the camera review business - by Steve Huff
- Thread starter DLD
- Start date
The resemblance is only physical (though I am a little older and somewhat heavier ... and I've never shot Seal).
BTW, the commission rates from the likes of B&H and Amazon is 3%-5% of the gross, which is something I found online a few months ago. Maybe I should start reviewing ARRI Alexa.
Clink on the link below.
Peter C.
Veteran
I looked him up, he is a bit of a charlatan or "paranormal expert". I don't doubt what he says. Reviewers get paid well if they generate enough sales. No reviewer will receive pre release cameras to review if they say anything substantially negative. The people who watch/read these reviews want hype.
Very few people are going to be able to generate 14 million in sales. So don't give up your day job.
Very few people are going to be able to generate 14 million in sales. So don't give up your day job.
Doug Jensen
Carbonite Member
Too little too late. Obviously he "played the game" if he's quitting the game now, even though he never comes out and says exactly what he may have said over the years that wasn't entirely truthful. It's not only what you say in a review, it is what you choose not to say that is just as damning. So, he pulled the wool over people's eyes for more than a decade and thinks he can repent for that deciet with one talking head video that took about half an hour to bang out -- a video that gets him even more YouTube revenue. Yes, "charlatan" is the right term for him and his ilk.
Last edited:
Bassman2003
Veteran
I do not have a problem with him or this video. I appreciate the honesty and the willingness to admit the whole "YouTube thing" is a cottage industry that totally relies upon other established companies. The dissemination of information these days is unprecedented. We all benefit from this to be able to make our own judgements on products we might not have access to. So I do not have a huge issue with the game either as long as there is no large dishonesty going on. As if sales people in stored have never stretched the truth? It has always been a game. As always, one needs to be careful in the world, do your own research and take care of yourself.
As someone who worked in consumer electronics sales in the past, I can now repent and disclose that a salesperson has to be subtle with his sales pitches. If a gimbal is too heavy to operate with one hand, then one can add something like, "My right bicep is now flexing like Arnold Schwarzenegger's ".
The manufacturers, obviously, want positive reviews ... but, they can't ignore the heavyweights like the DP Review either. The reviewers then add mini-disclaimers in the form of, "We wish this had - take your pick from IBIS, AF, pixel shift, eND's, ProRes, etc. - but we got what we got". That means that, if a viewer pays attention, he gets a pretty decent idea about the product positives and the almost-positives. Besides, there a lot of various camera shootouts where no one is deeply offended by much except Chelsea Northrup's fashion choices.
The manufacturers, obviously, want positive reviews ... but, they can't ignore the heavyweights like the DP Review either. The reviewers then add mini-disclaimers in the form of, "We wish this had - take your pick from IBIS, AF, pixel shift, eND's, ProRes, etc. - but we got what we got". That means that, if a viewer pays attention, he gets a pretty decent idea about the product positives and the almost-positives. Besides, there a lot of various camera shootouts where no one is deeply offended by much except Chelsea Northrup's fashion choices.
Bassman2003
Veteran
The camera companies can not be trusted either. So I would rather have a YouTuber in the mix with the hope of seeing all angles of a subject matter than the maker's blatant polished avoidance of the entire issue. 
This is a tertiary comment on the general topic of information ... and from a closed thread to boot. I'll tread gingerly here but I think it applies to the camera reviews too. In fact, I'll refrain basically what Bassman2003 wrote above - caveat emptor.
With that in mind (skip, if you're offended)
With the events in Ukraine unfolding since late Fevbruary, I've been following their coverage in the US media - coverage from the right, the left and the MSM. And, since Russian is/was my native tongue, I can also follow the coverage from the YouTube sources at or near the scene. (the Ukrainian is more difficult, I have to pause more but most coverage is bilingual anyway). And my general comment is that the US media don't understand the local culture, the local politics and the local history. In other words, the articles and the commentaries may not be technically inaccurate but the sentiments expressed in them are fundamentally incorrect. The reliable local vloggers have been far more prescient and descriptive. And, normally, it's just some guy in a basement with an web cam and a decent mic. And no makeup. And often even a shave.
