olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Recently was waiting for some work to be done and was looking at magazines in the waiting room. I looked at the 2016 and 2017 CR camera section and was a bit perplexed - out of all the cameras listed (looked to be over 200, all types, from low to high$$, many favorites on this forum) only one (that's right, only one) was rated as excellent for image quality. I thought "how sad is that" - as I've seen many a top flight image taken with many of those 2nd, 3rd and lower (tier) rated cameras. I used to think CR was relevant, now I'm thinking "not so much".

BebuLamar

Which one was it?

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Canon Powershot GX 1 in 2016 and GX1 and GX7 in the 2017 (I know, I lumped them together)

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

When will CR publish its 2018 list?

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

inadvertant duplicate, sorry.

HardwareGuy

I gave up on CR many, many years ago. I equate them to a bunch of crotchety old men or women (now don't get insulted, I'm kinda old) who sit around and nit pick what they like and don't like, and maybe, just maybe, will accept a little something to like it even more. They have become irrelevant for the most part.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Whenever CR reviews something I'm very familiar with, I had problems with their ratings. That makes me not trust their reviews on things I am not familiar with.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

You've pretty much nailed it as far as anything subjective like cameras and their image quality. I guess they can still be relevant when it come to something like which knife is the sharpest where actual testing is involved.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Besides being a long time photography buff, l am also a high-end stereo aficionado. I've also been a subscriber to Consumer Reports for over 25 years. Consumer Reports does not review high-end photography or high-end stereo gear but I am knowledgeable regarding gear for both of those hobbies at a variety of quality and feature levels and price points, and I can say with complete certainty that these are two areas where their opinions must be taken with a very large grain of salt.

They don't take into account the subtleties of one piece of gear over another that might be very important to real aficionados, but instead aim their reviews at the mainstream who just want products that work reliably and are relatively easy to use. When they do review equipment in what we would probably think of as the mid-range or slightly above in either hobby, they often suggest spending more money will not give you any significant benefit. The reason for this is that they are targeting average consumers, since that is their audience, not hobbiests.

Hobbiests generally have much more detailed knowledge, and much higher expectations for these products than most other consumers. In other words, these reviews are geared more to the lowest common denominator and can be safely ignored by those who think of photography as a hobby.

MrBossHK Loc: The West Valley of Phoenix metro area

I have subscribed to Consumer Reports for over twenty years. I have found that when viewing their ratings via the "online" subscription vice the printed magazine itself, the submitted reviews from actual users are consistently 180 degrees different from the Consumer Reports staff reviews. It doesn't really matter what is the product under review. Invariably, the highest-rated item in CR gets a royal beat-down from the actual users. Admittedly, I used to view CR as the gold standard in product reviews and recommendations, but I now do much more extensive product review searches before reaching a decision to purchase. Caveat emptor.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I don't know where the line is on "high end" versus everything else, but as of the 2017 CR Buying Guide...many fine cameras such as DSLR D500, D750, EOS5D mkIII, D810, D7200, EOS 80D, 70D & 60D MIRRORLESS - Sony A7S, A7R,Pany DMC-GH4, Fuji X-Pro2, Advanced P&S and P&S (most all of them). So, Top-of-the-line is missing but I just can't wrap my arms around only two (Advanced P&S, at that) having an "Excellent" image rating???? Agree on the hobbyist being much more discerning, and we all know about what really makes the best picture (a photographer). I think CR needs to look at their ratings application and reconsider their report on cameras.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

As with most online reviews those satisfied often don’t post an opinion.

I learned long ago to discount the overall ratings in favor of the sub criteria that interest me.

therwol Loc: USA

Sounds like you should cancel your subscription. I gave up on them years ago after their top rated Dodge Caravan fell apart one piece at a time. Doesn't matter if a lot of the repair work was done under warranty. They didn't look at the real nuts and bolts and were more concerned with features and handling.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

A Dodge Caravan top rated by Consumer's Reports? Compared to what? When? Years ago, and not so many years ago, Chrysler Corp cars were almost universally graded poorly by CR.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

The "high end" line is somewhat subjective and is based to a certain extent on one's knowledge, experience and perceptions together with generally published perceptions of such things, and of course price points.

With hifi gear for instance you can have higher end systems starting at $10-15K, but many true high end systems are in the $50K and up area and spending $100,000 to $500,000 on gear in not difficult if you have the cash. As for whether its worth it, that's another thing. But for discerning educated listeners who appreciate the subtle and often not so subtle differences, and who have the cash, it is worth it. So for those folks that think their $8K surround sound theater system is high end, its not. There are dozens of phono cartridges that cost that much and more and are intended for $25,000 to $50,000 or more turntables.

Similarly, many photographers appreciate and lust after the best camera gear when the average consumer doesn't see or understand the difference and doesn't care. CR is definitely not reviewing that gear. You can buy a Nikon D850, or a D5 for several thousand dollars and easily add another $25,000 to $50,000 or more over that in lenses and other gear,. Buy a few expensive primes along with a top quality 24-70 and some fast telephoto zooms and primes, a second body and some studio lighting and other pro gear and you see what I mean. Compare that to say a Nikon D7200 with a general walk around lens and a inexpressive fast prime and the line between high end and not so high end becomes clearer.