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The ‘tech wreck’ just keeps getting worse as Amazon continues to slash its workforce in a sea of mass layoffs. But, that’s not all. As of 10 April 2023, Amazon will wash its hands entirely of what is possibly the best site for reviews of digital camera gear – Digital Photography Review.
According to a blog post published on the DPReview website, the general manager of DPReview, Scott Everett made the announcement that the website will be “locked, with no further updates made after 10 April 2023.”
“The site will be available in read-only mode for a limited period afterwards,” Everett adds.
What is DPReview?
Digital Photography Review or DPReview was a standalone website, which has been active for the last 25 years, but has been under the Amazon wing for almost 16 years now.
The website has been considered to be a stellar review platform that gives expert reviews on camera lenses and other gears.
Presumably, Amazon conquered the site because people visited the website to hear honest reviews from real people about relatively high-valued camera products, which then linked back to Amazon that sold the product.
But, as times changed, people’s purchasing habits saw a drastic shift.
Although these are speculations, there are rumours that with more and more review websites popping up and YouTubers jumping on the review wagon, the number of visitors visiting DPReviews took a hit.
As one of the internet’s rarest websites. The site was full of rich content from camera enthusiasts who wrote and reviewed the things they were passionate about, the website was always catering to a small niche.
Ultimately, this may have led to Amazon losing out on adequate amount of traffic being generated on the website and converting the site into just another SEO spam site on the internet.
Despite being the default place that people visited when they wanted an honest review of anything – from the latest camera in the market to a vintage camera model they plan to pick up – the kind of content no longer resonated with Amazon’s brand identity.
In reality though, having websites like Digital Photography Review can be more advantageous than one can imagine since it provides expert guidance on which products to rely on and for what reasons.
In fact, some of the reviews were known to have been extensively researched, which showcased the professionalism of the team that analysed camera products — from budget-friendly models to high-end cameras — in an unbiased and in-depth manner.
On that note, tell us what you think about Amazon sacking the popular review channel.