[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

A very sad news. Dpreview is closing.]

That is sad news! I have been following their reviews for years.

Jeroen

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

A very sad news. Dpreview is closing.

Indeed it is sad news. The loss of the forums is a terrible thing.

Amazon is the parent company. I'm sure that assurances would have been made and are now being betrayed. I'm also sure that (if they were accountable to anyone, which they are not) they could probably scream economic justification. It smells of corporate vandalism.

Am I going to stop being an Amazon customer? Well...

[Samfromindia]

I came to know about the same through this video:

https://youtu.be/gObQ5FgHsZE

[Samurai]

I am very sad to read about DPreview. I purchased every one of my digital cameras, going back to 2001, after extensively researching on DPreview site.

In fact, I just ordered my latest OM System OM-5 last month after seeing that it got Silver award from DPreview reviewers. Even before it was delivered to me, DPreview site is gone.

Why didn't Amazon consider selling it instead of shutting it down, I can't figure out.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Why didn't Amazon consider selling it instead of shutting it down, I can't figure out.

I feel that hosting a forum which becomes the collected contributions of thousands of people is a responsibility. The content created by paid staff is one thing, the content created by unpaid public contributors is another. Maybe they gave assurances when buying the site. Whether or not they did so formally, it is an betrayal of the many members past and present. Ownership of such a thing is not ownership, it is custodianship. For goodness sake: what is the actual cost to them to, at least, providing hosting? On their scale of things, negligible.

I have read elsewhere that the one single reason for Amazon's ownership of DPReview has been that it gives them a second bite of the sales cherry. That it served as a big sponsored-link machine with the referral fees staying within the Amazon organisation rather than being paid to others. This is possibly their reason to not sell it: the referral payments would continue.

Amazon only cares about the money in Bezos's pocket. Let no single cent get away!

I don't buy photographic equipment from Amazon. Even if I buy online, I do so from camera shops. Any item (for example, cocoa, spices, etc from Kerala) that I can buy direct, I do buy direct.

[Samurai]

This is my mirrorless family built since 2010.



The OMD EM5 from 2012 still works fine. But the EM5 MKII from 2015 has gone bad, battery can't be removed and the camera can't be switched off. So it is hardly usable. It has been 8 years since I bought a new body.

Olympus camera system doesn't exist anymore. Now it is called OM system, which has very limited sales and support in India. So what are my choices?

Since I had so much investment in good m4/3 lenses, I couldn't really afford to switch the family to either Fuji or Sony. These other families are very expensive, I would need 3L and more to attain similar lens quality. So the cheapest option would be to extend the life of my existing lens collection by upgrading to OM System OM-5. It is the natural descendent of EM5 series, which is extremely familiar to me. So I don't have to re-learn much, not even the menus.

Here is the new addition to the family.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

A very sad news. Dpreview is closing...

Originally Posted by Jeroen

That is sad news! I have been following their reviews for years.

Jeroen

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Indeed it is sad news. The loss of the forums is a terrible thing...

Originally Posted by Samurai

I am very sad to read about DPreview. I purchased every one of my digital cameras, going back to 2001, after extensively researching on DPreview site....

Rejoice!

Independently-owned consumer tech review site Gear Patrol have taken DPReview off Amazon's hands. The site will continue to exist, including all its historical content.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023...own-by-amazon/

https://m.dpreview.com/site-news/829...th-gear-patrol

[feluda86]

Request for suggestion:

I have had the Canon EOS R for sometime. I typically use it for Wide angle landscapes (with RF 16mm f/2.8) and portraits (with RF 50mm f/1.8). For all other "zoom" related use I use a decade old Nikon D7000 with Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 and Nikon's mediocre 18-105mm kit lens. As age catches up with me, I do not want to lug around 2 cameras with me. I want to get rid of the Nikon set all together and carry only the Canon EOS R.

Can you suggest a good (affordable) RF lens to replace the 18-105 in terms of utility? My initial thoughts are:

1. RF 24-105 f4.1-7 STM IS: f7 will be a downgrade compared to my Nikon. At ~INR35k this is the most affordable option.

2. RF 24-105 f4 "L" USM IS: This is a great lens and is an improvement over the old EF 24-105 II lens. Comes with all the bells and whistles of the Canon "L" series lens like weather proofing etc. This will set me back by ~INR100k.

3. RF 85mm f2 USM Macro: This is a wild card. This restricts me to only 1 focal length but at f/2. Costs ~INR65k. There are some third party options if I am game for it for this focal length and features at half the price.

4. Look for third party EF lenses like the Tamron 18-150 (INR 50-60k) with EF-RF adaptor (INR 8k).

5. Use RF-S lenses like Canon RF-S 18-150: This is for the cropped sensor mirrorless body (R7, R10) and with the latest firmware update on EOS R (1.8.0), this lens can be used with the body. Only drawback is that the camera will crop the sensor and deactivate outer pixels. This will reduce the sensor to a 30MP/(1.6^2) =~12MP sensor.

