Why so few reviews of Voigtlander Lenses in major photo magazines?

[eleskin]

Is it my imagination or am I not seeing that many reviews in Shutterbug, Popular Photo, etc,,, of Voigtlander lenses (the new 50mm Nokton f1.1, 15mm Super Wide Heliar, ec,,,). I remember 25 years ago, I would pick up these magazines and I swear there was alot more stuff about lenses and what made them tick (thorough evealuations of lenses with pics and charts).

For the price, it seems the 50mm f1.1 is worthy of an in depth review. They can use film bodies, and now there is the M9 to give a amazing digital test.

What gives? Is it all about the gee wizz techno crap! I swear these magazines look like PC publications more than photography these days!

 

[ZeissFan]

Not to be too sarcastic, but it's primarily because the mainstream magazines are all about digital SLRs and digital point & shoots. They don't serve niche markets in a significant manner. That's the territory for niche publications, such as Black & White Magazine (U.K. publication), Camera Arts and a few others here and there.

You might see such a review in Shutterbug, which occasionally goes off the digital SLR/P&S path.

 

[Disaster_Area]

yeah... it's getting pretty rare to see reviews of anything besides entry level stuff. I think they've realized that anyone buying high end or specialty gear isn't going to be looking in "DSLR Today" for a review... there's forums and specialty sites like this one and FM for that kind of info. I used to buy photo mags, but lately they all seem to be rehashes of the same old beginner techniques and entry-mid level gear reviews.

 

[Steve M.]

Agreed. Today's photography magazines, well, there aren't any. The ones that claim to be about photography are in-your-face-product advertisements. Don't waste your time or money reading them. Worse than useless.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Money those magazines generate doesn't come from our pockets.

Their goal is not reviewing the best or most durable gear, but attractive medium quality gear for hobbyists, designed to leave those customers unsatisfied soon, so they imagine they need to spend another $2000 in a few months, again and again...

One of those magazines could review the best rangefinder cameras and lenses since Barnack to present day in one single number or two... They can't go that way because apart from generating no money, they wouldn't have new things to review the next month... Ours is a slow world...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[aizan]

asahi and nippon review all new voigtlander lenses. we just need someone to translate!

 

[Roger Hicks]

asahi and nippon review all new voigtlander lenses. we just need someone to translate!

Competent, specialized technical translation often costs more than a review.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Michael Markey]

Their goal is not reviewing the best or most durable gear, but attractive medium quality gear for hobbyists, designed to leave those customers unsatisfied soon, so they imagine they need to spend another $2000 in a few months, again and again...
Ours is a slow world...
Cheers,
Juan

Well said , Juan.

Michael

 

[lxmike]

I cannot remember if it was amateur photographer or practical photography magazine, (maybe Roger would know) anyway they used to have a classic section usually reviewed by Ivor Mantle, some superb camera and lens reviews.........one problem, if he highlighted a certain camera or system RF for example, the prices would rocket up the following week. Just like I sometimes wonder how much influence Stephen Gandy's site has had on RF usage and prices, I'm not knocking Mr Gandy bytheway, I adore his site and drool over the images found within

 

[aizan]

Competent, specialized technical translation often costs more than a review.

Cheers,

R.

how much does it cost to do a review?

 

[Roger Hicks]

how much does it cost to do a review?

It depends on what you mean by 'do a review'. Who is doing it? In what depth? Over what period? And (above all) what is the magazine willing to pay?

An honest review takes many hours of the time of a photographer who can read and write, and a translation takes many hours of a translator's time. Very few translators have the specialist knowledge needed to translate technical terms and concepts. For example, even though my Spanish is all but non-existent, I have spotted errors in Spanish translations of my work.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I cannot remember if it was amateur photographer or practical photography magazine, (maybe Roger would know) anyway they used to have a classic section usually reviewed by Ivor Mantle, some superb camera and lens reviews.........one problem, if he highlighted a certain camera or system RF for example, the prices would rocket up the following week. Just like I sometimes wonder how much influence Stephen Gandy's site has had on RF usage and prices, I'm not knocking Mr Gandy bytheway, I adore his site and drool over the images found within

Ivor's still doing it in AP. I used to do it in Shutterbug. Still do, occasionally.

Cheers,

R.

 

[CameraQuest]

Photo Magazines are driven by profit, which means advertising and advertisers.

Cosina Voigtlander does not place ads in US magazines. Not sure about Japanese or European magazines. No ads = very few reviews.

Stephen

 

[thegman]

I agree with Stephen, in my experience (although in computer magazines, not photo) you get a review if you pay for an ad. Not always of course, but if you pay for a big ad, or series of ads, you can pretty much ask for a good review.

 

[maggieo]

This is why Sean Reid's ReidReviews is so valuable and worth every penny of the subscription.

 

[lxmike]

I must admit Roger that I enjoy your work in AP and Ivors too

 

[BillBingham2]

My belief is it's because of the limited advertising that CV does combined with the smaller market. Reviews are there to generate sales of the magazines.

B2 (;->

 

[rovnguy]

It has been getting a lot worse in these magazines since Bert Keppler passed.

 

[ethics_gradient]

Agreed. Today's photography magazines, well, there aren't any. The ones that claim to be about photography are in-your-face-product advertisements. Don't waste your time or money reading them. Worse than useless.

I know that's the common refrain on this site (and some others), but I had a $30 giftcard to burn at Barnes and Noble and I headed over to the magazine section, after finding nothing particularly interesting in their photography books selection. I picked up a copy each of Aperture, Photo Technique, and B&W. All three were excellent, with essentially no mention of gear (Photo Technique needs to for obvious reasons, but it's not the main subject of any articles).

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

It is not only rangefinder-SLR thing. Voigtlander has DSLR lenses too. I think as Stephen says it is mostly ad thing. So why voigtlander does not give ads then?