DPReview is Shutting Down

DPReview

DPReview, easily one of the most beloved publications among photography enthusiasts, will shut down and its content will be deleted. The website was caught up in the recent layoffs that hit Amazon and it will cease operations on April 10.

Digital Photography Review, or DPReview, which was founded in 1998 and acquired by Amazon on May 14, 2007 had built up a sterling reputation for providing photographers with some of the most detailed reviews of cameras, lenses, and related equipment in the world. DPReview was originally based in London, but eventually moved its operations to Seattle to be closer to its parent company and where it continued to operate relatively independently.

DPReview
DPReview’s original website design.

Unfortunately, Amazon has elected to end its support of the platform and will turn the website off in short order. The publication will maintain a small number of full-time staffers whose job it will be to wind down operations, at which point DPReview will be turned off and the 24 years of photography content it holds will be deleted.

“The site will be locked, with no further updates made after April 10, 2023. The site will be available in read-only mode for a limited period afterwards,” the publication explains.

“You can request a download of all the photos and text you’ve uploaded to the site. This will be available until April 6th, after which we will not be able to complete the request.”

DPReview
DPReview in 2023.

Also affected by the closure is DPReview TV, one of the most popular YouTube channels for photo and video reviews that is hosted by Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake, who moved over from The Camera Store in 2018.

Amazon, like many tech companies, was likely hit by the fallout of over-investment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The staff at DPReview joins the other 18,000 Amazon workers whose jobs were cut in January and the 9,000 more that it cut yesterday. The first round of layoffs affected employees at its physical stores, its robotics division, Amazon Web Services, Zappos, company operations, and multiple other divisions. This week’s second round is said to affect mainly Amazon Web Services, People Experience and Technology (PXT), advertising, and Twitch. It is not clear which of these two rounds Amazon will file DPReview under, though it should be noted that the publication hasn’t tweeted since February 1.

Even prior to Amazon’s decision to close the site, DPReview struggled to maintain the staff necessary to keep up its lab, which was the basis of its extremely detailed reviews. The publication had multiple positions open through the end of 2021 and was attempting to replace its Reviews Editor as recently as last August. While the company had been able to fill some roles, those close to the situation at the time (who asked to remain anonymous) informed PetaPixel that the company was having difficulty filling the positions due to the stringent skill requirements of the job combined with the fact that they would have to be based in Seattle.

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