michaelwj
----------------
I’m going to go out on a limb and say Kai W ex Digital Rev TV. He cuts to the chase and uses the thing, says what he likes and says what irritates him. Plus he can be funny. There’s not really much more I need in a review.
The other one I like for their honesty is Thom Hogan, but his reviews are limited to hear in his niche.
The other one I like for their honesty is Thom Hogan, but his reviews are limited to hear in his niche.
skucera
Well-known
I've got a couple of art degrees, and I've found that the best advice about your craft comes from artists who actually make their living from their craft. They're often quite helpful passing on tips that they learned the hard way as they learned how to make their living. This is true for architects, sculptors, painters, graphic designers, and photographers. I found that, while pleasant, praise and advice from non-professionals wasn't very helpful, especially compositional or thematic advice.
If you like a photographer's work, compliment them and then ask how they achieve their results. The photographer will likely tell you in great detail how they did it, and what he or she was looking for when they created that image. Great photos rarely happen by accident... quite the opposite, they often require lots of work before the shutter snaps and during development and dark room, or in Photoshop or whatever digital process you use.
Also, don't become discouraged. Learning anything is hard work. Remember that luck favors the prepared mind.
Scott
If you like a photographer's work, compliment them and then ask how they achieve their results. The photographer will likely tell you in great detail how they did it, and what he or she was looking for when they created that image. Great photos rarely happen by accident... quite the opposite, they often require lots of work before the shutter snaps and during development and dark room, or in Photoshop or whatever digital process you use.
Also, don't become discouraged. Learning anything is hard work. Remember that luck favors the prepared mind.
Scott
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Spider67
Well-known
I teach German according to common "wisdom" that would mean that I can't speak it.....
Teachers are important. Being a good teacher is a great achievment....
So those who can teach help the others to do....and those who can't think for themselves repeat "wise" quotes.
This said I turn to gear Reviews when I want to get informed about gears and to the sites of photographers if I am interested to learn to understand their art.
Teachers are important. Being a good teacher is a great achievment....
So those who can teach help the others to do....and those who can't think for themselves repeat "wise" quotes.
This said I turn to gear Reviews when I want to get informed about gears and to the sites of photographers if I am interested to learn to understand their art.
faris
Well-known
Ming Thein.
Camera reviews, by the very nature of the subject, have to include some tech capabilities of the camera. Good objective reviews are very difficult to write.
Ming Thein’s reviews are some of the best out there.
Whether a photo has ‘ soul ‘ is more about photography and capture of subject/events than about the camera. It’s like saying Ansel’s images don’t have soul. While Dorothea Lange’s and Margaret Bourke’s Photographs do!
Camera reviews, by the very nature of the subject, have to include some tech capabilities of the camera. Good objective reviews are very difficult to write.
Ming Thein’s reviews are some of the best out there.
Whether a photo has ‘ soul ‘ is more about photography and capture of subject/events than about the camera. It’s like saying Ansel’s images don’t have soul. While Dorothea Lange’s and Margaret Bourke’s Photographs do!
Chuffed Cheese
Established
I like Jonas Rask's work and his reviews. Best to understand he's a product photographer for Fuji gear so that may color his impressions a bit but the images he produces are quite nice so he's a fan of their gear. Reviews are basically just means to validate my own purchases though so they are more entertainment than informative.
pgk
Well-known
The problem is that whilst reviewers can give you comparative data and photographers can illustrate that the vast majority of cameras and lenses are highly capable these days, using photographic equipment comes down to personal choices, likes and dislikes. So whilst I could show you photographs, explain what I use to take them and why I use it, I can't tell you whether or not you will enjoy using the same gear that I use. So both reviews and photographs are only a part of the story, the rest is about understanding what you want equipment to do and what works best for you.
I would add that whilst most photographers have some interest in their tools, in my experience not all camera owners are interested in photography. Its all too easy to get caught up in technical specification and forget that in the real world of taking photographs there are many reasons for using specific gear that have little to do with this.
David Hughes
David Hughes
The point of a review, surely, is to show that it works and how it works and behaves but not to show what a good photographer the reviewer is; in any case "good" is a very vague word when applied to a work of art.
