Amazon has announced the closure of DPReview, a leading source of digital photography information
Amazon is closing Seattle-based DPReview, a leading online source for news and reviews about digital cameras and photography, according to the site’s general manager in a blog post on Tuesday.
“After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview will be closing soon,” DPReview’s Scott Everett said. “This difficult decision is part of our parent company’s annual operating plan review, which we shared earlier this year,” he added, referring to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s Jan. 4 memo announcing 18,000 job cuts at the tech behemoth.
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DPReview.com is by far the most authoritative source:
DPReview began as a “hobby site” in 1998 and has since grown to become the go-to source for digital gear information. It piqued the interest of this multinational technology company founder and then-CEO Jeff Bezos, who bought DPReview in May 2007. “DPReview.com is by far the most authoritative source anywhere for straight talk about new digital cameras,” Bezos said at the time in a news release. “We at Amazon.com have long been fans of theirs”.
The site employs 11 people, according to its about page. GeekWire has reached out to Amazon for comment, and we will provide an update once we hear back. According to Everett’s post about the closure, DPReview will remain operational until April 10. “We’re still working on reviews and looking forward to delivering some of our best-ever content,” he said of the site’s editorial team.
The site will be locked after April 10:
Everett stated that the site will be locked after April 10 and will only be available in read-only mode for a limited time. Until April 6, users can request a download of all photos and text they’ve uploaded to the site.
The news of the site’s impending demise sparked widespread dismay among photographers, DPReview users, and fans who commented on Everett’s post. Many people were surprised that years of reviews and resources could be removed from the internet. Eugene Hsu worked as a product manager in monetization at DPReview for six years.
Photographers will soon lose the best-centralized source of deep technical editorial knowledge:
“You may not remember the name, but if you searched online for digital cameras in the last two decades, you were almost certainly directed to DPReview.com,” Hsu told GeekWire. “Photographers will soon lose the best-centralized source of deep technical editorial knowledge, the best imaging samples, and the most enthusiastic camera community.”
Kevin Lisota, a GeekWire contributing photographer, called DPReview and the site’s in-depth gear reviews a valuable resource for photographers.
“While the site may not fit strategically at this multinational technology company at the moment,” Lisota said, “I’m surprised they can’t find a home for it outside of the company.” “This decision will enrage the photography community.”
In a new video on DPReview’s YouTube channel, where Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake have 410,000 followers thanks to their reviews and educational content, the hosts called it “a big loss for everybody.”
A major announcement by Amazon:
In addition to the 18,000 layoffs announced in January, Amazon announced on Monday that it will lay off another 9,000 corporate and technical employees in the coming weeks. The 27,000 job cuts represent approximately 8% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, which formerly numbered around 350,000 people.
Over the last year, the company has reduced and eliminated several products, services, and entire businesses to help reduce costs, including its Scout neighborhood delivery robots, Amazon Care primary healthcare business, brick-and-mortar Amazon bookstores, and others.
This multinational technology company announced the closure of eight Amazon Go convenience stores earlier this month. It is also putting its HQ2 project in the Washington, D.C., area on hold.
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