DPReview is shutting down, will it be good for forums like this one?

[Chris Summers]

Those of us who are registered with DPReview probably all got the message by email that DPReview will disappear on April 10th after 25 years of providing excellent reviews of new digital gear as well as providing user forums for just about every type of gear as well as wide ranging topics.

I think this will be good for independent sites like this one as well as other gear related forums. There certainly is a lot going on with other forums, Facebook is in decline and Twitter is a mess. Some in the industry feel like the popularity of social media will never be the same. I was one of the first users of Google+ and did like it as there were a ton of photographers using it but in the end it didn't generate the income that Google wanted.

Anyway glad the Timothy started this forum and hope it survives!

 

[Tim Mayo]

I just read the news and thought it was an early April fools joke! It’s probably the only other photography site that I visit on an almost daily basis. I’m definitely shocked that it’s going and feel for all of the staff there, hopefully they land on their feet. But I’m even more shocked that it sounds like the site won’t even be archived, just taken offline completely! I can’t get my head around that decision and really hope that someone has a change of heart.

Well we have no plans to shutdown this forum anytime soon so DPReview members are more than welcome to join

 

[Nick L]

I saw this earlier today, real shame a good site with good reviews. I was not aware that it was owned by Amazon and has been chopped by them, I would hope they would have sold as it is one of the best known photo review sites.
Some of the commentators on the forum will have to look for a new job if it does go!

 

[JackC]

I am sure that every photography or camera info search I have ever done on the web has returned at least one link to DPReview. So much so, that I did become a member just because there was always someone with a bit of wisdom on whatever problem/question I had. Thank goodness for Tim creating RF Shooters and giving me a place to seek answers and enjoy other peoples photos.

 

[Photofarmer]

just need a bit more traffic here

 

[lostnomore]

I'm sure that other forums will no doubt increase in traffic, but I will immensely miss the astounding depth of information found on dpreview outside of the forums, ex. camera and lens reviews. I made so many buying decisions based upon their analyses that I frankly don't know where I'll turn for such info in the future. What other site even comes close? (That's a question for which I'm open to answers!) So although forums are nice for bantering back and forth, they are subjective opinions instead of objective analyses and that's what I'll miss the most about dpreview.

 

[lostnomore]

just need a bit more traffic here

Agreed!! It's a pretty sleepy place around here. Maybe everyone is out shooting? But traffic has picked up a bit in the couple of months or so that I've been around, even before the DPReview bombshell.

 

[Bryan Conner]

I think it definitely will be good for other forums, even very specific ones like this one. When I visited DPReview, I mostly only visited the Canon EOS-R sub-forum. If I wanted info about anything specific, like accessories etc., I would most likely do a search and then go wherever the results took me. If I wanted info about my Sony RX-100 or info related to it, I would usually just do a simple search on Google.

Since I saw the news about DPReview, I have been revisiting a lot of the forums in my favorites list which I haven't visited in a long time. I haven't found anything that can fully replace DPReview currently, but I am sure that a forum will emerge, or maybe there will be multiple forums.

Things come and things go...and things come and.....

Like Bob Dylan said, "The times they are a-changin".