Photo.Jerry

One poster said: "Rockwell expresses opinions rather than compiles tables from lab tests."

We would do well to remember that the purpose of photography is to produce compelling images. Too many photographers get enamored with and bogged down with their equipment and its capabilities they forget about getting the image. You used to see this in the Leica owners who bragged about the quality of their lenses (spectacular, yes) but produced pedestrian images.

We modern people worship at the church of science and at the shrine of technology thinking that better stuff makes better images. (great picture, what kind of camera do you have?)

I remember years ago the magazine Modern Photography took one of the finest lenses available, one with the capability of resolving over 100 lines per millimeter, and put it into the hands, not onto the tripod, of a variety of photographers and then measured the real world result. The results were interesting and certainly not at the 100 lpm level.

Ken gets heat because he is opinionated and gets right to the point of photography. Images. I believe his position no raw vs. jpeg is a valid one. I've seen too many ordinary images tweaked on the computer and were still ordinary images. And this doesn't even get into the images tweaked into the realm of fantasy.

turp77 Loc: Connecticut, Plainfield

We just have to remember what an opinion is " a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty". In MY OPINION the RedSoxs are the best team!

C.R. Loc: United States of Confusion

:lol: this place is crawling with folks exactly as described above. hundreds, maybe thousands of em. most of them don't have enough bran in their diets. :lol:

MtnMan Loc: ID

I challenge those who run him down to give the link to their web site where they provide equivalent free information. So far none have done so.

I don't agree with everything he says but greatly appreciate the vast information he has gathered and provided us for free. For example, one of the things I do not agree with him on is his dissing of tripods. I find mine essential to get tack sharp/ low noise images with large DOF.

MtnMan Loc: ID

If those who have a beef with him on a topic simply stated their position vs. his and gave data to support their position their input would be useful.

Dissing he or his site in general is childish.

Dick Z. Loc: Downers Grove IL

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

346pak Loc: Texas

He has to be doing something right, he is making a living at what he seemingly loves to do right? I always check his sight first and see what he say about a camera or lens. I don't always use his opinion as the end all but I do start there. I then go to DXO mark to see what they say. I like the balance of human opinion and cold hard testing facts to help base my decisions.

The fact is, if we could do better, we probably would right? Now as RPavich so elegantly quoted "Now we continue on with our 240 page thread-to-be... "

:-)

caljr Loc: Indiana

No one is perfect but God, we all fall short in someones eyes but I have learned a lot from Ken's web site and still use it and tell other photographers about it. He has some great timeless information that is a good resource for beginners and pros. Thanks Ken.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

At one time Rockwell almost suggested that the D800 should be trashed. I did not follow his suggestion

Dick Z. Loc: Downers Grove IL

I agree caljr. I purchased a canon D6, finally, after reading his report. I agree with some others though, that you have to take some of his remarks with a grain of salt.
I'm very happy with my purchase and much of what he said is true but like you said only God is perfect. Anyway thanks Ken.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I agree. I like to read Ken's articles, but you have to understand that he isn't the only source and research further. He has some great information, and some , shall we say not as good? info. He often contradicts himself sometimes because he got more info and others regrettably, because a better paying sponsor seems to have come along with a competitive system.. When the D7100 came out, he did his initial review based on looking at the prototype and not holding or doing anything but seeing the preliminary specs. He hated it. Then he got one (he says for himself but it must have been given to him based on his initial review or he would have never gotten it) and when he actually used it, the camera became his "favorite DX camera". At least in this instance, he led his review off with an "On Further Review" headline and explained that his preliminary was based on a prototype and not a working model. One has to wonder how many other reviews he does this way. Again, if this sounds like I don't like him... it isn't so. I am just saying that he is human. As with any reviewer, first see where they are coming from. Do they own a camera store? Is the markup (profit) greater on the one they are recommending? Do they have a bone to pick with another company?..
When I recommend one camera over another, I am basing it on my experience and needs and I usually preface it with the fact that I worked for Nikon... That doesn't mean that I have any more knowledge or experience than many others here, but as a part of my job there, I got to use every camera DSLR, Mirrorless, and point and shoot in Nikon's inventory up until I left last November. My job was to work hand in hand with the Nikon Professional Service members solving problems and issues both in the field and in the studio. Some were simple menu programming issues and others were legitimate camera problems. I know from experience that one evaluation of any camera can not really get into the nuts and bolts of it.
Read as many reviews as you can and then throw out the chaff.

Michael Christy

I saw Ken visiting B & H. He was like a fish out of water. He looked at a point and shoot camera. His opinion on the camera was incomplete and sales people came to his rescue. Now I doubt the authenticity of his opinions.

PHW Loc: Madison, WI

I can't read him. He "mixes truths up".

SonyBug

Personally, I like KR web site. It and thereby he has saved me lots of money on lenses. For ex: getting a 80-210 Non VR 2.8 for $300. It takes just as good if not better pictures than the 70-200 VR, but the downside is you have to shoot faster and with higher ISO. Not a problem for a D800e. So, I agree, if you have jealous negative things to say, don't say them. Let the consumer make up his/her own mind. And one other thing, he gets a very small commission if you click on his links to the main photo shops. I try to do that, and I also send him 5 to 20 bucks from time to time when he saves me money...

authorizeduser Loc: Monroe, Michigan

Name me one reviewer who does not do the exact same thing as Ken Rockwell does! Reviewers by nature are opinionated and sometimes wrong or inaccurate. Give the guy a break .... he is at least trying and I usually find what he has said worth something! It is always up to the reader to decide if they want to take the advice or not. Personally I would trust Ken Rockwell who asks for donations over a reviewer who is paid to say what the client wants them to say.