Has The Magazine Improved Any ?

[n-hatton]

Funny this question should pop up now; the very same time I've finally concluded I need a new mag and cancelled my DCM subscription - today.

1st thing I have to say; it's no criticism of the mag at all! It was great initially and my subscription lasted 3-years . But I've simply been feeling for a while that it's covering nothing new for me and simply going around again - if you know what I mean? I read the mag front to back and dog-ear useful pages then tear them out and put in a folder. Just find getting on for the last year I'm retaining barely any pages or finding much new.

Also someone else touched on it, it's not THE most technical of photo mags and I would like to move up to something that is - whether I'm worthy is another thing ;-)

Not sure what mag to change to yet - any ideas anyone? I've tried Outdoor Photographer and Digital SLR occasionally, but neither really make me want to subscribe. I'd also like to ensure the mag has a decent and useable web site as well.....

Think I'll just browse each month in W H Smiths and buy what ever appears to be carrying the most interesting content\articles that month.

[flake]

A friend bought a copy of the mag this month, and I have to say it has one of the most pointless and silly articles I think I've ever seen.

A review of several 'Luxury' lenses from various manufacturers, they attempted to find a 'winner' from a disparate group including a 24mm tilt shift, 100mm macro, 4.5mm circular fisheye, + others some of them FF other crop.

From all this they decided that there was a winner and that was the Olympus 14 - 35mm F/2 So I've gone & placed my order for one, now all I have to do is figure out how to get it to mount on the 5D MkII !

Utterly pointless and silly !

[Indrid Cold]

Gave up the mag many moons ago; the content certainly became thin, and I got fed up with the emphasis on 'proper cameras' (ie DSLRs) and work by artists rather than photographers.
Do I see anything here to make me change my mind.. no - recent camera reviews/comparisons that do not involve turning a camera on merely confirm my reservations.

[duncan22]

Have to add my name to this list of people who no longer subscribe to the magazine for the reasons already given.
It was great for the first couple of years and I subscribed because it just covered canon cameras but other than reviews of the latest gear much of what it contains has already been covered in previous issues.
If I want specific information about any product or how to use that product I can easily find it on the internet and if there is a specific thing I want information about I can post a question and have the answer within hours or a day at most.
One possible solution is to produce 2 magazine with one titled Advanced Canon Photoplus DSLR User.
The suggested title may be wrong but you can see what I am getting at.
May I also take this opportunity to wish you all a merry Christmas & Happy New Year at Photoplus.

[Gil Ritchie]

I thought we were talking about DCM in this particular thread - but I guess the same criticism can be levelled at its sister publication (PhotoPlus) - either way - glad I am not the only one who will be saving their subscriptions - and possibly going elsewhere.

[KeithT]

All hobbyist magazines are the same. They exist primarily as an advertising vehicle for manufacturers and retailers. What gets up my nose is the cost of them at nearly a fiver for what is essentially half hour's read for most people, unless you find something that catches your interest. Editors do not have a free hand in choosing content I'm thinking, and must please the advertisers first as that's where the major profits are. If I buy a magazine at all these days, and I'm not consistant in doing so, it's the AP mag, which at least devotes a few pages to industry news.

If anyone wants a magazine dealing solely with Canon gear, there is always EOS Magazine. http://www.eos-magazine.com/

[ABERS]

Might be of interest if you aren't impressed by the current crop of popular publications.

http://www.picture-box.com/

[Dayleigh]

I just recently subscribed to DCM and am looking forward to learning and absorbing as much as i can from the magazine..
I bought a couple of copies previously that i felt helped me as a beginner and decided to subscribe..
I know that doesn't alleviate most of what is being said here...or help in anyway
however maybe if DCM editors do read their subscribers views this could help somewhat...

