43 Rumors

Thank you 43Rumors for these and all your other links to different vendor prices. Refreshing.

Have others noticed how DPReview, which formerly displayed prices/links from numerous vendors at the bottom of their reviews, now only displays Amazons’ prices? They’re owned by Amazon (have been for several years), and the corporate influence is becoming more blatant. By pushing off the other vendor ads, one doesn’t see that Amazon is frequently no longer the lowest price, as seen in the links 43Rumors provides.

While DPR remains a well run and informative site, their deep pockets allowing for 20 plus page reviews (how much of which is truly significant I’ll leave to others to judge) have driven other review sites to the fringes with not enough resources to keep up with the latest enthusiast level cameras.

I now take DPR’s commentary on cameras with a grain of salt, never knowing what they’re pushing based on profit margins or other deals. This becomes particularly so with their review “rating system” which even they can’t seem to explain (check out numerous discussions on their forum), but which places mFT’s and 4/3′s cameras at a distinct disadvantage to APS-C. Canon leads every category, ‘nuf said.

Phil Askey had a great site he built from the ground up, and which still has one of the best Forums going, but he sold it for a tidy profit and it has now evolved into a corporate driven AmazonReview.

Hey Phil, did the buy out involve a non-compete clause with a time limitation? If so, we’re in need of another great independent camera website .

Just venting, my take on the state of things.