# DPReviews's best stills camera of the year is...



## AlanF (Dec 5, 2020)

DPReview TV: The best and worst cameras and lenses of 2020


It's the episode you've been waiting for all year! Chris and Jordan reveal their picks for the best and worst camera gear of 2020 while playing their newest drinking game. What could go wrong?




www.dpreview.com





Those of you who rail against dpr may be surprised.


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## Click (Dec 5, 2020)

Thanks for sharing, Alan.


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## SteveC (Dec 5, 2020)

AlanF said:


> DPReview TV: The best and worst cameras and lenses of 2020
> 
> 
> It's the episode you've been waiting for all year! Chris and Jordan reveal their picks for the best and worst camera gear of 2020 while playing their newest drinking game. What could go wrong?
> ...



I don't dislike them. I recognize that their priorities are different from mine, they're video heads.


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## Aussie shooter (Dec 5, 2020)

SteveC said:


> I don't dislike them. I recognize that their priorities are different from mine, they're video heads.


And place way more importance on A small difference in DR than they should.


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## privatebydesign (Dec 5, 2020)

I have railed against some of the particular writers opinions, and they have been proven to not only give false and misleading information but get upset and throw their toys out of their pram when shown what they write doesn’t align with observable facts. Because of that I have little trust and give no validation to their opinions or ratings.

On the other hand I have referred to their data (mostly RAW files) innumerable times and fully trust their honest attempts at giving this kind of useful and relative comparative data in a quickly changing technology.

Now the company is wholly owned by Amazon I trust their ratings to reflect exactly what Amazon will make the most money on selling. You can dismiss the best seller for as long as you like when your are independent and pay the bills with clicks, whether your opinions are justified or just inflammatory to drive traffic, but once you have a massive corporation paying your wages then that position becomes less tenable.


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## Jethro (Dec 5, 2020)

privatebydesign said:


> Now the company is wholly owned by Amazon


I didn't know that!


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## AlanF (Dec 6, 2020)

privatebydesign said:


> I have railed against some of the particular writers opinions, and they have been proven to not only give false and misleading information but get upset and throw their toys out of their pram when shown what they write doesn’t align with observable facts. Because of that I have little trust and give no validation to their opinions or ratings.
> 
> On the other hand I have referred to their data (mostly RAW files) innumerable times and fully trust their honest attempts at giving this kind of useful and relative comparative data in a quickly changing technology.
> 
> Now the company is wholly owned by Amazon I trust their ratings to reflect exactly what Amazon will make the most money on selling. You can dismiss the best seller for as long as you like when your are independent and pay the bills with clicks, whether your opinions are justified or just inflammatory to drive traffic, but once you have a massive corporation paying your wages then that position becomes less tenable.


Is there any evidence that Amazon controls ratings by dpr or is that pure speculation? The buying links for all the gear on the site are, indeed, just only to Amazon, and the site wants you to use links to Amazon for all the gear.


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## AlanF (Dec 6, 2020)

SteveC said:


> I don't dislike them. I recognize that their priorities are different from mine, they're video heads.


They liked mirrorless early on and thought DSLRs were the past, which is why they favoured Sony. Now Canon has come out with great mirrorless gear, they are showing they like it because it fits their philosophy.


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## privatebydesign (Dec 6, 2020)

AlanF said:


> Is there any evidence that Amazon controls ratings by dpr or is that pure speculation? The buying links for all the gear on the site are, indeed, just only to Amazon, and the site wants you to use links to Amazon for all the gear.


None that I know of, but that rather misses the point really. If a change in attitude from an editorial position to a company ties in with an ownership change and then new products measurably indistinguishable (to all intent and purpose) from their predecessors gets higher ratings does it matter why? The end result is I don’t trust your opinion.


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## AlanF (Dec 6, 2020)

privatebydesign said:


> None that I know of, but that rather misses the point really. If a change in attitude from an editorial position to a company ties in with an ownership change and then new products measurably indistinguishable (to all intent and purpose) from their predecessors gets higher ratings does it matter why? The end result is I don’t trust your opinion.


Was there a change in editorial policy when they were acquired by Amazon? According to wikipedia, and you don't have to believe wikipedia: "_Digital Photography Review_ was founded in December 1998 in the United Kingdom by Philip and Joanna Askey.[3][8] On May 14, 2007, it was acquired by Amazon.[2][3][18] DPReview employs a dedicated editorial team of in-house and freelance writers, and is editorially independent of Amazon.[19]"


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## privatebydesign (Dec 6, 2020)

AlanF said:


> Was there a change in editorial policy when they were acquired by Amazon? According to wikipedia, and you don't have to believe wikipedia: "_Digital Photography Review_ was founded in December 1998 in the United Kingdom by Philip and Joanna Askey.[3][8] On May 14, 2007, it was acquired by Amazon.[2][3][18] DPReview employs a dedicated editorial team of in-house and freelance writers, and is editorially independent of Amazon.[19]"


Again, I couldn’t say. All I know is having dealt with one of the main writers personally I do not have one iota of faith in their opinions or ratings, nothing more or less.

