PC Photo isn't Popular Photography for the Digital Realm
Written: Aug 18 '03 (Updated Mar 23 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good Magazine for Reviews, Prices, and Comparisons
Cons: Ads, lack of interesting "craft" articles, only basic "how-to" and tips
The Bottom Line: Want a digital photo magazine that's what Popular Photography is for film - keep looking - but if you want reviews, or shopping opportunities, then PC Photo is ok
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| jps246's Full Review: PC Photo Magazine |
While it is not the best digital photography magazine out there, but if you are looking for some basic information on digital cameras and digital photography, then PC Photo is worth taking a look at, especially if you are looking to purchase a new digital camera.
More of a showcase of digital cameras and different products for digital photography, PC Photo does not provide too many tips and tricks, or much “how-to” information for digital photography. What it does provide are good reviews of cameras and equipment, a few stories (with a few tips dropped in), and plenty of ads.
The average issue runs about 100 pages, of which half are probably some sort of advertisement. Each issues has several sections, including Screenings, Special Feature, How-To, Trade Tricks and Short Reports, in addition to their normal departments and columns.
Screenings, Special Feature, How-To, and Trade Tricks and More
These sections include the major articles of each issue. Screenings generally revolves around more of a story than any single piece of equipment or technique. The September 2003 Screenings contained a story on Photographer Nick Kelsh and his methods for capture children in photos. The stories are generally several pages long and are a mixture of both photos and text.
The Special Feature is the follow-up story to the cover story and is the main article in the magazine. In September, this story surrounds what you can expect to get at different expense levels with digital cameras. Specifically, PC Photo goes through each price range of cameras, culls out several outstanding models in each range, and then reviews those cameras and compares what you can expect from each model.
How-To usually includes several smaller articles on various digital techniques or pieces of equipment. The current month focuses on accessories for your digital camera, using borders on prints, and discovering the hidden features of your digital cameras.
And finally the Trade-Tricks section has 2 or 3 articles that go over some tips and tricks for getting the most out of your digital suite, including software and accessories.
PC Photo also has a section dedicated to the review of various digital cameras, where 4 or 5 different models are reviewed in depth. Each review is about a page long, and has a chart of the camera’s features and its pluses and minuses. The reviews are in-depth enough to give you an idea of what each camera can accomplish, but not so long, that you are reading information that you will not be needing.
Departments and Columns
View is the opening shot for the magazine; Ed-Mail includes the letters to the Editor, and Next is an overview of upcoming new equipment (including cameras, software and accessories). The help-line column answers select reader questions each month and the Outside/Inside column covers photography in general, with a slant (obviously) to digital photography. The Beta-Report covers new developments in digital photography and the PC Photo shopper is a shopping showcase for readers.
And finally, Exit is a parting shot for the magazine.
Freeze Frame, “Should I get this magazine?”
I cannot, in good conscious recommend a subscription to this magazine; the details are just not there for a good photography magazine. This is a magazine where you pick up an issue or two when you are looking for news on the digital photo front, or are looking to pick yourself up a new camera. It gives you a good overview of the basics, provides good reviews on equipment and with the extensive ads, gives you a good sample to browse through and compare prices on.
So if you are looking for a digital photo magazine that will be what Popular Photography is to print film (and is starting to be with digital), you will need to keep looking, but if you are looking for information, equipment reviews, or just plain old shopping opportunities, then PC Photo is worth at least an issue or two for you.
Photography Reviews:
Cameras:
Olympus C-4000 Digital Camera / Olympus D-460 Zoom Digital Camera / Minolta Maxxum 300si (35mm SLR) / Polaroid PDC 640 Digital Camera / Kodak EasyShare CX4300 Digital Camera / Canon Elph LT APS Camera / Olympus Stylus Infinity Zoom 35mm Camera / Casio Exilim Ex-Z4U Digital Camera / Fuji FinePix F700 Digital Camera / Pentax Optio 33WR Digital Camera / Kodak EasyShare 6490 Digital Camera / Canon ELPH Z3 / Olympus Trip AF 30
Books and Magazines:
Shutterbug Magazine / Popular Photography Magazine / PC Photo / Outdoor Photography / Photography Outdoors / American Photo
Printers, Scanners, Memory & Accessories
SanDisk 128MB SmartMedia Card / Memorex 128MB SmartMedia Card / HP Photosmart 1115 / Microtek Scanmaker 4800 / HP Scanjet 3570c / Samsonite Carrying Case / Tamrac Mini-Camera Bag / Olympus 128MB SmartMedia Card / SmartMedia Memory
Recommended:
Yes
Primary Reason for Buying: Product Reviews/Information
Recommended For: Shoppers
Accepts Freelance Submissions: Not Sure
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