6. Other options that the members can think of.

This lens will be 20% of the usage and hence I do not want to spend a lot on it. My other 2 lenses account for most of my "style" of photography (I am no professional ).

[Aiel]

Originally Posted by feluda86

Request for suggestion:

Can you suggest a good (affordable) RF lens to replace the 18-105 in terms of utility?

You can consider the Canon RF 24-240 lens also, if you are looking at a utility lens. I have been using it as my walk around lens for the past year and am quite happy with it.

Sharing a link to pics taken by me using this lens on my R5 (apologies in advance for the overdose of airplanes): https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_...240&view_all=1

[M35]

Got a new toy today. A brand new OM M.Zuiko 40-150 f/2.8 Pro lens. Had a quick test in the dark. It's razor sharp and fast AF even in the dark on my new EM1X body! Yes, needed to do this mandatory test!

That's through our kitchen window!

[vredesbyrd]

So the upgrade finally happened.

Part 1: Ordered from amazon, got a packet of salt instead. Investigation for refund underway (avoid SAS Cameras, no idea how that seller is still there after such reviews)

Part 2: In my anger, I went to a local shop and bought it, got an okay discount

The body works like a charm and the IQ is leagues ahead of D600 (which was pretty great to begin with). The biggest leaps are the IQ and high ISO noise control. Very useable for me up to ISO 16000. Yet to test the limits.
Easier to carry as well due to compact size and less weight.

AF is very fast and precise. Using my Nikkor 28-300mm F3.5-5.6G and Yongnuo 35 F2 with the FTZII adapter (I am too broke for Z glass)

Will find out the full potential in about 3 weeks

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

So the upgrade finally happened.

Part 1: Ordered from amazon, got a packet of salt instead. Investigation for refund underway (avoid SAS Cameras, no idea how that seller is still there after such reviews)

Apologies, but that was somewhat oddly hilarious. I believe the seller is not worth their salt.

Would you get a refund now? How has Amazon taken it up for resolution?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

So the upgrade finally happened.

Congratulations on your new camera.

Fun, eh? I'm enjoying mine too.

Originally Posted by Small Bot

Would you get a refund now? How has Amazon taken it up for resolution?

This must have detracted from the fun by more than a bit. Do tell the whole story, perhaps in the online-shopping thread?

I usually buy from a well-known dealer in our neighbour state. On this occasion, with a huge-to-me (2 lakh) amount of money involved, I decided to go to a local dealer so I could carry the new baby home, rather than worry about couriers or possible disputes with Amazon.

I did reason that the dealer is 100% trustworthy and a genius packer, or that I have never had a problem with Amazon resolving a dispute. But being able to take baby straight home won the day, even though the price was a few thou more.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

So the upgrade finally happened.

Congratulations on the new camera. I assume from the pictures that you got Nikon Z5. It is a very nice camera!

I also upgraded to Nikon Z5 about three months ago.

After using my Nikon D3500 for last three years, finally I upgraded to Nikon Z5 with Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens in August 2023. I already did a few trips with this camera and absolutely loving this camera+lens combination for my requirements.

After using it for 3 months and taking several photos with this, I wrote a review of this camera. That review was meant for this thread, but from the "Assembly Line" (where I wrote it), it got moved to a new thread.

This is the link to my review of Nikon Z5: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadge...ni-review.html

Please allow me to quote myself, only for the summary section of that review, so that the summary of my Z5 experience is shared in this most relevant thread as well:

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Nikon Z5 with Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR

Summary: As you can judge from the review above, for my requirements of travel, landscape and car photography, I am very happy with this Nikon Z5 and Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR combo. This is a nice single lens combination that sufficed on my recent trips and I plan to use it a lot in the coming months. It is a compact and lightweight combo that is easy to pack in a shoulder bag. If anyone is looking for a full-frame mirrorless camera for still photography, this is an excellent combination at an affordable prices. However, if you are looking at a camera for 4K videos, and for fast action shots at high speed burst mode, then this is not the camera for you. For that, you have to spend more to get Nikon Z6II (if not Z7 or better), or look for comparable Canon or Sony cameras which offer faster continuous shooting rate, faster and better autofocus than Z5, and also uncropped 4K video capabilities.

[mpksuhas]

Does anyone have feedback of Kamal Imaging Mumbai?
Their site has gear I am looking for at good prices.
Bit apprehensive to put money in any site which I have not dealt with.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I usually buy from a well-known dealer in our neighbour state. On this occasion, with a huge-to-me (2 lakh) amount of money involved, I decided to go to a local dealer so I could carry the new baby home

To Thad specifically: Any dealer you would suggest in Chennai ( I will be there next weekend) for Nikon?