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Products and Services for Review

Like just about every other magazine, we like to tell our readers about new and exciting items. Some of these items are purchased by us, a photographic consultancy or by one of the training businesses that we work closely with, so we get to provide real use articles on many of the items that will interest many photographers. This also means that we have a large pool of items that can be featured in articles, used in projects and used for comparison.

Neither those we work closely with or ourselves can purchase every item of every brand, and like all other magazines we have to rely on some items being sent to us for review. With lower cost items, books and accessories, items are not normally returned, but rather than the normal practice of reviewers selling the items as a part of the reward package, we hand on all review items to the training businesses, allowing us access to it in the future and for many more people to get to see the products. As you may be aware a lot of people on training courses get to see items for the first time and its often the items they have been using that they then put on their shopping or wish lists, so our decision to hand on review items to the training businesses benefits their clients, and the producers of the products as more people get to use and experience them, and does not reduce sales or put cut price items into the market.

If manufacturers or importers do want items returned after review, then it is important that you say this prior to sending them to us and you include a means of them being returned to you. This could be postage stamps or you may have an arrangement where a carrier will collect it and bill you. We like to have items that are being returned for a period of at east 2 weeks, with software 2 months, so that we can get a chance to use it in a practical situation rather than just take a few pot shots and produce an initial response only. It is the practice by some camera manufacturers to have a limited number of review models and for these to circulate with only two days with each reviewer, as we are not reporting news but in depth reports of practical use and experience, we are unable to use this, as we don't feel these first response reports are particularly helpful and are often by necessity full of errors that a little more time and experience would have eliminated. We suggest therefore that you allow those interested in news and fast reviews to go first and when they have all had the opportunity, and you have a model available for longer you then allow us a longer period to get to grips with the model.

While we can review most attachments and smaller items, we don't want to review every single item, so please contact us first, to see if we are able to use and review the item that you would like to send to us. Also if you want it returned that we have time available to do this within the period that you are lending it to us.

An alternative is available to you, Advertising Features , with these you get to write what you want, or to have something written for you, rather than for us to review it.

Service reviews. For example photo books and printing, are difficult to do in a meaningful way. We do plan to attempt to do more of these, with experimental runs. In most cases we like to run two tests with print and similar, one a comparative test where we ask you to reproduce something that is the same as we have had others undertake, but we don't exhibit these images or review them in detail, they allow us to form our own view of what you are producing and a second item that is different so that we can show it to others and explain the best points of your service. Clients therefore see an example of what you are able to produce independent of comparisons with others, which we feel is more useful to them and you.

Critiques. It is not difficult to pick holes in just about anything. We don't usually do this as it is often then taken out of context. If we like one better than another we may say so. If we don't like something that has been sent to us for review we will tell you, and in most cases we will pull a very negative review, rather than run it, preferring to concentrate on what is good and being positive. This however is not a policy set in stone and we reserve the right to give our fair opinion. If you feel our comments are too negative or we are mistaken we do give you the right of reply, if its short we put it onto the end of the review, as you wrote it, if its longer we may have to cut it down to the main points, or ask you to produce a shorter response. If on reflection we feel we have been unfair or made a mistake we will say so in the next edition.

Contact us about what you would like us to review.