Camera Labs

sorry if this is out of place, but didn't seem to fit elsewhere either..

But Gordan and crew, are you guys done making video reviews of products? I see reviews of new cameras here on the site, but I'm not seeing video reviews anymore. I don't know about everyone else, but I really tended to value those the most, because with a quick glimpse of a very well done 10 minute or so video clip, you could get a really good feel for the camera, DSLR's especially. The videos were always really well done, and Gordan is simply great in presenting both his knowledge and opinions on the camera that the review is of.

It'd be a shame if they were done, as i don't know about other people but the video reviews are what attracted me to this site in the first place, I originally saw a video on youtube about a DSLR that Gordan reviewed and quickly looked for more as his reviews were head and shoulders above anyone elses on youtube. Eventually that line of "head on over to cameralabs.com" at the end of every video review actually made me do so, and here I am still frequenting this site looking at the new reviews and forum posts.

I just had two thoughts;
1. The video reviews were always very nicely done, helpful, and an absolute pleasure to watch, so it'd be a shame to see them go

and..
2. In my case, and probably the case of many others on this forum as well, the video reviews are what brought me here in the first place!

-Joel A

Hi Joel, thanks for your support.

I stopped doing videos for a while because they took a long time and generated no money - at least when hosted on youtube alone. This is a business for me and as a one man operation I have to make sure my time is spent on what pays the bills. When I produced videos, the revenue went down. When I stopped doing them and spent the time reviewing more cameras, the revenue went up.

However I do realise the videos were popular and I still think they're a great way of demonstrating a product. The question then is to see how I can make them work for the business.

You'll be pleased to hear I'm actually working on a new one right now, and it's going to be a bit different to what I've done so far... that's all I can say for now!

That's understandable Gordan, I had kind of figured it was something of that nature. On a similar note i'll make sure to purchase my gear through the links on your webpage... its only fair afterall to try and give back to the site that's helped me the most.

Also, not sure if you have already but maybe you should set the site up to allow paypal donations to be made, I've seen that on a lot of similar sites and it can't hurt.

I agree with Joel the videos are great. I watched the Canon 550d video numerous times before buying my camera and it really gave me a feel for the camera. I agree with you Gordon that doing a 10-20 minute video on most of the cameras and lenses is a very time consuming process and could see how it would be bad financial wise. However I would love to see some more tutorial videos especially one about how to take group portraits. I am having a bit of trouble keeping all the faces in focus at the moment.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

The vids may not generate any money directly, but I'm certain they give more visitors to cameralabs.com

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Canon DSLRs: 5D Mark III, 7D
Canon lenses: 17-40/4L, 24-105/4L, 24/1.4L II, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2.8L Macro, 70-200/2.8L IS, 100-400L
Other stuff: Canon 580 EX II, Canon 430EX II, Velbon Sherpa 600R
Apple: MacBook Pro 15", iMac 27", iPad III, iPhone 4S, Apple TV

My deviantART

I am sure the videos make some money indirectly. But I think what Gordon is saying is that it doesn't make very much money compared to other things he can do.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

excuse my ignorance on this one, but how exactly are they bad for revenue? I was under the assumption that the videos were really just "homemade" if you will by Gordan himself, and then edited on his PC? For instance couldn't I just make a video review and edit it on my PC for free? Isn't that what Gordan does, he just does a much better job of it than others who attempt it?

Is he saying that it's a very time consuming process and his time is better spent elsewhere to a more important part of the site that actually brings in revenue as opposed to the video reviews?

The existing videos may look fairly basic, but actually take about 3-5 days to research, film and edit. During that time I could alternatively write half a whole review, which would generate much more revenue.

Likewise for the tutorials. They simply don't generate any money.

Sorry if that sounds mercenary, but this is a business and it's like either being paid for a week's work, or not being paid at all.

So it's a question of how to make the most of the time I have. If you're a one-person operation, you have to be very careful to ensure you're doing work which pays the bills, or you will go out of business very quickly.

PS - we've had a paypal donation button on the support us page for over a year! And it's also been on every page apart from the forum for over a month!

Two quick thoughts:
- As a partner you do make money on YouTube. Probably isn't a lot unless you have as many views as some of the YT celebrities, but it might be enough to compensate for the lost time, if...
- You (should perhaps) make shorter videos. YouTube is a great way to attract new visitors to the website (I would have never visited digitalrev.com if they didn't have videos up on YT), as you've seen in this thread. If you make shorter overview videos like Steve Huff (example), you'd have the advantages of:

• drawing new people to the site
• making some money
• give those interested a quick look at how the cameras you review look when used, rather than the standard front, back and side shots

- Bjorn -

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Street and documentary photographer | Google+ | Twitter | Blog | Tumblr

Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

This does seem like a dilemma and I can understand that the videos might take A bit longer to make but I think they are more likely to draw people to the site as they did for me.

The in depth reviews are fantastic but the videos give you a nice overview in what seems like an instant. I'd love to be able to help if only it were practical. Maybe shorter videos would be better for you but I cant get enough :p

Keep up the good work.

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Bryan

I agree with RageRiot. The reviews are nice but the videos are even better and attract more attention. But I think we all have to remember here that Gordon has to make a living and I am sure anyone would go for the reviews over videos as they make more money.

_________________
Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

Thanks for all your support everyone.

As you'll see in a few days, I've done something a bit different for the Nikon D7000 review. There is a new video tour, and it's more detailed than ever before, so it will actually replace rather than complement the existing design and features pages. So the time I'd normnally spend on those sections has been spent on the video instead. The testing, results, samples and verdict will be the same as normal reviews though. The shooting style for the video is also different...

I look forward to hearing what you all think...

If this model works, then I may be able to do a video for most of the major new reviews, but again, it would be instead of the design and features pages.

that seems like a great idea Gordan. I know that in my experience the only pages i ever really looked at in your reviews were the High ISO results page, the video review, and you're verdict/conclusion page... the rest of it seems almost a bit redundant as you seem to cover pretty much everything a person needs to know about the camera in the video reviews, the only part that you can't get from the video reviews are the actual image results (which is why i looked at the high ISO tests) and a real idea of your personal thoughts on the camera (which is why i look at the verdict/conclusion page) ...

Looking forward to the d7000 review!

Great idea Gordon. The video reviews are alot more interesting in my opinion. Looking forward to the Nikon d7000 review.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

I don't think the in depth text is a waste of time. I certainly enjoy all of it and because it's so detailed unlike other review site who skim the basics.

I had an idea, what if there was a way that owners of a particular camera could contribute to the reviews in some way, taken the burden from Gordon. Like the user reviews section but a bit more formal.

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Bryan