Digital Photography Review

Digital Photography Review
Name	Digital Photography Review
Type	Online publication
Founded	1998
Founder	Phil Askey
Headquarters	UK
Area served	Worldwide

Digital Photography Review is an online publication focused on consumer digital imaging products, photographic equipment, and related technology. The site provides detailed reviews, news, specifications, and buyer guidance for cameras, lenses, accessories, and imaging software. It serves photographers, technologists, retailers, and manufacturers across multiple markets and languages.

History

Digital Photography Review was founded in 1998 by Phil Askey during the era of rapid adoption of consumer digital cameras, contemporaneous with companies and events such as Canon Inc., Nikon Corporation, Sony Corporation, Kodak, Olympus Corporation, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, Pentax Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, The New York Times Company, BBC, CNN, CNET, WIRED, Engadget, TechCrunch, Slashdot, DPreview Forum, Photokina, Consumer Electronics Show, PMA (Photographic Manufacturers and Distributors Association), Adobe Inc., Google LLC, YouTube, Flickr, 500px, SmugMug, Getty Images, Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg L.P., Financial Times, The Guardian, Telegraph Media Group, Guardian Media Group, Nikkei Inc., Bloomberg News, AFP, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Le Figaro, Der Spiegel, El País, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Handelsblatt, South China Morning Post, The Hindu, Times of India, China Daily, Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Sina Weibo, Tencent, Baidu.

Early coverage tracked the transition from CCD sensors to CMOS sensors, the rise of DSLR systems like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II era and mirrorless systems from Sony α7, Fujifilm X-Pro1, Olympus OM-D E-M1, and later developments by Panasonic Lumix, Leica Camera AG, Hasselblad, Phase One, Blackmagic Design, RED Digital Cinema, Arri.

Website and Content

The site publishes product reviews, specification databases, hands-on previews, teardown analyses, buying guides, and comparative tools, covering models from Canon EOS R5, Nikon Z7 II, Sony A1, Fujifilm X-T4, Panasonic Lumix S1R, Leica M10, Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, Pentax K-1, Sigma fp, Tamron 70-180mm, Zeiss Otus, Tamron SP, Rokinon, Samyang, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art, Instagram, Snapseed, Lightroom Classic, Capture One, DxO PhotoLab, ON1 Photo RAW, Luminar AI, Photoshop, Bridge, Nik Collection, Topaz Labs, B&H Photo Video, Adorama, KEH Camera, Amazon.com, eBay, WEX Photo Video, Jessops.

Editorial content interacts with industry launches at events like Photokina 2010, CP+, CES 2019, IFA (consumer electronics fair), and collaborates with image-makers associated with Annie Leibovitz, Steve McCurry, Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Dorothea Lange, Dorothea Lange, Elliott Erwitt, Andre Kertesz, Cindy Sherman, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Ansel Adams, Robert Capa, Man Ray, Vivian Maier, Diane Arbus, Helmut Newton, William Eggleston, Martin Parr, Sally Mann, Harry Benson, Tim Walker, Ralph Gibson, Mary Ellen Mark, Garry Winogrand, Edward Weston, Brassaï, Walker Evans, Lee Friedlander.

Reviews and Testing Methodology

Review methodology emphasizes laboratory testing, real-world shooting, and quantitative measurement of sensor performance, dynamic range, noise, autofocus speed, and lens sharpness. Comparative test benches reference standards and tools from Imatest, DxOMark, X-Rite, Datacolor, Spyder, ColorChecker, as well as protocols used in publications like Nature, Science (journal), IEEE, ACM SIGGRAPH, SPIE conferences. Testing often situates cameras within ecosystems from Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E-mount, Fujifilm X-mount, Micro Four Thirds, L-mount, and references third-party lens makers such as Sigma Corporation, Tamron Co., Ltd., Tokina Corporation.

Staff and contributors include reviewers, lab technicians, and editors with backgrounds at outlets like CNET, TechRadar, Wired (magazine), PCMag, Popular Photography, Digital Photo Pro, Shutterbug, Amateur Photographer, Photography Week, Outdoor Photographer, LensRentals, DPReview TV, YouTube channels such as Tony & Chelsea Northrup, Kai W, Jared Polin, Chris and Jordan, Mark Galer, The Art of Photography.

Community and Forums

The site hosts forums and discussion boards where users discuss gear, techniques, shooting locations, and post critiques, with threads about specific models like Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Nikon D850, Sony A7 III, Fujifilm X100V, Panasonic GH5, Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, Leica Q2, and topics referencing influential photographers and institutions such as Magnum Photos, National Geographic Society, TIME (magazine), Life (magazine), The New Yorker, Vogue (magazine), Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, National Portrait Gallery (London), Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Getty Museum, International Center of Photography.

Community projects, image threads, and user galleries often cite workshops and festivals such as PhotoPlus Expo, Bird Photographer of the Year, World Press Photo, Sony World Photography Awards, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, Prix Pictet, Hasselblad Masters, Pulitzer Prize, Emmy Awards, BAFTA when discussing imagery, careers, or portfolio development.

Business Model and Ownership

Revenue streams include advertising partnerships with retailers and manufacturers such as B&H Photo Video, Adorama, Amazon.com, sponsored content, affiliate links, and premium subscriptions. Ownership and corporate transactions in the industry involve media groups like Future plc, Dennis Publishing, Condé Nast, RGE (Reed Exhibitions), IDG (International Data Group), Nikkei Inc., Hearst Communications, Bonnier AB, Meredith Corporation, Gannett, News Corp, IAC, Verizon Media, Quokka Sports.

Acquisitions and investments in related digital media have parallels with deals involving IGN Entertainment, Eurogamer, TechRadar, PCGamer, What Hi-Fi?, Stuff (magazine), Pocket-lint.

Influence and Reception

The site has been cited by mainstream and specialist outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, The Guardian, Reuters, Bloomberg, Wired (magazine), Engadget, CNET, TechCrunch, Mashable, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Ars Technica, Slashdot for its detailed specifications and testing. It has influenced buying decisions for amateur and professional photographers tied to brands like Canon Inc., Nikon Corporation, Sony Corporation, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, Leica Camera AG, Hasselblad and rental choices at services such as LensRentals and BorrowLenses.

Awards and recognition in the photography community reference events and honors like World Press Photo, Pulitzer Prize, Sony World Photography Awards, Hasselblad Masters, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, Prix Pictet, reflecting the site's cultural reach among practitioners and institutions.

Criticism and Controversies

Criticisms have included debates over review neutrality, advertising relationships with manufacturers such as Canon Inc., Nikon Corporation, Sony Corporation, Fujifilm, and retailer affiliates like B&H Photo Video and Adorama. Controversies mirror industry disputes over product embargoes, teaser leaks at events like Photokina, CP+, CES, and the handling of user data in line with wider industry scrutiny involving companies such as Facebook, Google LLC, Amazon.com, Twitter, Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc..

Specific incidents noted in media analyses parallel controversies elsewhere in technology publishing involving editorial independence, sponsored content disclosure, and forum moderation similar to debates seen at outlets like TechCrunch, Engadget, CNET, Wired (magazine), Mashable.

Category:Photography websites