Again, Godfrey, I think you miss the point. As a working photographer you probably have many more sources of informal review and recommendation than do others such as myself who do have to spend most of their time on non-photographic pursuits, who live in an area where reliable photo shops are almost non-existent (there is only one in my city that I would bother with, out of a total of three camera dealers) and where the push to buy Canon first and Nikon second would be almost irresistible for someone new to the craft.
I do not find specifications alone to be necessarily the best resource for decision-making, and I consider myself reasonably well-informed as to what I would like in a serious camera. The emphasis on pixel count for example, would steer a novice to the Canon at 12.2 megapixels against your Panasonic at IIRC, 10: but the Canon produces really bad jpegs, and it is unlikely this would be discovered by handling in the dealers. Regards John -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Godfrey DiGiorgi Sent: Friday, 16 May 2008 4:29 PM To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject: Re: CanOFF EOS 450D Iso Test I'm a cinema fan. I read a lot of reviews. I go to a lot of films. More than 70% of the time, my impression of a particular film is VASTLY different from the critics'/pundits' impressions ... If I listened to their impressions, I wouldn't ever know that. Similarly, when it comes to camera equipment, I find my experience in using the equipment seems to be VASTLY different from the reviews I read. However, it is often in alignment with the views of a couple of friends whose opinions I respect. As a consequence, I tend to buy at the trailing edge of the innovation curve, look at reviews to uncover what the manufacturers publish regards the specifications of the equipment, and talk mostly to my knowledgable, credible friends regards what works for them and why rather than reading magazines and web review sites for the opinions of people whom I do not know. I never buy *anything* I haven't at least handled in a store several times, if I can possibly help it, and if I do I make sure I buy it from a source which supports free customer satisfaction return/exchange. I really don't give a damn what the magazine or web reviewers have to say about equipment. I read their reviews for the specs and data that they collect and ignore their analysis and opinions completely. The review press gave the Panasonic L1 a very lukewarm review. I bought it because I expected the Leica design lens might be pretty good and didn't know what to expect from the body. To my delight, the camera is FAR more competent than any of the review press ever gave it credit for ... I sold two photos I made with it within a week that more than paid for the camera ... and the second one I bought as a backup as well. So when I see a magazine give a good, or bad, review for a camera, I laugh at their opinion. I learn as much as I can about equipment prior to buying by reading everything I can ... but I'm looking for specifications and data, not review opinions. Then I seek out a source to borrow or test the camera myself prior to buying. And then I buy and use it heavily within the return period to see whether I really really want to keep it. As I said, the only reason I can think of to get upset about a magazine or web review being negative is that you work for Pentax marketing and are trying to promote camera sales. As a photographer looking for equipment to make photograph, the reviews are next to meaningless at best. Godfrey On May 15, 2008, at 5:42 PM, John Coyle wrote: > Not sure where you are coming from with this comment Godfrey: > however, I > would reflect that, were I in the market for a new camera, and had no > existing brand loyalty, I would be reading reviews in what is > basically a > well-respected magazine, considered to be the leader in it's field > in the UK > at least, and would probably be guided by their reviews in making my > purchasing decision. What is important is that the bottom-line > summary (the > percentage rating) should better indicate the quality of the item > reviewed > than I think this does. A camera and lens combination that cannot > produce > photos of an acceptable quality under conditions which will be > normal for > many potential users does not merit a rating of 86% , in my > opinion. It is > a matter of objectivity: my experience in reading this particular > magazine > for more than forty years is that it's reviews do tend to indicate > bias > towards particular manufacturers, and often those they do not favour > will > have their products reviewed in a very negative way: minor issues > will be > highlighted, and subjective comments will be offered without > definitive > reasons being given. > > > John Coyle > Brisbane, Australia > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of > Godfrey DiGiorgi > Sent: Friday, 16 May 2008 9:57 AM > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List > Subject: Re: CanOFF EOS 450D Iso Test > > I can't for the life of me understand why a bunch of pundits' praise > or whatever is significant at all. Why care what they say unless > you're working for Pentax marketing? > > Godfrey - www.gdgphoto.com > > On May 15, 2008, at 4:51 PM, John Coyle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> The UK's Amateur Photographer" had its usual biased summary of it's >> testing: >> the article said that basically the jpeg's suck at any ISO, that >> noise >> levels are unacceptable at 400 ISO and above, and that using >> "highlight tone >> priority" slows the camera down noticeably. But the reviewer still >> gave the >> camera 86% overall, the same as the Nikon D60 and the Alpha 350! >> >> >> John Coyle >> Brisbane, Australia >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf >> Of >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Sent: Friday, 16 May 2008 3:21 AM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: OT: CanOFF EOS 450D Iso Test >> >> http://www.fotovilag.hu/teszt/canon/Canon-450D/canon450d-iso.htm >> >> Kinda sucks above ISO 400. >> >> (the page is in hungarian but the pictures are universal :D) >> >> Cheers, >> .t >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above >> and >> follow the directions. >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above >> and follow the directions. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above > and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
