Equipment test and review web sites.

[Photon Hacker]

Hello.

As for reviews of camera body http://www.imaging-resource.com/ is the only site I know of so far to perform serious measurements. http://www.dpreview.com/ comments are useful too but I find their measurements to be too informal (Compare the dynamic range tests between dpreview and imaging resource).

Do you know of another serious reviewer web site for camera and lens?.

[thequacksoflife]

for lenses

slrgear http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/index.php is related to imaging-resource
photozone - photozone.de

[Geoff F]

Yes, I also find Photozone to be helpful

http://www.photozone.de/imaging

[Dave Humphries]

I used to use Steve's Digicams, but switched to DPReview when they re-styled in grey (from black) and I couldn't find stuff, got distracted with ads everywhere, etc.

I suspect reviews are still OK, though DPReview are more thorough and balanced.

Imaging Resource looks good too - thanks.

I also use Photozone

[IanCD]

For lenses, another vote for Photozone

[Shadowman]

Popular Photography does a good lens assessment but the chart I normally look for (the Subjective Quality Factor table) usually does not appear on the website, only in the magazine.

http://www.popphoto.com/gallery/sqfs-tested-lenses

[Glenn NK]

For lenses, another vote for Photozone

I use this one too, but there are some detractors on the Fred Miranda forum. That being said, all my lenses were rated on photozone, and (by chance?) my lenses seem to fit their ratings. Canon: 100 f/2.8 macro, TSE 24 Mark II, EF 24-105 f/4 L, EFS 17-55.

This can be a very subjective field where personal feelings come into play.

Best bet - find as many reviews as you can and weigh/consider them all.

Glenn

[rpcrowe]

I distrust sites that tout themselves as "REVIEWS" but, are really regurgitations of the manufacturer's press releases. You will seldom see any negative comments on this type of "REVIEW"! I can read the manufacturer's press releases just as easily as I can read those "REVIEWS".

However, I also distrust the "REVIEWS" that are posted on Adorama, B&H and Amazon.com because the expertise of the reviewers is unknown and quite often, persons may be more prone to write comments if they are unhappy with their equipment.

[Poaceae]

The site I trust for Canon reviews is http://www.the-digital-picture.com/
I believe he also covers Nikon.

[Glenn NK]

The site I trust for Canon reviews is http://www.the-digital-picture.com/
I believe he also covers Nikon.

This is interesting because it's one of the sites that was being panned on a thread at FM (the other as I noted above was Photozone).

Glenn

[Black Pearl]

Most camera reviews are subjective and therefor completely pointless....they border on being a blog. Interesting to read from time to time but they tell you very little over what a spec sheet can. Unless you're mental you've read the specs on the camera you want and decided you're going to get it, reading a test isn't going to change your mind.

Lens reviews are a separate problem. If its an inexpensive lens then you know before reading the test that the lens will have issues, every lens in that price range will have similar ones so a test isn't really going to help you. If its an expensive lens then really the flaws are going to be so minor as to be irrelevant in actual use. This is more so these days where things like chromatic aberrations and corner shading are either corrected in-camera or in a few clicks within RAW software.

[Nicola]

other inetersting websites:
http://www.lenstip.com/

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php

cheers
Nicola

[Hansm]

I'm using dPreview just to stay tuned with the latest news.
for the rest I search on the internet to find user reviews for the particular piece of equipment.
Latest example: I was thinking to get a Fuji X100 and wanted to know how useful it can be for weddings. Just Fuji X100 wedding photography gave some links to photographers like Neil van Niekerk. The info he gave has much more value to me then a review on some "specialized" sites. Also the forums of these sites where users share their experience are mostly not a real help.
B.t.w. I received the X100 yesterday and are playing with it now. Issues mentioned in several reviews that the menu is a disaster, I can not agree with it. All things I want to do are easy to locate and adjust.

[Colin Southern]

I take ALL reviews with a grain of salt - they generally like to make mountains out of molehills and I'm convinced that on average most do far more harm than good because they over-emphasise things that often just aren't overly important in real-world shooting situations.

[Geoff F]

I'm always wary of positive reviews from photo magazines, and some internet sites, which rely on advertising from camera equipment manufacturers for a large slice of their income.

Surely they aren't going to 'bite the hand which is feeding them' by posting negative comments.

[Shadowman]

Popular Photography will at least give you a "What's Hot/What's Not" comment about camera systems reviewed in their magazine. They also indicate the skill level the camera is aimed towards and will also list competitive brands. Granted the competitive brands are usually the top three manufacturers, but Pentax and Olympus get a nod every so often.