More to the point, using a different camera every other day as a reviewer might is not the best way to take good photos, the best usually stick to one camera for decades. OTOH, you could look at the photographs of the camera in the review and hope the reviewer took them.
And, of course, pictures designed to show how the thing performs with or without distortion, vignetting and CA etc, etc are very boring but important.
Regards, David
More to the point, using a different camera every other day as a reviewer might is not the best way to take good photos, the best usually stick to one camera for decades. OTOH, you could look at the photographs of the camera in the review and hope the reviewer took them.
And, of course, pictures designed to show how the thing performs with or without distortion, vignetting and CA etc, etc are very boring but important.
Regards, David
Sumarongi
Registered Vaudevillain
IMHO, it's quite a difference whether we talk about the most recent gear, or some no-frills gear of the 1960s/70s/80s, e.g.
The most recent gear is all bells and whistles, and the reviews cover chiefly that. (What else?)
But: There are lots of good and very good reviews covering old gear -- AFAIK, several RFF-members have sites and youtube channels where they present old gear -- and I'm quite sure, they're good or even excellent photographers, otherwise they wouldn't be members here, duh?
The most recent gear is all bells and whistles, and the reviews cover chiefly that. (What else?)
But: There are lots of good and very good reviews covering old gear -- AFAIK, several RFF-members have sites and youtube channels where they present old gear -- and I'm quite sure, they're good or even excellent photographers, otherwise they wouldn't be members here, duh?
Roger Hicks
Veteran
The first thing that occurs to me is that videos are a pretty gruesome medium for explaining most things.
The second is that making videos is a fourth skill, after (1) being able to think clearly (2) able take pictures and (3) being able to write about/ write a script about what you've just been testing.
The third is that the pictures for reviews are necessarily illustrations, to show people some of the things the camera or lens can do, and with any luck to inspire the reader to try it. Combining illustration and fine art is next to impossible.
Fourth, you rarely have long to review a camera or lens, at least if you are doing it commercially, because the publisher wants the review as soon as the kit is available. In other words, you have to learn to use it; sum up its good and bad points; illustrate those points; and write them up, all under time pressure.
Fifth, no-one in their right mind is going to use untested and unknown kit for anything very important. For that, you'll use the kit you like and are familiar with. Good pictures will therefore be something of a matter of chance, as compared with the stuff you shoot the rest of the year.
I very rarely review kit in magazines any more, not least because there are fewer and fewer magazines. Those who review kit properly, such as Amateur Photographer, have facilities that few if any freelance reviewers can muster. Technical reviews are valuable, but the sort I normally did were aimed more at explaining who might like a particular camera, and why.
Having said all this, I realize I am setting myself up for criticism, but I think that some of the pictures in the following reviews really aren't too bad:
Leica M9 -- Leica M8 -- Zeiss 4/18 Distagon
Cheers,
R.
The second is that making videos is a fourth skill, after (1) being able to think clearly (2) able take pictures and (3) being able to write about/ write a script about what you've just been testing.
The third is that the pictures for reviews are necessarily illustrations, to show people some of the things the camera or lens can do, and with any luck to inspire the reader to try it. Combining illustration and fine art is next to impossible.
Fourth, you rarely have long to review a camera or lens, at least if you are doing it commercially, because the publisher wants the review as soon as the kit is available. In other words, you have to learn to use it; sum up its good and bad points; illustrate those points; and write them up, all under time pressure.
Fifth, no-one in their right mind is going to use untested and unknown kit for anything very important. For that, you'll use the kit you like and are familiar with. Good pictures will therefore be something of a matter of chance, as compared with the stuff you shoot the rest of the year.
I very rarely review kit in magazines any more, not least because there are fewer and fewer magazines. Those who review kit properly, such as Amateur Photographer, have facilities that few if any freelance reviewers can muster. Technical reviews are valuable, but the sort I normally did were aimed more at explaining who might like a particular camera, and why.
Having said all this, I realize I am setting myself up for criticism, but I think that some of the pictures in the following reviews really aren't too bad:
Leica M9 -- Leica M8 -- Zeiss 4/18 Distagon
Cheers,
R.
Axel
singleshooter
Reviewing is only about the technical parts of devices. If you expect to see how stuff works for you - go and try yourself.
