Are there any reviewers that are good photographers?

[Landberg]

Hi!
Every time I search the intrernet or youtube for a gear review the same thing happens. I will find a video with a person talking about the gear and they sound like they know what they are talking about. But then they show their images and they are bad. Really bad. I guess that most are just in to gear and there is nothing wrong with that. But i want to know the thoughts of people who can use a camera and take good photos. I don’t need to know that a m4/3 is worse in low light than a Canon 5d MKIIII, everyone knows that. I dont need to know if AF speed is slower or faster than a Fuji X-H1. I need to know how the gear works in real life shooting real things. I can’t be the onlyone asking for this? Those out there are great revirewers if im only looking for technical stuff.

Are there any good camera gear reviewers who are also a good photographers?

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

Perhaps it's a case of - those that can do, those that can't write reviews.

 

[Dogman]

Those are my observations as well of most of the work I see on online photography "experts". Looks like many of them just discovered Daido Mariyama and Alex Webb and decided to copy their styles while repeating what they've read on blogs by other "experts". I guess it's a sign of true Internet democracy since anyone can be an expert if they can have a blog, make a video or voice an opinion. Plus, reviewers go nuts for being among the first to review a new camera or lens which means there are very few reviews of the camera or lens out there a couple of years down the road to give you any idea on how the equipment is functioning over time.

My suggestion is ignore them all as much as possible. Every single camera available today is capable of making outstanding, stupendous, incredible photographs in the hands of the best photographers. The only thing different about the cameras is how they handle and how they package what features (and handling and importance of features are totally subjective from one user to the next). Unfortunately there's no real way to tell how an individual will respond to the equipment, making the job of photography equipment reviewer pretty much superfluous.

 

[benlees]

Does it really matter? As long as the camera works (and most seem to) then that is all that really needs to be shown. Most of these reviewers seem to be camera enthusiasts not necessarily photographers.

Sure, I can watch a guitar review from an amazing player but it's the tone, playability, comfort (balance), etc of the guitar itself that is important. If I suck at playing that guitar isn't going to change a thing. If it has a fat neck with sticky lacquer then no sale! That's the info I need

 

[karateisland]

I'm no expert but I always thought Ming Thein was pretty good. Ted Forbes seems decent, too. However, I'd agree that it's rare to find someone who can write well AND take a good photograph.

 

[michaelwj]

Sure, I can watch a guitar review from an amazing player but it's the tone, playability, comfort (balance), etc of the guitar itself that is important. If I suck at playing that guitar isn't going to change a thing. If it has a fat neck with sticky lacquer then no sale! That's the info I need

This is the reason I don't care if the reviewer is an artist or not. All that matters is that they have used the equipment in question AND have used enough similar equipment to be able to make a judgement. This becomes ever more important now that most of us buy stuff online without the chance of trying out in store. It's really a question of usability rather than any image quality issue.

 

[michaelwj]

Perhaps it's a case of - those that can do, those that can't write reviews.

This is a bit of an oversimplification, "those who can't, teach". Really that's not the case. Taking good photographs and writing a good review are two totally separate skill sets. Writing a good review is actually really hard.

I'm a scientist and a science teacher, teaching is the harder job by a long shot. It's almost like "those who can't teach, do".

 

[intheviewfinder]

Two I can think of John Szarkowski (you must have "Looking at Photographs"). And Teju Cole - I find some of his writing quite dense but he definitely has an eye.

 

[Bill Clark]

May I say, why, with some playoffs occurring now here in the U.S., I notice all the teams have a head coach.

My photography really improved when I found a gent who became my teacher, coach and mentor. Others that I’ve met overs the years, who are successful; they are the easiest to talk to and willing to point you in a direction leading to positive results.

But you have to be willing to listen, learn and work hard.

That’s my advice.

Find someone who could be your teacher, coach and mentor. A person who sees the world like you do and is willing to help you on your photography journey.

Ask. What have you got to lose?

There are some foks participating on this forum who are excellent photographers.

 

[Ong]

I'm no expert but I always thought Ming Thein was pretty good. Ted Forbes seems decent, too. However, I'd agree that it's rare to find someone who can write well AND take a good photograph.

Ming Thein has always been the best of both worlds, however I've always found his photos and reviews to be very objective (which is good for most) but that being said, his photos always feel like it's lacking soul.