Does anyone remember the children magz that use to be upside downs half the magazine "beginner reader" was upright like you see all magz, the 'advanced reader was upside down" at the rear of the mag, and the other half of the magazine"
ideally it had kids to read the first half then if they felt confident theyd flip it over and read the more advanced worded stories etc..
I'm thinking if DCM or any photographic magazine for that matter wanted to continually keep their subscribers from beginner to advanced then maybe they need to do a version of the Upside down magz, or even back to backs make the magaazne bigger better and fulfill more then just beginners needs, without dumping those subscribers..
In everything I've done in my life, i really feel even with our advanced knowledge as we learn, that there will be at times beginner things we forget or that touch on something we hadnt seen before or in a different way adding a whole new concept for us to learn,etc... so keeping the beginner side of the magazine will benefit advanced users at times, but continue to keep in the tradition of teaching new hobbiest/professionals the world of photography... it means those new subscribers who are advancing will be able to go one further when confident enough and learn from the advanced section as will all advanced photographers, it would be 2 mediums in one holding onto a much larger subscriber base and keeping the subscriber interested in the magazine, rather then have them leave once they have gone beyond the scope and range of being a beginner..

my 2 cents..
Dee

[Geoff Harris]

Thanks for the interesting comments, I'll bear them in mind. But with respect, the assertion that as an editor, my hands are tied by the demands of advertisers is way off the mark. I've learned that you can never convince some readers that magazines are actually independent when it comes to editorial decisions, but here's an example. In our current issue, we give a Nikon compact a pretty low score. So presumably, I have mortally offended Nikon and they will never advertise again?!

As far as I know, they will, though. Advertisers have no interest in trying to control magazines - the reason being, magazines that are proven to lack editorial integrity will simply not survive in the current, highly competitive marketplace. Readers are too smart and guess what, we as journalists like to think we have some integrity too!

If you want a specialist Canon SLR magazine, don't forget PhotoPlus too. And as launch editor of this magazine I can also tell you that we were totally independent from Canon and did not rely on advertising from them for our business model. They advertise as it's a good magazine that sells a lot of copies and reaches their target audience.

Keep the comments and ideas coming

Geoff Harris, Editor, Digital Camera Magazine

[Gil Ritchie]

Originally Posted by Dayleigh

I just recently subscribed to DCM and am looking forward to learning and absorbing as much as i can from the magazine..
I bought a couple of copies previously that i felt helped me as a beginner and decided to subscribe..
I know that doesn't alleviate most of what is being said here...or help in anyway
however maybe if DCM editors do read their subscribers views this could help somewhat...

Does anyone remember the children magz that use to be upside downs half the magazine "beginner reader" was upright like you see all magz, the 'advanced reader was upside down" at the rear of the mag, and the other half of the magazine"
ideally it had kids to read the first half then if they felt confident theyd flip it over and read the more advanced worded stories etc..
I'm thinking if DCM or any photographic magazine for that matter wanted to continually keep their subscribers from beginner to advanced then maybe they need to do a version of the Upside down magz, or even back to backs make the magaazne bigger better and fulfill more then just beginners needs, without dumping those subscribers..
In everything I've done in my life, i really feel even with our advanced knowledge as we learn, that there will be at times beginner things we forget or that touch on something we hadnt seen before or in a different way adding a whole new concept for us to learn,etc... so keeping the beginner side of the magazine will benefit advanced users at times, but continue to keep in the tradition of teaching new hobbiest/professionals the world of photography... it means those new subscribers who are advancing will be able to go one further when confident enough and learn from the advanced section as will all advanced photographers, it would be 2 mediums in one holding onto a much larger subscriber base and keeping the subscriber interested in the magazine, rather then have them leave once they have gone beyond the scope and range of being a beginner..
my 2 cents..
Dee

An excellent "2 cents" worth. -

I doubt if Mr Harris or the editors of other similar photographic magazines will take on board this great idea of having a novice section and an advanced section - together in the same magazine - the first magazine that adopts it would get my subscription and many more I suspect - let's see if anyone takes this great idea on board. - I doubt it though.