With that in mind (skip, if you're offended)
With the events in Ukraine unfolding since late Fevbruary, I've been following their coverage in the US media - coverage from the right, the left and the MSM. And, since Russian is/was my native tongue, I can also follow the coverage from the YouTube sources at or near the scene. (the Ukrainian is more difficult, I have to pause more but most coverage is bilingual anyway). And my general comment is that the US media don't understand the local culture, the local politics and the local history. In other words, the articles and the commentaries may not be technically inaccurate but the sentiments expressed in them are fundamentally incorrect. The reliable local vloggers have been far more prescient and descriptive. And, normally, it's just some guy in a basement with an web cam and a decent mic. And no makeup. And often even a shave.
Peter C.
Veteran
The difference is when you go into a store or talk to a company rep the expectation is they want you to buy a camera and they have positive bias. There are non commissioned employees who don’t care what brand you buy but this is straight forward. When you read or watch a review you have an expectation of neutrality.
No intelligent reviewer will lie, they either omit or down play the negatives and hype up the positives. There is a lot of gray area to operate in.
Once you understand the game you realize reviews of pre release cameras must have a positive bias.
I think the guys at DP review do a good job walking that tight rope. The way they seem to approach it is camera release videos will give the camera the benefit of the doubt. They may months later say we wish they would improve this but this is long after the release. I generally can read between the lines when they jokingly put in an aside.
Last edited:
FWIW, most retailers have quotas, even if they don't have commissioned salespeople. Furthermore, some lines/brands are much more profitable than others. I recall hating to sell Sony TV's because their margins were very thin and because a lot of customers recognized it as a top brand and came in asking specifically for it. And if you wanted to show them something else, you had to tread the waters very gingerly. The YouTubers supposedly get paid on the gross but I wouldn't be surprised if the different brands had different rates. That would bring up another problem - if you have two $2,500 cameras and one paid 5% and the other 3%, would the reviews vary?
Another side note on sales - I have an acquaintance who was looking for a condo in the Sunny Isles--Hallandale-Hollywood area. I asked if he considered Boca Raton, which is about thirty miles north. He replied that he was recommended against Boca. And that's because the real estate salespeople who work in Sunny Isles don't know crap about Boca and those who work in Boca generally don't know crap about Sunny Isles. And, like any salespeople, they try to sell what they know and what they have access to. And so they badmouth the "other guys". And, when I first started in retail in the mid-80's, classier outlets absolutely prohibited this type of badmouthing of competing retailers and competing products. But, when I hit LA ...
Another side note on sales - I have an acquaintance who was looking for a condo in the Sunny Isles--Hallandale-Hollywood area. I asked if he considered Boca Raton, which is about thirty miles north. He replied that he was recommended against Boca. And that's because the real estate salespeople who work in Sunny Isles don't know crap about Boca and those who work in Boca generally don't know crap about Sunny Isles. And, like any salespeople, they try to sell what they know and what they have access to. And so they badmouth the "other guys". And, when I first started in retail in the mid-80's, classier outlets absolutely prohibited this type of badmouthing of competing retailers and competing products. But, when I hit LA ...
For sh!t and giggles.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/famous-russian-actor-spoke-putins-112154589.html
American journalism part Z - from Yahoo/Business Insider
https://www.yahoo.com/news/famous-russian-actor-spoke-putins-112154589.html
American journalism part Z - from Yahoo/Business Insider
- "Russian actor Vladimir Mashkova spoke at Putin's pro-war rally after Russia invaded Ukraine.
- His daughter Masha, also an actor, went on CNN to criticize him."
Mitch Gross
Veteran
This just in: water is wet.
Even I know that. I learned a few things while watching tennis... Anna Kournikova
+ Maria Sharapova + Vera Zvonareva + Svetlana Kuznetsova + Dinara Safina (+ for us old timers, the 1974 French Open and Wimbledon finalist Olga Morozova)