 

[peterm1]

Very few reviewers are good photographers (at least not in any artistic sense) in my experience. Reminds me of the old adage: If you cannot "do" then "teach". (And if you cannot teach, instead become a highly paid educational administrator......at least so teachers I have known, tell me).

I used to often go to an interesting site mainly occupied by Europeans - the Manual Focus Forum http://forum.mflenses.com/manual-focus-lenses-f3.html . It was good because people reviewed many older mainly European lenses though over the past decade and a half with eBay they have had greater access to Japanese etc lenses and there is a wider range of lenses discussed regularly than before. I go there less often these days but occasionally fire it up and have a look.

While I enjoyed the site - the people were and are nice folk, I was often astounded at how boring many photos were in artistic terms. It seemed to me that often, someone would poke the lens out of his window at a back alley, focus on a rubbish bin and if it was sharp he then announced it to be a good lens and others would pronounce it a great image. Even where they transcended this tendency the images were seldom much other than a pixel peeper's idea of a good photo (i.e. sharp) and in more recent times they would extend themselves to tests of bokeh as well.

It just seems that most guys (for they are almost always guys) are into gear they are not actually much into photographic art. And visa versa. There is a place for this but I am kind of reconciled to not being able to find really good photographers among the review crowd.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Ming Thein.

Reid Reviews http://www.reidreviews.com

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Most of known gear reviewers are good photogos. They take good pictures for reviews.

If OP needs real life pictures, I recommend to open his flickr, put in search camera he needs and click on the search line. "Groups" will appears.
I just checked Sony RX1 and Panasonic LX100 pictures and day ago I was looking at Leica M240.

 

[Hogarth Ferguson]

I'm no expert but I always thought Ming Thein was pretty good. Ted Forbes seems decent, too. However, I'd agree that it's rare to find someone who can write well AND take a good photograph.

I cannot stand ted forbes reviews. He has fallen into the "content machine" issue that lots of youtubers fall into. They start a channel to share knowledge, have good content, then, run out of content and just start producing garbage, or any thought that pops into their head. I can't watch his videos anymore.

 

[dp13]

He might not be good but I love the background music and I do enjoy looking at the photos he makes. That would be Mattias Burling.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgVwlIabrL100C9_6vyM9-g

M8:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE2ASTaDL5Q&t=238s
M6:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCJe1OE-1-8

 

[Hogarth Ferguson]

Mattias Burling makes really good videos.

 

[back alley]

May I say, why, with some playoffs occurring now here in the U.S., I notice all the teams have a head coach.

My photography really improved when I found a gent who became my teacher, coach and mentor. Others that I’ve met overs the years, who are successful; they are the easiest to talk to and willing to point you in a direction leading to positive results.

But you have to be willing to listen, learn and work hard.

That’s my advice.

Find someone who could be your teacher, coach and mentor. A person who sees the world like you do and is willing to help you on your photography journey.

Ask. What have you got to lose?

There are some foks participating on this forum who are excellent photographers.

my photography was at it's best when i had a good editor...

 

[peterm1]

Ming Thein.

Reid Reviews http://www.reidreviews.com

Actually I had forgotten about Ming Thein. I agree he is very good.

 

[maigo]

I cannot stand ted forbes reviews. He has fallen into the "content machine" issue that lots of youtubers fall into. They start a channel to share knowledge, have good content, then, run out of content and just start producing garbage, or any thought that pops into their head. I can't watch his videos anymore.

I don't know Ted Forbes and *very* seldom turn to YouTube for anything but music nostalgia.
I watched the "Negative Feedback" Kodak factory tour (and a few other postings by them) and found that your description of "any thought that pops into their head" is apt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sevres_babylone]

Ming Thein.

Reid Reviews http://www.reidreviews.com

I agree about Sean Reid (I don't disagree about Ming Thein; just don't read him as often). In part, it's because he's photographing subjects and situations analogous to what I shoot. Street, event, and some performance. He also illustrates his reviews with pictures taken in less than ideal lighting; for instance, I remember some photographs of people dancing in a gym with flat not-too-bright lighting to assess the capabilities of the Sony A7S, and his photographs of bike week or whatever it's called in Florida to illustrate a review of one of one of the Ricohs.

That said, I think following a camera/lens reviewer is a bit like following a record reviewer. Over time, you figure out what features are more important to the reviewer than to you.