Their data I trust but whatever their motivations or driving forces are are irrelevant speculation for me given the first hand personal experiences I have had with one of their most prominent authors.


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## Frodo (Dec 6, 2020)

Canon has been the Toyota of the camera world and so its not surprising that a tech site like DPR focusing on technical features scores Canon relatively low. A bit like DXO focusing on dynamic range. This is more likely gear heads driving editorial policy than Amazon. I have no reason to believe the technical data on eitger site are flawed. I just use my own priorities when using that data.

I drive a very reliable Toyota Corolla (but ride an Italian Aprilia motorbike!).


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## AlanF (Dec 6, 2020)

privatebydesign said:


> Again, I couldn’t say. All I know is having dealt with one of the main writers personally I do not have one iota of faith in their opinions or ratings, nothing more or less.
> 
> Their data I trust but whatever their motivations or driving forces are are irrelevant speculation for me given the first hand personal experiences I have had with one of their most prominent authors.


There are not many reviews I trust.


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## AlanF (Dec 6, 2020)

Frodo said:


> Canon has been the Toyota of the camera world and so its not surprising that a tech site like DPR focusing on technical features scores Canon relatively low. A bit like DXO focusing on dynamic range. This is more likely gear heads driving editorial policy than Amazon. I have no reason to believe the technical data on eitger site are flawed. I just use my own priorities when using that data.
> 
> I drive a very reliable Toyota Corolla (but ride an Italian Aprilia motorbike!).


I would classify them more in the Lexus bracket for 1- and 5-series bodies and Rolls-Royce for lenses, unless you mean a couple of big whites cost the same as a Toyota.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Dec 6, 2020)

The Nikon Z5 keeps getting up there, but it is just a slightly worse Z6 that sometimes costs more money.


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## Bdbtoys (Dec 6, 2020)

Frodo said:


> I drive a very reliable Toyota Corolla (but ride an Italian Aprilia motorbike!).



Not to derail... but have to point out a fellow Aprilia rider (actually sold mine a few years back, but it was fun while I had it).


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 7, 2020)

AlanF said:


> Is there any evidence that Amazon controls ratings by dpr or is that pure speculation? The buying links for all the gear on the site are, indeed, just only to Amazon, and the site wants you to use links to Amazon for all the gear.


No. Amazon bought them many years ago to promote camera sales on Amazon and to give valid reviews for potential buyers DPR ranks all the cameras pretty well. The winner of the deal was Phil Askey.

Part of the acquisition contract was that Amazon would not interfere with the editorial reviews.

I started reading DPR in 1999 after I got my first Digital camera and was retired.

DPReview 20th Anniversary: Founder Phil Askey on the first ten years: Digital Photography Review


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## Frodo (Dec 7, 2020)

AlanF said:


> I would classify them more in the Lexus bracket for 1- and 5-series bodies and Rolls-Royce for lenses, unless you mean a couple of big whites cost the same as a Toyota.


Hi Alan, my comment related to a general view on bodies. In terms of L series lenses, I think the analogy is closer to Porsche. With Rolls Royce, you get telatively little premium for the exorbitant prices paid. I think the analogy with Lexus and 1 series bodies is also good, and it also applies to the R5. Premium product at an upmarket price.
I didn't want to decry other bodies with the Toyota analogy. My Corolla is currently at 250,000km and has been almost perfectly reliable and delivered exactly what I bought it for.

The analogies are not trite. Sometimes we lose sight that Sony pushes the technology envelope, often ignoring the user interface, and has a high model turnover. Okay for a motorbike, but not a workhorse car.


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## AlanF (Dec 7, 2020)

Frodo said:


> Hi Alan, my comment related to a general view on bodies. In terms of L series lenses, I think the analogy is closer to Porsche. With Rolls Royce, you get telatively little premium for the exorbitant prices paid. I think the analogy with Lexus and 1 series bodies is also good, and it also applies to the R5. Premium product at an upmarket price.
> I didn't want to decry other bodies with the Toyota analogy. My Corolla is currently at 250,000km and has been almost perfectly reliable and delivered exactly what I bought it for.
> 
> The analogies are not trite. Sometimes we lose sight that Sony pushes the technology envelope, often ignoring the user interface, and has a high model turnover. Okay for a motorbike, but not a workhorse car.


So, using your analogy, Leica is the Rolls Royce of cameras?


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## Frodo (Dec 8, 2020)

AlanF said:


> So, using your analogy, Leica is the Rolls Royce of cameras?


Absolutely!!!


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