bedouin Loc: Big Bend area, Texas

Way back when I subscribed I used the pages to line my parakeet cage.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Does anyone even pay attention to CR anymore. I think most people are more likely to go with ratings on Amazon or at B&H or Adorama. I have not even thought about CR for years let alone looked at anything they have to say. I would also have to question their expertise in things photography related.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

mrtaxi Loc: Old Westbury NY, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Consumer reports ratings on cars are way off the mark also. I own a relatively large fleet of NYC taxicabs that run about 22 hrs a day 365 1/4 days a year. Several of the vehicles that they gave excellent reliability and cost to repair ratings to, that we tested extensively were actually way more unreliable and much more expensive than others listed as average. As to their ability to understand what makes one camera better than another, is highly questionable. As we all know it requires an understanding and experience that their testers probably don’t understand. I like to stick to Dpreview.com and other reviewers that specialize in the field.

Demianr

I wouldn't go to a proctologist for brain surgery or even a general practitioner

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I would think their level of evaluation which is not based on any bias is of more value than someone who justs take pictures.

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

For Nikon cameras I have never known Steve Perry to be off on his recommendations and believe him to be one of the best wildlife photographers out there in the same class as Moose Peterson. I credit Steve Perry on making me a better photographer.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Agree. I've been a subscriber for years. Consumers can be a very useful resource of information, but before buying or not buying anything they review I always look at additional reviews elsewhere.

Dossile

CR attempts to be objective. It tries to avoid bias. I like that a lot. However, it misses out on subtle differences between products that can prove very valuable to me as a user. I have subscribed for years and use it as a guide to look at major features of consumer products. If those features are what I am looking for, it is great as a guide. However, I have been very happy for years with multiple purchases rated as mediocre because I value a range of attributes not examined adequately by CR. This is especially true of high end products. The 7500 is a higher end product. Personally, based on reviews by reputable sources like DP Review and also examining features, I would choose a D 500. But the difference in price is significant. The 7200 is a great camera with a few less features and a lower price still. Great photos are at your finger tips with all three. I personally wouldn’t consider a D5600, although it has nice features and can also take great pictures. In short, although I like CR, sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes products are rated too highly, sometimes superior products are rated too low. I would trust CR with point and shoots and entry level DSR’s, but never higher end products like the D 7500 or its more prestigious older brothers like the D500 or D 850. For higher end products I rely on professional reviews and consumer comments and don’t even reference CR.

BebuLamar

FAIR is the worst comment??? To me most cameras should be called fair. fair is the norm.

cdayton

They take no advertising so exist on subscriptions. Free access to articles would be a bad business model for them. I subscribed for many years and found their reviews to be useful but you must be cognizant of their test criteria for each product. Unlike car magazines who get test fine-tuned vehicle from dealers, they buy incognito from dealers and get all the usual defects. I’m sure they bought their cameras over the counter while photo magazines almost certainly get carefully vetted units. This could be a factor in ratings.

BebuLamar

I actually agree with you they are not bias and one must be aware of their criteria. For example a camera without built in flash I think they would score lower while I myself would score higher. Same goes for cameras without video. And I actually think their reports are useful although I believe they would rate the camera I chose to buy at the bottom, the Nikon Df.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

One might wonder which Viewfinder / Meter Head they were referring to? Photamic, High Point, plain Pentaprism, Medical Titanium Nikon F2, there were many variations on the F2. And as I recall, various precise magnification ratios for the finders, say 95 - 102% (that is a guess on my part).

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Just because you don't take advertising doesn't mean you cannot be bought. I have seen various industry type publications where your product ranking was highly influenced by the amount of money you were willing to pay them. I believe I also read somewhere that ADA sells their certification of tooth paste of all things... Consumer Reports was a good resource for some things but today there are a lot of resources to look at too. You just have to decide which ones you have faith in yourself.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

BebuLamar

Which issue of CR did you find those? I used to read CR back in 76-77 and I didn't see any of those mistakes you said.

richardsaccount

IMHO I would take Consumer Reports with a grain of salt, actually a salt block!. I remember back around the seventh decade of the Twentieth Century, Consumer Reports rated a Canon fixed mount 35mm point and shoot as better than the Minolta made Leica CL. Which was a camera with interchangeable lenses. I can't remember if they used optical quality as a criteria. Leica designed their lenses with micro contrast in mind over resolution maybe they just looked at lines per millimeter numbers. Also in the recent past they gave the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport a top rating. A couple of years later on a TV show which I can't remember the name of, a guy representing Consumer Reports stated that Mitsubishi Motors was the worst car manufacturer. Go figure. Like some people in other posts have said, do your own research and talk to people that have used the product which you are interested in.