That is my conclusion in over 40 years of photography.
For taking good photos the camera doesn´t matter. So I don´t expect good photos from a gear reviewer.
I guess there is a hidden question for many readers of reviews about getting a camera that improves their photographic skills.
That simply does not work.
Richard G
Veteran
No reviews here, but I learn more about cameras and lenses here on RFF than anywhere else. I like Ming Thein's site. I agree he's very fair.
I enjoy Mike Johnson's The Online Photographer. He takes writing seriously and he's good at it. I haven't seen his serious photographs. He has some very good insights. He reviews gear occasionally.
I enjoy Mike Johnson's The Online Photographer. He takes writing seriously and he's good at it. I haven't seen his serious photographs. He has some very good insights. He reviews gear occasionally.
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
My favorite reviewer is by far AvE on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil
Sadly he does not review camera gear.
https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil
Sadly he does not review camera gear.
shimokita
白黒
A similar consideration might be workshop provider vs. photographer... from a reviewer I am looking for consistency over time and a body of work to understand the review given the perspective, bias, and interests of the writer. In the same way that I would expect a violin maker to be able to play the instrument, the review should include comments on things that an experienced photographer would notice about the gear.
As has been mentioned, photographers, reviewers, and/or workshop providers probably require overlapping but somewhat different skill sets. In a general sense, someone who comes to mind might be Bill Jay (1940-2009) - photographer, writer on & advocate of photography, curator, magazine & picture editor, lecturer, public speaker and mentor... clearly there needs to be a bit of passion...
As has been mentioned, photographers, reviewers, and/or workshop providers probably require overlapping but somewhat different skill sets. In a general sense, someone who comes to mind might be Bill Jay (1940-2009) - photographer, writer on & advocate of photography, curator, magazine & picture editor, lecturer, public speaker and mentor... clearly there needs to be a bit of passion...
If a review has photographs taken with the gear, those photographs should be pleasing, for sure. But how can one be sure that every photograph in a review is pleasing to every possible reader/viewer? And if a particular photograph is considered 'bad' by someone, does that imply that the reader should disregard the review as being somehow invalid? I certainly don't like every photograph I see posted here on RFF for example, but many others do like them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?
If I'm reading a gear review and the reviewer rates the performance of a sensor, or a lens, for example, then it's helpful to present photographs that reveal those details, but those photographs don't necessarily have to rate high on the artistic merit scale.
If a lens is very high resolution, or tends to flare, or has smooth bokeh, or a sensor has fantastic low light performance it might help to illustrate these with photos, but said photos don't necessarily have to be award winners.
Back in the day, Modern Photography published reviews of lenses and film cameras and I don't remember them being presented with photos taken by the reviewers.
I'm far more bothered by so-called 'reviewers' who really don't know what they are talking about when it comes to gear. Anyone can start a blog or video channel and offer up 'reviews', but only a handful truly would have been truly qualified to be such, back in the days of printed magazines.
nickthetasmaniac
Veteran
I've read some very good reviews and seen some very good photographers, but Ming Thein is the only I can think of off the top of my head who is exceptional at both (whether or not his photography is to your taste...).
It's a pity that since he's started working with Hasselblad he doesn't really do reviews any more. Unfortunately I don't think the stuff Robin Wong posts on Thein's website is any where near the same quality...
It's a pity that since he's started working with Hasselblad he doesn't really do reviews any more. Unfortunately I don't think the stuff Robin Wong posts on Thein's website is any where near the same quality...
Huss
Veteran
What's very revealing is that even though he works for Hasselblad, an awful lot of his recent photos that he has posted have been taken with a Nikon D850.
A camera that he has not reviewed on his site.
bayernfan
Well-known
agreed 100%. it started with so much promise.
Landberg
Well-known
Good points and some good review tips!
Dogman
Veteran
Agreed. But both are photography critics...they don't review cameras.
daveleo
what?
^ I feel the same way on these two ideas.
1. Personally, I am a much better viewer (reviewer) than I am a picture maker.
2. Also, I've been an engineer (40 years) and a teacher (10 years) and teaching engineering is a lot harder than doing engineering. Absolutely.