In doing some research on a "New Shiny" for somebody, I got quite
entertained over how quickly the "New Shiny" falls out of favor for no
other reason than a different brand came out with a "New Shiny" that
isn't any better, but just happens to be newer by a few weeks.
When this particular "New Shiny" came out, all the reviewers gave it
glowing reviews and proclaimed it as camera equivalent to the
Messiah's second coming. But the moment the new model from a different
brand comes out, it's immediately forgotten.
Which is a nice reminder that reviewers stay in business by reviewing.
It would do them no good to keep proclaiming last-year's model to be
better than everything that is currently coming out. Of course, it
costs them nothing to keep having the latest/greatest (in spite of all
the bunk about them buying their own cameras from such-and-such store,
which is a cross-sell).
The key to survival is two things:
1. What is it that YOU want and find important?
2. Are you interested in a bar-date camera or a camera to build a
relationship with?
The first point is vital because certain features bragged up as
important by some people will mean nothing to you, while others are
critical to you. Every reviewer, these days, seems fixated on
size/weight. "The D800 with 70-200 is fantastic, except it won't fit
inside your pocket of your skinny jeans." They end up praising some
pipsqueak POS as a great camera because of the size/weight, but is
otherwise totally unusable.
While size/weight is important for some stuff, the fact is, my
cell-phone beats everything in that regard, anyway. So, let's get a
grip on reality.
The lens and sensor is the anchor point for most cameras.
Theoretically, this should be the first choice filter that we make. Is
the lens or lens mount satisfying? Does the sensor match your
technical requirements? If neither one are satisfactory, no amount of
bells and whistles will make up for it and you'll be ebaying it in two
weeks. Provided that the lens and sensor match your requirements, what
about the rest of the package? What is it that you are missing or not
happy with? Beauty may be only skin deep, but ugly goes clear through
to the bone. You'll be ebaying it in six weeks.
There is no substitute for holding the camera in your own hand and
experiencing it yourself. No amount of reviews will tell you about the
intangibles that only matter to you. I've selected my cameras
carefully and not really found myself wanting--much, often...
Oh, shoot. Just go ahead and buy whatever you want as often a you
want. Make up for it by starting your own reviewing blog.
AG (tarnished) Schnozz
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|