DPReview Leaves Massive Shoes to Fill

Photographer at sunset

How I feel about losing DPReview is difficult to put to words. The brand has been a mainstay since I took up a camera and the space that they leave now is one that I don’t think will ever be properly filled again.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with the folks at DPReview for the entire time I’ve been a technology journalist and am honored to say that many of them have been some of my closest friends in the industry. While many have gone separate ways over the years, there have always been friendly faces there.

Chris and Jordan, for example, are dear friends that I had the pleasure of meeting and working with specifically because of this tight-knit community of journalists and it is one of the main reasons we worked quickly to make sure their beloved brand of video reviews and related entertainment will not disappear.

And yes, for those that were wondering, they will continue their show with PetaPixel much the same as it has been for years — including the highly anticipated “best and worst cameras and lenses” episode that they publish every December.

While technically competitors in the same photography media space, there was never any ill will between us — quite the opposite, actually. For example, last year we worked together on an initiative brought forward by DPReview to make sensor sizes less confusing. While DPReview will no longer be with us in a month, we at PetaPixel will continue to fly that banner they pioneered.

Media is an extremely challenging space in which to successfully operate. It’s quite hard to balance fair and honest journalism with the need to be profitable, especially when you’re a brand living as part of a larger corporation’s portfolio. It was likely news to many that DPReview was owned by Amazon, and while that meant they for years had access to fantastic resources, it also meant that at any point, that corporate board of directors could choose to pull the plug for any reason. Unfortunately, that happened.

That risk doesn’t exist for PetaPixel, as we are fully independent and untethered from any owner. Truly independent media is a rare thing these days, and we have no intention of changing how we run this business. We are dedicated to being a voice in the photography, technology, art, and culture space.

DPReview leaves massive shoes to fill, and honestly, I don’t think anyone should try to. The publication can never be replaced and we don’t intend to even attempt such a monumental task. Instead, we will continue to dedicate every day to integrity and honesty in our reporting, just as they did for 24 years.

From our perspective, that’s the best way we can carry on the legacy of what they started.


This story is part of PetaPixel’s weekly newsletter Clipped Highlights.


What is Clipped Highlights?

Clipped Highlights is a free, curated, weekly newsletter that will be sent out every Wednesday morning and will focus on a few of the most important stories of the previous week and explain why they deserve your attention. This newsletter is different from our daily news brief in that it provides unique insights that can only be found in Clipped Highlights.

In addition to unique takes on the biggest stories in photography, art, and technology, Clipped Highlights will also serve to feature at least one photo series or art project that we think is worth your time to check out. So often in the technology and imaging space we focus on the how and not the what. We think that it’s just as important, if not more so, to look at the art created by photographers around the world as it is to celebrate the new technologies that makes that artwork possible.

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