DPReview is bought up and lives on

Samuel Buchmann

21.6.2023

Translation: machine translated

After Amazon wanted to close down the portal DPReview, which specialises in photo and video, it is being taken over by Gear Patrol instead. All employees will keep their jobs.

The test portal "Gear Patrol" is taking over "Digital Photography Review". This was announced by DPReview Managing Director Scott Everett on Tuesday in a press release. Gear Patrol is buying the website for photo and video enthusiasts for an undisclosed price from Amazon, which DPReview has owned since 2007. In April 2023, the tech giant announced the closure of the portal.

"Gear Patrol is a fitting home for the next chapter of DPReview's journey," writes Everett. All employees will keep their jobs. Already gone, however, are Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake, who were the faces of DPReview's YouTube channel until April. Niccolls and Drake moved to the competitor portal "PetaPixel" after Amazon's decision to close the channel.

According to the press release, little will change in terms of content. Everett: "The site will continue to operate as before, all editorial articles and functions will remain unchanged and all archive content will remain accessible." Eric Yang, CEO of Gear Patrol, echoes this sentiment: "Editorial integrity and a passionate community are at the heart of DPReview and we plan to maintain this foundation."

This is good news for photo nerds who feared that the largest archive of scientific camera tests would disappear or at least become obsolete. There was a great deal of incomprehension in the Community when Amazon wanted to shut down the news and test portal as part of a mass redundancy programme. Rumours of a sale have been doing the rounds in recent weeks, as the site continued to produce new content despite Amazon's plans.

Gear Patrol is a portal that tests gadgets, cars, accessories and outdoor products. The company is based in New York and was founded in 2007. It employs over 30 people. <p

Samuel Buchmann

Senior Editor

Samuel.Buchmann@digitecgalaxus.ch

My fingerprint often changes so drastically that my MacBook doesn't recognise it anymore. The reason? If I'm not clinging to a monitor or camera, I'm probably clinging to a rockface by the tips of my fingers.