this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2023
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Photography

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Wooo, looks like DPReview have been saved. Has anyone heard of Gear Patrol though?

Feels odd that such an instituition of the web needs stewardship by a lesser-known entity.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It does seem odd... but at least they're staying around!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is. I've been reading DPreview since 2001. It's a part of the Web for me. Especially back when digital cameras were new and advancing so rapidly, every new month would bring new news that was exciting and novel.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Absolutely. I love playing around with old gear so even today I find myself reading their reviews from 10 years ago. AI is likely to make all commercial photography obsolete very soon, but it's nice to know someone has faith in the subject, even if only for us who will still appreciate going out to find those photos.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't think AI will make commercial photography completely obsolete; there's still value in photos having a kernel of truth in them, but it may massively reduce the number of professional photographers needed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I admire your optimism and hope you're right!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

ahh, I took a sigh of relief. I don't know how the new ownership will affect dpreview, nonetheless I'm ecstatic to hear that dpreview will live on.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It’s great that they’re going to continue but too bad it didn’t happen fast enough to keep Chris and Jordan. Although they seem happy with PetaPixel so that’s good for them.

I’ve know of Gear Patrol for around 15 years or so. They make articles and rate all kinds of products from outdoor equipment, tech products, clothing, etc. It’s a solid company with a good track record from what I know.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wow, 15 years is a good time, I'm not sure how so many people like me never heard of them, yet they've grown big enough to own DPReview. Must be a really good ad team behind them as well.

And I know many like Chris and Jordan, but I'm not really a video guy; I prefer reading to watching vids usually. Videos have to have something that takes advantage of the medium to make me want to watch it (video tests, audio tests, etc).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

While I don't know much about Gear Patrol's business side, you're correct, they are doing something right to be able to buy DPReview. I've heard they have similar web traffic compared to PetaPixel (this info is from a recent PetaPixel podcast) and that the owner of Gear Patrol is a fan of DPReview. I hope their words hold true, existing staff remains and the site continues as usual.

I agree with you about the written articles vs video reviews in general.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

That does sound like good news! I hope they'll continue to do well, maybe expand DPReview a bit in the best case scenario.