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GetDPI by the Numbers

Shashin

Well-known member
SO I was playing around with site specs. Some of this is interesting

Brand/Type--Number of Posts​

MFD--157,709
Leica--100,280
Sony--87,205
u4/3--78,947
Nikon--55,188
Small Sensor--28,406
Other--17,860
Fujifilm--15,507
Analog--10,714
Pentax--8,649
Canon--7,114
Large format--3,343

Mean--47,577
Median--23,133

Now, some of these section are for more than one brand, MFD, u4/3, Other, Small sensor, etc. Here are the number of threads:

Brand/Type--Number of Treads​

MFD--6,283
u4/3--3,458
Leica--3,079
Sony--2,985
Small Sensor--2,362
Nikon--1,632
Other--624
Fujifilm--615
Canon--501
Pentax--368
Analog--300
Large format--229

Mean--1,870
Median--1,128

Here are the average number of posts per thread:

Brand/Type--Post/treads​

Analog--35.7
Nikon--33.8
Leica--32.6
Sony--29.2
Other--28.6
Fujifilm--25.2
MFD--25.1
Pentax--23.5
u4/3 cameras--22.8
Large format--14.6
Canon--14.2
Small Sensor--12.0

Mean--24.8
Median--25.2​

The Pentax and Fuji sections were opened in 2011. The MFD in 2009. The other were opened at the end of 2007 or in 2008.
 

Tim

Active member
The two that surprise me are FujiFilm and Canon. I would have expected them to be higher.

However I perceive that this forum must be full of either rich people :p or those who commit a lot to their equipment with the big attendance at the MFD forum. Perhaps the MFD crowd spent so much so they are compelled to use and post a lot.

The Large format crowd work slower so post slower.. :D:D
 

PeterA

Well-known member
There is an increasing number of places which compete for eye-ball time on the internet and camera brands are becoming increasingly involved in promoting their own spaces and content for people who are interested in the brand of camera they use.

Forums thrive on the energy of a relatively few number of regular participants - the MF forum on GetDPI continues to have relatively more interest than perhaps other forums because there are a larger number of regular contributors. the 'audience' for sharing photographs on GetDPI for non so called MF photography is not as high. Perhaps this is a chicken and egg situation - but perhaps might speak to the challenge that any site has in maintaining and growing its audience share in teh face of a rapidly growing number of on line 'spaces'.

It will be interesting to see how well the " Medium Format .com" site goes, I must admit I was skeptical about their pricing - but time will tell - for brand specific information Fuji has me well covered with a plethora of on line information / photographers / photography etc...similarly Capture One and Adobe do an excellent job of educating their user base as well as (literally) thousands of youtube channels.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Interesting? You're kidding
You mean the largest camera manufacturer in the world is significantly underrepresented in the forum? And given the number of members that own Canon's 17mm tilt/shift lens, very few actually use it on a Canon camera. MFD, which represents the smallest segment in the industry, has a huge representation, yet the average number of posts per thread is actually average--the Nikon folks seem to have longer threads. So while this forum attracts high-end camera users, certain brands/types seem to create longer conversations. The number of folks using u4/3 cameras in a forum that represents such high-end camera users is remarkable as well. Fuji seems to have a strong following as well, even with u4/3 activity--and if you calculate a compound annual growth rate, the Fuji forums out perform all the other sections except MFD. So, yes, these data are interesting.
 

Oren Grad

Active member
I've done analysis like this over at the Large Format Photography Forum, and I am interested to see these numbers. Thanks for going to the trouble, Will.

The image-sharing threads skew the posts/thread statistics a bit. For example, the "Fun with MF images" thread has been running for 10+ years and has 24,304 posts as of just now, which means it alone accounts for almost 1/6 of that subforum's per-thread average.

Yeah, Canon gets hardly any attention, absolutely or relative to market share. I suspect that's mostly because folks here tend to groove on cameras that are distinctive in specification or performance, while Canon generally sticks to the middle of the road and tends to roll out new models and features very deliberately and incrementally.

As it happens, my most-used-ever digital camera is an EOS 6D. That model was dissed as unexciting even when it was introduced six years ago. But other, buzzier cameras have come and gone from my outfit, while the 6D just keeps on keeping on. In principle there is much to be said for a "boring" product that fits my hand like a glove and, within its limitations, reliably does its job day in and day out. But there's not much novelty or excitement in saying it.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
The image-sharing threads skew the posts/thread statistics a bit. For example, the "Fun with MF images" thread has been running for 10+ years and has 24,304 posts as of just now, which means it alone accounts for almost 1/6 of that subforum's per-thread average.
Your are right that the stats are a lot more complex than the simple numbers available. That is the reason I put the mean and median--if there was a normal distribution, then both those numbers should be the same and the greater the difference, the greater the skew. You can really see the how those "Fun with" threads impact the data. That is why the last set of numbers is interesting--Nikon and Analog members seem to be sharing more images (or arguing a lot longer) than others. But even with the "Fun with MF" length, there also seems to be a lot of questions asked--how is x lens on y back type of thing.

One thing is clear, Jack, Bob, and Guy have really made a vibrant community for MFD and other high-end camera users. And that was no accident.

I think the Canon data might be illuminating in another way. It is a little speculative, but Canon's dominance in low-end DSLRs (branded as Rebel in the US and Kiss in Japan) makes up a huge part of their sales. But the GetDPI members are more sophisticated users of photography gear, resulting in fewer Canon members. Still, Canon has some great professional level cameras, so I don't think that explains everything. I am surprised how little traffic the Canon section gets.
 
The primary reason I am here is for the MFD discussion. I don't bother with the "Fun with..." threads. I don't understand the draw. The images could have been taken with any camera and you wouldn't know the difference.
 

Oren Grad

Active member
You can really see the how those "Fun with" threads impact the data. That is why the last set of numbers is interesting--Nikon and Analog members seem to be sharing more images (or arguing a lot longer) than others.
Yes! Actually, the two "More and more fun..." image-sharing threads alone account for just under three quarters of all "Analog" posts. Not a lot of new-product action to talk about!

One thing is clear, Jack, Bob, and Guy have really made a vibrant community for MFD and other high-end camera users. And that was no accident.
+1.

I think the Canon data might be illuminating in another way. It is a little speculative, but Canon's dominance in low-end DSLRs (branded as Rebel in the US and Kiss in Japan) makes up a huge part of their sales. But the GetDPI members are more sophisticated users of photography gear, resulting in fewer Canon members. Still, Canon has some great professional level cameras, so I don't think that explains everything. I am surprised how little traffic the Canon section gets.
Measured in volume terms, Nikon's sales have been dominated by low-end APS-C models as well, and that's still true even after substantial contraction in that end of the market. On the other hand, low-end m4/3 models get some attention here; I think the main attraction there is system (camera+lens) compactness together with a slight counter-majoritarian vibe. But in the end there's just some historical accident to who ended up gravitating here and what their interests have been.

The primary reason I am here is for the MFD discussion. I don't bother with the "Fun with..." threads. I don't understand the draw. The images could have been taken with any camera and you wouldn't know the difference.
Some people just enjoy friendly picture-sharing for its own sake. I think that's a nice contribution to the "culture" here.
 
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