How much do On-line Reviews affect your decision ?

How much do On-line Reviews affect your decision to purchase or by-pass an

item ?

 

Back in the days, there was no such thing as on-line reviews. So finicky people

like myself either read the technial specs of a product that was listed inside

a magazine and based their decisions on that. Of course there was allways word

of mouth or what the salesman told you when you went to physically look at the

item.

 

Of course if you were really finicky, you could go to the nearest local library

and pull-up all the back copies of Consumer Magazine and hope there was an

article about the item you wanted to purchase.

 

These days, you can just go on-line where there are tons of Blogs, personal

reviews and store reviews on an item. I find myself basing my decision to

purchase on those reviews allot. As a matter of fact, there was an item that I

wanted to dish-off on eBay recently, but when I read some of the reviews on it

which were not that bad, I decided to keep it.

 

Sometimes while reading the reviews things can get pretty conflicting. Some

reviews are based on actual test, while others are just parroting what the

manufacturer wrote in their brochure. Some reviews are extremely negative, but

it could just be a bad experience someone had with the particular item. Anyway

I take all those things into consideration prior to making a purchase. One

thing for sure is that I'm more apt to hit that "Buy Now" button if a reputable

person recomends the item.

There are a few online reviewers that I really trust (particularly Thom Hogan and Bjorn Rorslett). Their reviews strongly influence my decisions. Their reviews are based upon actual field usage and are founded in their extensive photographic experience.

 

Anonymous online reviews from people I don't know/recognize and whose credentials I can't examine are taken with a grain of salt. All forum postings are taken with a couple of extra grains of salt.

 

I have yet to read a negative review in a photo-magizine. Until I do, they are lowest and most useless reviews out there. I think the publishers are more worried about loosing ad-revenue than in an honest review.

<a href="http://www.the-digital-picture.com">the-digital-picture.com</a>,

<a href="http://www.dpreview.com">dpreview.com</a> and <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/">Luminous Landscape</a> do influence me ...

One of the values of Photo.net is to get opinions on various equipment. Then you can zoom in on the specific needs that have and get opinions on that. I help out on a few of the eBay photo chat boards. Too often people will buy a camera and then come to the board to ask questions or complain about what they bought. I often have to point out that although Consumer Review may have given rave reviews for a camera, that is based on most people wanting a camera for vacation or backyard barbecue photos. A camera that is good for that may not be good for close up product photography under artificial light. For taking photos of jewelry or hallmarks on china, one needs a camera with a good close focus, macro, and the ability to manually set the white balance for artificial light.

 

Reviews may be good but it is far better to ask about the specific needs that one has before buying a camera or other equipment.

You read and think about other peoples comments, read the specs, try it yourself, and then learn to live with your choice. It's not a perfect world. Merry Christmas.

Reviews from a trusted reviewer/site like Bob Atkins here, or some of the reviews you can get to through PixelPeeper are invaluable.

 

 

However, in reviews as in everything else on the WWW, 90% is crap.

 

This used to bother me until I ran across a pre-web statement which pointed out that 90% of EVERYTHING is crap. At least in the traditional media there was some kind of filter and "adult supervision"--of course, this was often suborned supervision making sure that no negative reviews of valued advertisers appeared, but it was at least some kind of imprimatur.

 

The fact is that to use any kind of sources you have to be critical, questioning, and even a little cynical. Skepticism is not just for cults, it's really necessary to sort out the grain from the chaff.

Whoops, I <u>forgot</u> to mention Bob Atkins!

One concern I always have is sample variation. You can have Bjorn Rorslett, who knows more about Nikons than Nikon, testing a lens or even several copies, but, if that lens or lenses happen to be unusual, his review may not reflect what my sample will do. If I could, I would buy all my equipment used from Bjorn, after he's tested it. Happy New Year!

I should add that, if Bjorn Rorslett or Bob Atkins or Phil Askey describe a design that fundamentally flawed, such as some of the Nikon tripod mounts, I know that my sample isn't going to be better.

 

We subscribe to Consumer Reports, but they don't do well with sample variation unless they've run surveys, which are very useful in, say, buying cars. I don't trust Consumer Reports to evaluate photographic equipment.

 

To try to cope with sample variation for any important purchase, I look reviews such as those on B&H or Amazon or NewEgg carefully, reading each customer's review, and attempt to weed out ignorance and the stuff that comes out of the back end of a bull. Important purchases are not necessarily those which cost a lot, but those which will affect me if they turn out bad, like a disk drive, or a serving of fugu.

For cameras, I look at the specs, then at the pictures, both of the camera and sample photos. If the camera seems to fit what I look for, then I'll read the conclusion or opinion part of the review. If anything stands out good or bad, I'll read the part of the review about the issue. If I'm still considering a purchase, I'll read the whole thing. The first cut is the deepest, so I guess the reviews don't affect my decisions much.

 

For a non-photography item, I take the opinion of anyone I know who owns one over any review. I never *ever* read computer, and related, product reviews. Just the specs.

I have 2 friends I depend upon for direction, then there are my own trials of things. Beyond that is David Ruether, Bjorn Rorslett and

Thom Hogan (though not necessarily in that order).

 

There are some individuals (taken in the aggregate) who post here

whom I tend to take seriously, a handful -

Mr. Ingold comes to mind - but I stress, in the aggregate.

I would need to see a pattern or a concensus of opinion

forming before I might allow myself to be swayed by someone else's opinion about this or that. Ultimately, though, I trust my own

experience as I know my own needs best.

 

I think it's also the case that on-line product reviews sometimes reflect the predjudices and agenda of the reviewer more and the product's utility less. There are some writers whose "reviews" I

no longer take the time to read as they are stridently unserious.

 

Read the people who are up to the task (and task it is) of reviewing

equipment and see how you might make application of that information

against your needs. Finally, buy the gear from a shop which has a reasonable return policy.

I tend to read specs, and wait for the camera to be out for a while. I will read camera test with

a grain of salt. Most lab tests of cameras use to small of a sample to be accurate. At best they

are rough guide. The best thing I tend see is comments after the camera has been out in the

field for a wild. For example the Canon Mark III minor AF issue. This did not come to light by

lab tests but from practical use.

"How much do On-line Reviews affect your decision?" Probably not as much as many reviewers would like. I'm more interested in usability, durability, and final photo quality than technical wonders and modes and 4 fps vs 5.

Depends.

 

I just bought a Brewer Bracket from a mention on Strobist:

 

http://www.brewerbracket.com/

 

If I hadn't read about it on Strobist, I wouldn't have known it existed. Same with the Bogen Justin clamp:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/349147-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_175F_Justin_Spring_Clamp_with.html

 

 

I've heard good things about the Bogen nano light stands online. So picked one up. Now, I will be buying more.

 

I tend to pay attention to the overall user survey ratings over on Fred Miranda for different lenses. In my experience, the lenses I like the best also tend to get higher ratings. So without having experience with a particular lens, I would say it's a fair bet that if it has the same rating as one I already have, it will perform similarly. Not fool proof. But about as close as you can get.

 

Individual or magazine reviewers? Not so much weight. I might read something that turns me off a particular item. But it's rare that I read a review and think that I need that item. The two items mentioned above are rare exceptions.

 

 

Eric

I think it makes a significant contribution towards making decision. However, you need to be extra careful from an individual's bad experience than the experience of the majority. You need to be patient and analytical in separating very biased opinions to relatively less or unbiased opinions (all are biased in some respect due to human nature, unless it is a scientific review). Some of the reviewers and links stated above are very useful sources for me in making my final decisions. Harry, it is a great question!