Least crappy general interest photo mag?

Peter you are right about the equipment tests, I have a Modern Photography somewhere with a test of an R series Leica SLR, about 6 pages of text and MTF graphs. They even opened it up and looked inside to check the quality construction . There is also a "mini" test of an Olypus Mju, showing how Olympus had "beefed"up the transport mechanism to counter failures there had been.
Todays tests in comparison are a waste of time!!
 
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Frankly, I think National Geographic is the absolute worst of all the magazines when it comes to photography. Not because the photographs are bad or boring, but because of the attitude at National Geographic how they present their photographer's work. You see, they brag about the quality of their photographs (and rightfully so) but then, most are printed across the gutter of the magazine! You never see text run across the gutter because it would be hard to read and you would lose too much. The same is true about photographs. Printing across the gutter absolutely kills a photograph, but they don't care.
 
Lens Work, Silvershotz Magazine, B&W (US), Color (color version of B&W) & View Camera. Sometimes PDN but they often get into the NY city photog social scene too much and the UK version of B&W will have a good article from time to time. I used to like Aperture but it's mainly full of what I call crap photography (I'm being kind). JPG and Blindspot are mainly crap too (IMO). Most articles in Shutterbug are trying to sell gear and software that no one needs and the rest of the mags aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
 
this probably isn't the answer you're looking for, but i would suggest seeking out vintage magazines.
a year or two ago, a friend of mine sent me 4 large boxes($200 for the shipping!) of photography magazines from the '30s through the late 60s. i think i have learned more from the articles in the 50s mags than any book or class i've ever had. i read an article about the 'new and revolutionary leica M3' the other day.
the only thing to keep in mind reading these old things is that the information regarding film is not relevant anymore. kodachrome 25 isn't really considered high speed film anymore!
they go cheap on the auction site and i see them come up on craigslist sometimes.
here's a picture of the shelf in my reading room at work...

bob
 

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John Robertson said:
Peter you are right about the equipment tests, I have a Modern Photography somewhere with a test of an R series Leica SLR, about 6 pages of text and MTF graphs. They even opened it up and looked inside to check the quality construction . There is also a "mini" test of an Olypus Mju, showing how Olympus had "beefed"up the transport mechanism to counter failures there had been.
Todays tests in comparison are a waste of time!!
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The old Modern Photo was good and then there was Popular Photography, Camera, Camera 35, US Camera and Camera and Travel. Camera Art went out of business for a good reason IMO. It became more tricks and illustration that photography. MY all time favorite used to be the Linhof Large Format Magazine - Large Format. I don't think it's published but I still have somewhere around 20 years of them in my library. Stunning magazine. There's also Victor published by Hasselblad. it's a nice magazine but the issue I got is a little strange in content and $100 US for 4 issues. I get free copies of the Professional Photographer from the PPofA and at on time it was a fine pro magazine but in the past few years it's become very lame. I've gotten comp issues of Rangefinder for many ears and I scan it when it comes in and toss t in the recycle bin.
 
johnastovall said:
CA is no longer published and after a bankruptcy in 2008 is back as a pale shadow of a great magazine.

More on CA.
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I have not seen any issues at a newsstand. I lost a little money when my subscription was cancelled in the bankruptcy of CA so I'm just a little leery of subscribing again.

I've subscribed to many many magazines in the past including, BW (for collectors), Lenswork, View Camera, CameraArts, Outdoor Photography UK, Photography Monthly UK, Outdoor Photographer, and others. After a short time repetition sets in so I would let the subscription lapse. I've also picked up a few PDNs and Aperture which really tried to like it but couldn't for some reason.

I will buy one of those UK mags you see at the bookstore every once in a while but I wince when I have to pay almost $20.00 for each issue.

I "donated" some money to the anti-digital cause some time ago when a few people from APUG started Emulsion. They took orders and money and put out two or three issues and disappeared.
 
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John Robertson said:
Peter you are right about the equipment tests, I have a Modern Photography somewhere with a test of an R series Leica SLR, about 6 pages of text and MTF graphs. They even opened it up and looked inside to check the quality construction . There is also a "mini" test of an Olypus Mju, showing how Olympus had "beefed"up the transport mechanism to counter failures there had been.
Todays tests in comparison are a waste of time!!
Click to expand...

I think I may have the same mag. I also have similar ones with tests of the M4 / M5 etc and as you say they pull the things apart to look at the quality fo construction. But I espcecially like the lens tests which are not jsut a couple of photos of a church steeple and a few 100% blow ups as tends to be the case today
 
I have several years worth of the English language edition of Leica Fotografie from way back when. I also have a lot of the photo annuals from the 1960's and 1970's. Books worth buying if you see them include the various editions of The Leica Manual from the 1930's until the last one, 1972 (?), and The Leica Way and its companion The Leicaflex Way.

As for the current crop of photography magazines the all stink.

http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com
 
I also collect old photography magazines, from the late 1890s to about the mid 1970s. I don't care for much past that time.

For modern magazines, I recommend only two. AP, which I can no longer afford, sadly; and Shots Magazine.

http://www.shotsmag.com/

Neither are mainstream, but neither are 'crappy', either.
 
Lenswork! that's it. I tried to remember the name yesterday and failed. Excellent reportage on bodies of work, not a picture here a picture there -type.

Silvershotz is also Bookstore-perusal-worthy. I haven't been convinced enough to buy one yet though.

I think I've mention this before, but check this website out:
http://issuu.com/search?q=photography&st=document
 
snip said:
I have a subscription to that, I must say since I got that for Christmas last year (used to buy it ever so often before then) It has gone somewhat downhill.

Changing the name to "B+W Photography" wtf??? More and more run off the mill reviews of the latest and greatest digital SLR's, C'mon there are magazines specifically FOR that.. More and more ads it seems like and more and more articles being about faking it with computers rather than actual development practices. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but boring for me.

Having said that, this is still by far the best of them all.

//J
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I agree with all your points, but sadly, compared to the digital worshiper alternatives out there... your last sentence is spot on.
 
Camera & Darkroom magazine, in the late '80s/early '90s, was a great magazine, balancing both technical/gear review and aesthetic considerations.

I like Shots, but not as much lately, the earlier stuff was more genuinely Holga-ish before toy cameras became a fad.

Lens Work is a nice publication; there are long discussions on the Large Format forum and APUG about how they're trying to go to an all-digital publication method. Their quality of printing is fantastic for a high-volume publication, probably the best of any photo mag. The work displayed within is hit or miss, but then I suppose that's what taste is all about.

View Camera is hit or miss; not up to the printing standards of Lens Work, and not as consistent from month to month.

B&W Magazine from Britain is a good publication, albeit a bit pricey. I'll cherry pick them at the newsstand, buying them when the articles are interesting.

~Joe
 
in japan, they have a magazine called 'camera magazine' that is completely on film, lots of pages on gear and some interesting prints

of course in japanese, but the pictures make it enjoyable. expensive tho, 1500 yen
 
I like Photolife. Articles emphasize photography and the photos rather then the equipment, written by the photographer and present with his or her own photographs, which are hit and miss, but still interesting. Magazine has few ads and printing is high quality. And it is Canadian!

I just bought an issue of B&W for the first time today. At first glance I like the photos but, unlike Photolife, the text accompanying those photos are not written by photographers themselves and some are just mere biographies so it is probably less interesting to read than Photolife, but the photos are more interesting perhaps.

I looked at View Camera in the store and some of the photos were just amazing. I was hesitant to buy it though cuz I don't use a view camera. But then again, I don't use a rangefinder either and I am posting on a rangefinder forum, so maybe it is not a big deal....
 
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