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Photography forums?

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
Are there any good ones? Most of the ones I've skimmed through are populated with people asking questions like "Compare the 18-200VR with the 70-200VR" which is a little like going on a car forum and asking people to compare a Mini Cooper with a Mack Truck.

Any place where the signal to noise ratio is a bit better?
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,141
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
FredMirranda seems to be a bunch of dentists going on and on about how much gear they own, and how well it performs when shooting focus tests. The forums are decently civilized if you stay away from the gear based sections, but they still don't have much info.

RobGallbraith used to be good, then they kind of went to sh1t, and they shut them down. I haven't found any good public forums thus far

Personally the Sportsshooter.com forums tend to hold the most valuable info, but in order to post you have to be a member, and that can be tricky for some.
 

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
dpreview.com has some good info, but I suppose alot of it is crap too. Kind of like here. :) You learn to wade through it.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
POTN is decent for canon users, but they tend to be really beginner based. Some really good pros on there, but 90% beginner. It was great when I was just getting back into things, and I met a few guys i regularly shoot with now on it.

FM is decent, lots of guys bragging about their gear and being generally rude to everyone else who they think is below them, equipment wise. Best Buy Sell forum out there though, bar none. Stik can vouch for this, I think he lives in there.

Galbraith i never really got into, but it had some good info (especially from canon insiders like chuck westfall). $35 a year now though, and many people are not happy with having their personal info sold. There is very few users now (under 300 last i heard).

SS tends to be a lot of professionals and wanna be pros, slapping each other on the back. It's a weird little "inside club" type feeling, I don't dig the vibe at all. There is some really good business info if you can wade through the nonsense, but lots of arguing and lamenting the digital revolution and how "anyone" can grab a camera and how this hurts "their" profession. They generally look down upon anyone who posts and asks a legit question they think he or she should know the answer too. The "qualification" process is a joke, same buddy buddy deal to get in. Some really good photogs i know have been told no, yet some people who absolutely take the worst pics post daily, go figure.

I'm sort of in the same boat. I bounce between FM and POTN right now. POTN has some definite perverts on it though (check the nude section). They also tend to pat each other on the back and offer no constructive criticism.

Wheels and Wax is really good for action sports stuff, but lurk before you post. They tend to be HARSH, and definetly have an "insider" feeling as well, although they seem to be welcoming and constructive with their criticism. Some of the guys on there are just plain assholes, but it takes all kinds.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
the FAQ threads on POTN are very good. excellent resource, imo. FM had some really slow loading times, and for whatever reason i couldn't post from work, so i don't check that much anymore.
 

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
Just to clarify, I'm looking for more a RM type feel. Cameracourage looks like it fits the bill perfectly. I'm not looking to make money, I'm just trying to figure out how to take a good photo of a black dog... :)

edit: Should also mention I have a D50. Now I know how Mac users feel.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
FM is generally REALLY slow, don't even bother searching, you'll be waiting a day and a half for a results page.

The FAQs and such on POTN are really, really good. As are some of the compatibility threads. The genral banter is pretty basic, but at times can be interesting. The absolutely awful portraits and nudes are well worth the laughs you can get though.

Camera courage is great, but tends to be really slow. Many MTB shooters on there who also hang out on RM.
 

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
Silver said:
Trick question!

18-200VR. There isn't an 80-200VR.
Damn, I read it wrong. I kept thinking, "how in the hell can the difference betwen an 70-200 lens and a 80-200 lens relate to the giant difference between a mini and a mac truck". Makes more sense now.
 

Motionboy2

Calendar Dominator
Apr 23, 2002
1,800
0
Broomfield, Colorado
Silver said:
Just to clarify, I'm looking for more a RM type feel. Cameracourage looks like it fits the bill perfectly. I'm not looking to make money, I'm just trying to figure out how to take a good photo of a black dog... :)

edit: Should also mention I have a D50. Now I know how Mac users feel.

Well then welcome to CC. We are a small group of folks on a basic board, some know lots, some know little, but everyone gets along well and we have fun. The more the Merrier!
 

stiksandstones

Turbo Monkey
May 21, 2002
5,078
25
Orange, Ca
Sadly, I echo what fraser said...so thats all. ;)

Should I put all my gear in my sig? with cf cards, tripods, gauge of wire in cords, duracell or energizer, shoes I wear to walk in, etc...