Start by thinking what the advantage in lying would be for the oganization providing the review..

Then look at the technology used and techniques used for the review.How much science and how much opinion..

BAK..

Some reviews present just the oppinion of the reviewer. These are useful, but could be biased. I think the reason why dpreview is sucessful is because it prevents the raw data that support the conclusions. You are free to ignore what Phil or Simon oppinion, and form your own based on the test results they've performed..

Piecemaker wrote:.

How would a person know if a review and evaluation of a new model isunbiased or just a promotional piece?..

First consider whether the source is a reputable, well known review site. They cannot be successful if they are fudging their reviews. Reputable professional sources include dpreview (probably the best), dcresource.com, steves-digcams.com, and CNET, among others..

Also, try user reviews like epinions.com, and those in amazon.com. Read the review carefully, becasue sometimes (especially on epinions) folks review stuff they don't even own. You can usually tell when they are doing this. Also, remember these are amateurs doing these reviews, so sometimes they downgrade a camera for the wrong reason (like, "I thought it could take movies" or "it's too small for my hands.") Sometimes amateurs will downgrade a camera for something that has nothing to do with the quality of the camera ("I paid too much" or "the salesman was rude.").

Finally, compare the various sources for the same camera. They should be pretty much in line. One may rate the same camera a little bit higher, but if there is a wide difference, then something is wrong..

Personally, I find the least credible reviews the ones done by non-photography magazines and websites, like PC Magazine, Popular Mechanics, NY Times, Computer Shopper, etc.MartyPanasonic FZ20,Panasonic FZ7,Olympus C7000,Leica M3..

If you read the review in Dpreview be sure to follow it up by reading the comments in the various forums. You may learn more from them than from the origional review...

On Forums, unfortunately, you may be reading more biased material in the forums than the reviews - they do attract the fans and the unhappy more than the contented ! I personally rely more heavily on reviews on the major websites and the major photography magazines. These publications rely on their reputation for professionalism and can be trusted. Experience reading them and cross-comparison will allow you to determine the consistency and the weighting they give to particular features..

StephenG.

Fuji S9600Fuji S5200Fuji F30Fuji E900Canon A710ISPCLinuxOS..