Ken Rockwell and the popularity of film photography

DREW WILEY · Jan 26, 2015

Most of these "review" types are people who have nothing better to do. They're like "expert witnesses" in a courtroom. I've know a number of people who took a career path as "expert" simply because they were too incompetent to actually make a living in their field of "expertise". Most reviews are made by professional writers who need to spin multiple articles per month to make a living at it; so the BS coefficient is pretty significant. This is a university town, so we get something analogous, in that there are a certain number of underemployed phD's out there always fishing for a gig. We happen to carry the biggest selection of caulking in the region, among other things. One day some geeky type comes in requesting samples. He's about to leave the door with a tube of black underlayment adhesive
and a tube of black roof wet patch. Turns out he was doing a Consumer Reports review of bath caulks! He didn't even know what that meant. I could relate numerous stories like that. Equipment reviews can be even worse. I don't have time for it anymore; but I used to do
equipment reviews for Fine Homebuilding, and they used to pay me double the normal rate because they knew I did my homework and didn't BS. But doing homework often involved dissecting something, tracing its actual repair history, etc - in other words, actual work. Most
of these guys don't even plug the damn thing in. Same reason I stopped subscribing to View Camera magazine. Way too many camera review "filler" articles that didn't say anything other than an advertising tear shear didn't tell you. I figure Ken Rockwell has his strong points as well as weak ones; but his site is well arranged and popular.

MartinCrabtree · Jan 26, 2015

I am an expert witness because I say I am
And I said gentlemen, and I use that world loosely
I will testify for you, I'm a gun for hire,I'm a saint, I'm a liar
Because there are no facts, there is no truth
Just data to be manipulated
I can get you any result you like
What's it worth to you?
Because there is no wrong, there is no right
And I sleep very well at night
No shame, no solution, no remorse, no retribution
Just people selling t-shirts
Just opportunity to participate in the pathetic little circus
And winning, winning, winning

Don Henley-Garden of Allah

Pioneer · Jan 26, 2015

This must be the APUGger's new form of entertainment. Bashing KR and CR.

flavio81 · Jan 27, 2015

Jim Jones said:
Long ago Consumer Report also panned Leica because owners reported having serviced their equipment more often than most other camera owners. Of course the professional Leica photographers did!

But then you can find threads here where some Leica owners do report their rangefinders (i.e. M3) requiring frequent service compared to, say, a Nikon F2.

bobwysiwyg · Jan 27, 2015

Pioneer said:
This must be the APUGger's new form of entertainment. Bashing KR and CR.

+1

MartinCrabtree · Jan 27, 2015

My comment using Henly's lyrics is directed at no one. He simply said it better than I can concerning the lack of integrity today.

Roger Cole · Jan 27, 2015

Well it's a nice change from bashing digital.

mrred · Jan 27, 2015

All I can say is get over yourselves folks and close the thread. There was nothing productive accomplished here.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

MartinCrabtree · Jan 27, 2015

mrred said:
All I can say is get over yourselves folks and close the thread. There was nothing productive accomplished here.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

So you read it all on your cell phone? That's got to be some kind of accomplishment.

DREW WILEY · Jan 27, 2015

KR gets bashed all the time. Comes with the territory. But most often it's the result of him being strongly opinionated in Nikon versus Canon rivalries. At least he's fairly systematic or consistent in the way he approaches and presents his reviews. This makes comparisons of various
similar products easy, if you happen to be comfortable with the degree or lack of degree he undertakes all this. But he's done a good job getting his name out there as a popular "go to" site. So yeah, time to move on, and start bashing those who bash us for bashing others.

flavio81 · Jan 27, 2015

DREW WILEY said:
KR gets bashed all the time. Comes with the territory. But most often it's the result of him being strongly opinionated in Nikon versus Canon rivalries. At least he's fairly systematic or consistent in the way he approaches and presents his reviews. This makes comparisons of various
similar products easy, if you happen to be comfortable with the degree or lack of degree he undertakes all this. But he's done a good job getting his name out there as a popular "go to" site. So yeah, time to move on, and start bashing those who bash us for bashing others.

Agree. There are some sites (like dx0mark, for example) where they review lenses based on measurement-based lens tests that tell you little about how useful the lens will be on actual photographic tasks. Ken's reviews come from the point of view of the photographer, and I find many of his reviews very useful.

RalphLambrecht · Jan 27, 2015

omaha said:
KR is my guilty pleasure. I think he is a genius.

certainlyvery dedicated.

mrred · Jan 27, 2015

MartinCrabtree said:
So you read it all on your cell phone? That's got to be some kind of accomplishment.

That would be an assumption on your part. It could have been on my tablet or several computers too. Would you have a problem with that? Are cell phones capable devices? Did KR recommend this?

MartinCrabtree · Jan 27, 2015

Actually it was nothing more than a tongue in cheek remark.

mrred · Jan 27, 2015

Then I am guilty of dropping off the edge....

MartinCrabtree · Jan 27, 2015

's alright. No offense taken.

DREW WILEY · Jan 28, 2015

I admire how digital technology makes our lives easier as photographers. For example, if it is windy and you tripod is shaky, and there aren't
any rocks around, you can hang a mesh bag below your tripod head and fill it with smartphones to add ballast. Then, if the wind dies down
and you need to wait for the light awhile, these devices are excellent for skipping across ponds. Or maybe skeet shooting them is your preference. Other than that ...

tomfrh · Jan 29, 2015

I like Ken Rockwell. I just started shooting slide film because of him. I'd never have bothered otherwise, and I'd have missed out on how good it is!

flavio81 · Jan 29, 2015

DREW WILEY said:
I admire how digital technology makes our lives easier as photographers. For example, if it is windy and you tripod is shaky, and there aren't
any rocks around, you can hang a mesh bag below your tripod head and fill it with smartphones to add ballast. Then, if the wind dies down
and you need to wait for the light awhile, these devices are excellent for skipping across ponds. Or maybe skeet shooting them is your preference. Other than that ...

LOL!!

Ken Rockwell and the popularity of film photography

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency