Getting tired of Diglloyd

[ramosa]

Diglloyd or, for that matter, Sean Reid: if you don't like their stuff and/or don't want to pay for it, then move past it.

Please note: I have never subscribed to Diglloyd. Although I hate Sean's web user interface and even find it insulting, I have subscribed 4-5 times over the past seven years. I always say that I won't do it again, but I then give in when I'm pondering a new purchase and want the "best reviews available." My mistake. I own it. And plan to move past it (errr, we'll see if I decide NOT to re-subscribe when the new M comes out!).

 

[kuau]

I have been a on and off again subscriber to Lloyds site.
Yes I have accepted that he is always right period with a huge ego, though not much talent in terms of his photo skills.

He is for sure on a Leica bashing mode right now, though he always confuses me at the same time.
His latest reviews are all over the place. I can never figure out of he likes something or not.
Case in point his rolling review of the A7RII, on one hand he thinks it's a gadget, and at the same time he thinks it's revolutionary then he goes back to his Nikon 810.

I'm hoping he will change his subscriber price for Leica for free

 

[wentbackward]

...I had planned to become a subscriber again, just to read his thoughts on the S system, but I guess I'll hold off for now.

I got tired of him pretty quickly many years ago when he slagged off the M9 and yet clearly didn't get what the M9 was, had no experience of hyperfocal focusing and other techniques used by Leica photographers, had no idea of how to use a rangefinder camera effectively and basically compared it to SLRs. He may be technical, but he is totally unqualified to review the M system. I also got a bit fed up of him bragging about is Porsche 4WD thingy at about the same time and didn't renew my subscription.

 

[aDam007]

I've owned everything.. Just msg me. I'll give you my bias opinion on the matter. You're welcome to send me money, but it's not necessary. I also take S-lenses and M-lenses.

 

[250swb]

I got tired of him pretty quickly many years ago when he slagged off the M9 and yet clearly didn't get what the M9 was, had no experience of hyperfocal focusing and other techniques used by Leica photographers, had no idea of how to use a rangefinder camera effectively and basically compared it to SLRs. He may be technical, but he is totally unqualified to review the M system. I also got a bit fed up of him bragging about is Porsche 4WD thingy at about the same time and didn't renew my subscription.

I agree, it's the tester that needs testing as much as the camera that's tested.

Steve

 

[DougDolde]

How many of you are paying $249 annually for full access?? Or $399 for two years?

Looks like a lot of you judging by his new Sprinter

 

[jlindstrom]

How many of you are paying $249 annually for full access?? Or $399 for two years?

Looks like a lot of you judging by his new Sprinter

Holy cow, that’s expensive! :wtf:

For any subscription site, I might consider paying 10$ annual and not one cent more.

I’m paying 180$ annual for my news paper subscription and it’s a daily blast of news & info upwards of 40 large pages (broadsheet).

 

[vieri]

I subscribed once, and when it expired stopped, a long time ago. No matter how methodical you are, or how technical your reviews are, if you can't keep your objectivity and if you cant' keep your emotions and your ego under control, you are not fit to be a reviewer IMHO - or, at least, you can review all you want but you'll not count me as one of your subscribers.

Over-enthusiast reviewers (the one I can think of), at least, are free - good for a laugh, but free

As always, I voted with my wallet.

Best regards,

Vieri

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Holy cow, that’s expensive! :wtf:

For any subscription site, I might consider paying 10$ annual and not one cent more.

I’m paying 180$ annual for my news paper subscription and it’s a daily blast of news & info upwards of 40 large pages (broadsheet).

Interesting, I also compared it with my newspaper...but he is also more expensive than Netflix, HBO Now, Amazon Prime, Filmstruck with all the Criterion Collection etc etc. I get that he writes a lot and works hard, but that is quite a steep price when compared to the rest of the market. That's even more than renting Lightroom and Photoshop on the cloud for a year...

 

[Chris C]

I too will not pay Lloyd's tax, whilst I can't access his expensive reviews; I do regularly look at his homepage. Curiously, he is the only reviewer I know of to be highly critical of an M10 EVF implementation which also drives me crazy; in order to access the live histogram [with shutter half-press] one must endure a cropped EVF picture at top and bottom [prior to 'half-press'] with unwanted camera setting icons absurdly replacing the top and bottom of one's intended composition. It's a pretty stupid implementation, but there again so is the absence of a level, or the blinking red dot in the viewfinder when using exposure compensation. I'm glad Lloyd is critical.

............. Chris

 

[iiiNelson]

I tried his reviews years ago and it was nice to read when I was first getting into Leica (along with Sean Reid) but I found a heavy Zeiss bias (even though I'm a big Zeiss fan myself) in his recommendations. What I will say is that there is so much information out there for "free" if you have the time to search forums, read the usual suspects (like DPReview, FStoppers, PetaPixel, Photography Life, Imaging Resource, etc.), and watch some YouTube videos over a period of time then make a decision if buying from a B&H or Amazon type store with a generous return policy if the product doesn't work for you in the end. It all goes in the pot and in the end, it helps you as the end user determine what you tend to like.

 

[Vivek]

Are there subscription sites offering buying advice on vacuum cleaners or kitchen utensils?

BTW, I prefer Ken Rockwell among the free review sites.

 

[Robert Campbell]

Are there subscription sites offering buying advice on vacuum cleaners or kitchen utensils?

In the UK, there is Which?, the magazine of the Consumers' Association. They test vacuum cleaners and much more. Originally, a paper magazine, it now has reviews etc on line.

There is a similar magazine/association in Germany, in Australia, and IIRC in the US.

Perhaps that's not what you were thinking of.

 

[iiiNelson]

Are there subscription sites offering buying advice on vacuum cleaners or kitchen utensils?

BTW, I prefer Ken Rockwell among the free review sites.

Yeah there’s Consumer Reports and the like stateside... I trust their opinions less than paid camera review sites.

 

[GrahamWelland]

Caveat Emptor ...

 

[jrp]

His business model relies on finding faults that no one else has found. He seems to get more than his fair share of bad luck when it comes to equipment.

For sure, I think that we are entitled to expect perfection for the price that Leica (or, indeed, other top brands now charge) and he is entitled to point out when we are not getting it. But there is no such thing as a perfect camera (system) so we should be in the land of strengths and weaknesses.

I gave up on him for a combination of reasons: his click-bait style, the lack of any summary / conclusion / assessments in many of his test sequences, and the fact that, despite his putting up hi-res images, I couldn't, in many cases, see what he was talking about when comparing the perfection of this Zeiss lens in comparison with that Leica lens, etc. All this adds up to poor value for money, especially if you have to subscribe to multiple channels.


.

 

[Paratom]

Total Perfection...I think it doesnt exist. if you want you can always find something.
The question for me is : can you focus on the exceptional points of something/a produccr or is your goal to find something negative. I do hope for Digiloyd that his type of reviewing cameras is different from his way of looking into life.
I think it is totally good to point out also negative points, but it should be balanced. I stopped reading Digiloyd when his findings did not mirror my own experience, and when asking questions about the differences about his and my findings I didnt get any good/convincing answers.

 

[Bernard]

My take on DL is that his style of photography would be best served by a tech cam and a live-view back. Most of his criticism can be viewed in that light: the farther a camera strays from a tech cam, the worse the review. Obviously Leica gets some of the worst reviews, given that they make great lenses and then "ruin" them with sensors that do not offer the most megapixels. The nerve of those Germans!

DL could buy a tech cam, a decent back, and a few lenses, but then his reviewing business would take a big hit! Between that and photography, only one pays the bills.

In a way, Ming Thein had a similar problem. His site reviewed a lot of equipment that was unsuited to his style of photography. He eventually accepted this state of affairs, and took his career in a different direction (working with and for Hasselblad).

I do hope for Digiloyd that his type of reviewing cameras is different from his way of looking into life.

I hope so too.
I suspect that the anger and resentment have done well for him, in terms of page views/subscriptions. It sets his site apart from other review sites.

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Are there subscription sites offering buying advice on vacuum cleaners or kitchen utensils?

The best of these has always been Consumer Reports. They do actual lab tests (for dishwasher capabilities) with real dried-on sticky food, and they maintain a very useful data base of car reliabiity and maintenance expense. I usually subscribe for a year each time we need to replace a car. In the areas that they consider, they are trustworthy. Just like camera reviewers, you use them for what they know, and ignore what they are known not to consider.

 

[Robert Campbell]

The best of these has always been Consumer Reports. They do actual lab tests (for dishwasher capabilities) with real dried-on sticky food, and they maintain a very useful data base of car reliabiity and maintenance expense. I usually subscribe for a year each time we need to replace a car. In the areas that they consider, they are trustworthy. Just like camera reviewers, you use them for what they know, and ignore what they are known not to consider.

The "real dried-on sticky food" used in European tests by the consumer organizations is spinach. Not just any spinach; there is a farm that grows special spinach which is only used for such tests. Consistency and reproducibility.