I have long been a careful reader of reviews in computer and photography magazines. Too often, the magazines become enmeshed with the interests of the vendors that advertise in their pages. In short, reviews of major advertisers wares can become evasive, omissive if not downright skewed. Just look at the the reviews of Microsoft Vista from 2007 in the IT trade press for a sampler. However, in the past 2-3 years I have noted a pickup of quality in the reviews of one camera magazine – Popular Photography.
Pop Photo has now become my goto camera review source. Yes, I still track things at Shutterbug, Engadget, and DPReview – but primaily for breaking news and first impressions. Yes, I do refer to DPReview for the most comprehensive tests and photo tests – but for the real skinny I have been going to Popular Photography more and more and here is why.
First, an important point. If you go to the Popular Photography website, you will not find what I am talking about – you have to buy the magazine. Unlike so many other magazines like Time, Atlantic, Newsweek and others, Popular Photography’s website does not have the printed magazine available. But it can be had for once a month at $24US for 2 years in the US[$32US for 2 years in the rest of the world]. The site does have a gaggle of stories – some copying but never duplicating the original printed material. If you want the real and best camera reviews you will have to get the magazine. So now lets look at what makes the magazine reviews so good.
The PopPhoto Camera Reviews
The first thing you note about a PopPhoto review is that it is full panels and bullet points. Take for example the Canon Rebel T1i review in the August 2009 issue. Yes, the article by Phillip Ryan tells a compelling story about the camera but he is constantly talking to a number of standard revew features:
1)Whats HOT and Whats NOT – each provides 3-5 bullet points about the key ups and downs points on the camera. For the T1i HOT
. low noise at higher ISO speeds,
. Nice 720p HD video recording,
. fast autofocus
and T1i NOT
.1080p video is choppy at 20 fps;
.complex focus in video
.no tilt nor twist for LCD viewer
These bullet points do two things. First they tell you what this reviewer found important among the camera features and misses. So I can quickly decide based on these points whether I want to read the full review [or even if I agree with the reviewer]. For example, if the NOTs just cover trivial points then I am less inclined to read the review. But generally I find PopPhoto’s reviewers pretty savvy and frank about the products they review.
Vital Statistics – This is all the detail specifications of the cameras features. It is not as long as say the specs at DPReview but I like the summary of key features. I can quickly determine if the camera and the review will be of interest. However, missing from this is a summary of the white balance modes and key operational menuing/control features available – both of which I find helpful in assessing both compact and SLR cameras.
Certified Test Results – this is the guts of the review and I have gotten used to the test data here over the past few years. Here are some of the key measures:
Image Quality – rates the ISO range for which consistently high picture quality can be obtained.
Resolution – at ISO 100 the lines per inch resolution, this gives a better measure of camera precision.
Color Accuracy – average delta e. Another measure like gamut range would be helpful.
Noise – one of the best tests, noise levels from ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 to 12800
Highlight Shadow – subjective test, needs more definable measure like at DPReview.com
Contrast – a subject test, again I prefer DPreview.com’s tests
AF Speed – at ISO 100 speed, a chart of autofocus speed at varying light levels. Very informative.
Again the Certified Test Results can be bettered especially the detailed tests in contrast and highlight/shadow available at DPreview.com. But the key info is here to decide if the camera is going to deliver better images. What makes it more useful is the next section, Competitive Set.
Competitive Set – looks at one or two other cameras in the same price and feature range that compete with the Canaon Rebel T1i. In this case the Nikon D5000 at $810 and the Olympus e-620. This Competitive Set comparison is always in a PopPhoto review but often missing or not as complete. Instead of going down a check off list of features, the Competitive Set concentrates on a)the Certified Test Results where one or the other camera clearly out performs the other and b)the key functional feature gaps [if any] between the two cameras. This to me is the often the bottom line in the review because often I am familiar with one of the Competitive Set cameras. This is where the real value lies – fairly unbiased comparisons of the cameras.
But there is always always a Bottom Line in a PopPhoto review. This is where the reviewer gets to convince me that they have made their case. I happen to agree with Phillip Ryan in the case of the Canon Rebel T1i – becuase he told me that there were video flaws and also that the Noise control was outstanding. I must admit I disagree with the PopPhoto reviewers from time to time – but at least we have substantial information for that disagreement. And thats why I return to Popular Photography year after year – great camera reviews and now an ever improving set of photo tips and software /post processing ideas and reviews.