebook, it's all Discord servers now.

Shame about DPReview, I was shocked with the news. Such a thriving community! I appreciated getting feedback there.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Maybe in the older demographic. I don't know anyone under 40 using Facebook, it's all Discord servers now.

Shame about DPReview, I was shocked with the news. Such a thriving community! I appreciated getting feedback there.

I posted when I got my camera and they were very helpful trying to troubleshoot it. Yes, there were some smart remarks hinting at me not reading the manual (I did), and not using the search function. But overall they were helpful and got my camera fixed with their guidance.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

I posted when I got my camera and they were very helpful trying to troubleshoot it. Yes, there were some smart remarks hinting at me not reading the manual (I did), and not using the search function. But overall they were helpful and got my camera fixed with their guidance.

Definitely not as nice a forum as this one, but what is…

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Definitely not as nice a forum as this one, but what is…

Yeah this place has been my constant for over ten years now. Must be a reason. [emoji6]

[imwjl]

No surprise at all but it is still sad news to me. The site is all about something fundamentally changed, and it's owned by a firm doing another round of layoffs.

It was a fantastic example of database driven content earlier on.

Maybe Amazon ownership extended the life because of how changed the market is? At spring 2023 we are far into retail, advertising and cameras all being very much changed.

[Highroller]

Sorry to see this. Back in the days when people used to argue about the merits of film versus digital, I used to spend a lot of time there. Not so much lately.

Haven't even picked up a real camera in quite a while. Too many expensive hobbies as it is. Can't do them all!

[Highroller]

Updating an old post ... I came across an old bookmark and clicked on it. DP Review's apparently back up and running! Maybe they never went away, I dunno.

Apparently, they're owned now by somebody called Gear Patrol, LLC and from what I can tell, seems their editorial policies haven't changed. Seems to still be a quality site and not some click-bate dumpster page.

That's good news as far as I'm concerned. Of course, the bad news is that now I wanna run out and buy a new Nikon! LoL!

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Highroller

Updating an old post ... I came across an old bookmark and clicked on it. DP Review's apparently back up and running! Maybe they never went away, I dunno.

Apparently, they're owned now by somebody called Gear Patrol, LLC and from what I can tell, seems their editorial policies haven't changed. Seems to still be a quality site and not some click-bate dumpster page.

That's good news as far as I'm concerned. Of course, the bad news is that now I wanna run out and buy a new Nikon! LoL!

It never actually shut down - they kept it going while hunting for new ownership. There were two or three attempts to open replacements for the forums, but I don’t know if any succeeded. A lot of people did leave, though, which means that forum activity seems to have ticked down a bit (at least in the categories I frequent). The new gear reviews always were, and remain, the best part of the site.

[Gromitspapa]

Here's a couple of other good sites:

https://luminous-landscape.com/

https://www.fredmiranda.com/