Available in English Website www.dpreview.com | Owner Amazon.com Launched November 1998 | |
Type of site Online digital camera reviews Alexa rank 1,385 (January 7th 2016) | ||
Digital Photography Review, also known as DPReview, is a website about digital cameras and digital photography, established in November 1998. The website provides comprehensive reviews of digital cameras, lenses and accessories, buying guides, user reviews, and active forums for individual cameras, as well as general photography forums. The website also has a large database with information about individual digital cameras, lenses, printers and imaging applications. Originally based in London, England, Digital Photography Review and most of its team relocated to Seattle, Washington, in 2010. It is currently owned by Amazon.
Contents
DPReview is one of the top 2,000 most visited websites on the Internet, according to Alexa Internet. The website itself claims that "These days the site is one of, if not the, premium digital photography site with an audience of seven million unique visitors a month reading over one hundred million pages".
Main site features
Camera reviews DPReview has regularly published thorough, technically orientated camera reviews since the website launched in 1998. The content and scope of the reviews have changed over time, but the basic formula (extensive descriptions of controls and menus, consistent, repeatable studio tests, side-by-side pixel-level comparisons) has remained unchanged since the earliest days. In 2004, a shorter "concise" review format was introduced for compact cameras, and group tests were added in 2008. The website's camera reviews have always offered side-by-side comparison images and test results from competing cameras. In 2010, an interactive comparison widget was introduced that allowed visitors to compare studio results from any camera in the site's database. Later widgets added the ability to compare other test results (such as noise and dynamic range) between cameras. Extensive real-world sample galleries are available for all reviewed (and some unreviewed) cameras and lenses.
Until February 2010, DPReview did not score cameras numerically, but used an often controversial six-level rating system (from best to worst: Highly Recommended, Recommended, Above Average, Average, Below Average, Poor). The site now scores all cameras and lenses using up to 11 categories (which in turn are based on "nearly 60 aspects of camera performance and specification"). Two new discretionary awards ('Gold' and 'Silver') were introduced at the same time as the scoring system.
Lens reviews DPReview introduced lens reviews in 2008.
Other reviews Although the vast majority of its published reviews are of digital cameras, DPReview also publishes occasional reviews of printers, software / apps, photography books, accessories and mobile imaging devices.
Product database DPReview features a comprehensive database of digital cameras, lenses, printers and desktop imaging software packages. Camera product pages contain full specifications, product and sample images, user reviews and links to other internal and external resources. The product database offers browse, search and compare features.
Forums and Community features DPReview's active discussion forums contain over 33 million messages. The website also features commenting (on some, but not all content types), user-created articles and product reviews, photographic challenges and free personal galleries. A simple personal messaging system is available to registered users.
Other features DPReview publishes occasional non-review articles, covering imaging science and technology, photographic techniques, interviews with photographers and industry figures, and buying guides. In 2012, DPReview.com added a Link Directory that allows registered users to view and subscribe to RSS and Twitter updates from external resources without leaving the site.
Ownership history
Digital Photography Review was founded in December 1998 in the United Kingdom by Philip and Joanna Askey. On May 14, 2007, it was acquired by Amazon.com.
The original founder, Phil Askey, is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the site. The company directly employs 14 full-time staff. The current editor is Simon Joinson, who has held the role since 2010. Joinson joined the company in 2004, having previously founded and edited several UK digital photography magazines, including What Digital Camera.