Re: [Leica] magazine lens tests thread

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

Bruce Feldman wrote:

> As a former magazine editor for various consumer publications, I must tell
> you that the main reason I left the field after a number of years was the
> appalling lack of honesty in the selection, setting up, and conducting of
> new product testing and reporting.

Bruce,
Your post is both informative and insightful. I would add only one
caveat/comment - while there is no question that venality has an impact on
what's reviewed and how the reviews read, I think there is another factor at
play - the publication's understanding of its readers needs and interests. Just
as Consumer Reports seems to believe that the best car is a comfortable sedan
with a lot of leg room, and everything is judged against that, so I would guess
that Pop Photo, for one, believes that its readers thing that that camera is
best which has the most bells, whistles, and ease of use. Therefore a Leica M
isn't judged against other Leicas, or other rangefinders, but against an F5 or
an EOS. And that has to effect the outcome of the "tests."

B. D.