There are plenty of reviews of digital cameras, in fact there are loads and loads of them both on and off line in the newspapers, in photographic magazines and on the TV. However, no matter how many you read, it does not make buying a digital camera any easier. Strange, isn't it?
Hopefully, the confusion comes from a healthy scepticism. We intuitively distrust a review if we suspect an ulterior motive and that motive is usually self-interest. Press releases from the manufacturer are the most obvious examples of this sort of advertisement.
However, there are others as well, like rehashed press releases rewritten to look like personal points of view, supported by adverts selling the camera being reviewed. On line such rehashed press releases might be surrounded by Google Adsense ads or banner ads from the manufacturer.
Home shopping reviews are next in line to not be trusted. The reviews that appear on Amazon might not have been tampered with ny Amazon (and I think that they have not been), but who wrote them?
If I had a company making digital cameras, I would make certain that home shopping sites like Amazon had at least two or three excellent reviews of my cameras. Wouldn't you? You could write three or four reviews in a working day and they would be there on Amazon for the world to read for ever and Amazon ranks extremely well on Google - always.
Web sites may be dependable or not. They are the half-way house of reviews and you will have to use your critical judgment. The best indication is the advertising. Is the marketing surrounding the article for the digital camera under review? If so, the review may not be fair-minded, if the adverts are for digital cameras in general, who knows.
Probably the most trustworthy digital camera reviews are written in magazines devoted to photography. These magazines build their reputation out of being independent and so have to preserve their credibility. These magazines protect their credibility like people protect their reputation, so cannot afford to be ridiculed for pandering to a specific make.
Investing in a magazine or two with reviews on the digital cameras that you are contemplating purchasing is a small price to pay for procuring independent advice which might save you money or stop you from buying a second-rate digital camera which may cause you years of anguish and aggravation.
Perhaps the best reviews though are from friends and family members who have been using digital cameras for years. They will unquestionably have been listening to other individuals talking about cameras for a time and reading articles every now and again as well. The only risk here is that individuals tend to talk up what they have purchased because they do not like to look like having made a mistake.
Hopefully, the confusion comes from a healthy scepticism. We intuitively distrust a review if we suspect an ulterior motive and that motive is usually self-interest. Press releases from the manufacturer are the most obvious examples of this sort of advertisement.
However, there are others as well, like rehashed press releases rewritten to look like personal points of view, supported by adverts selling the camera being reviewed. On line such rehashed press releases might be surrounded by Google Adsense ads or banner ads from the manufacturer.
Home shopping reviews are next in line to not be trusted. The reviews that appear on Amazon might not have been tampered with ny Amazon (and I think that they have not been), but who wrote them?
If I had a company making digital cameras, I would make certain that home shopping sites like Amazon had at least two or three excellent reviews of my cameras. Wouldn't you? You could write three or four reviews in a working day and they would be there on Amazon for the world to read for ever and Amazon ranks extremely well on Google - always.
Web sites may be dependable or not. They are the half-way house of reviews and you will have to use your critical judgment. The best indication is the advertising. Is the marketing surrounding the article for the digital camera under review? If so, the review may not be fair-minded, if the adverts are for digital cameras in general, who knows.
Probably the most trustworthy digital camera reviews are written in magazines devoted to photography. These magazines build their reputation out of being independent and so have to preserve their credibility. These magazines protect their credibility like people protect their reputation, so cannot afford to be ridiculed for pandering to a specific make.
Investing in a magazine or two with reviews on the digital cameras that you are contemplating purchasing is a small price to pay for procuring independent advice which might save you money or stop you from buying a second-rate digital camera which may cause you years of anguish and aggravation.
Perhaps the best reviews though are from friends and family members who have been using digital cameras for years. They will unquestionably have been listening to other individuals talking about cameras for a time and reading articles every now and again as well. The only risk here is that individuals tend to talk up what they have purchased because they do not like to look like having made a mistake.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with tips for product photography. If you have an interest in photography, please visit our website now at Photography Studio Cameras