I've changed my mind about PO

I've changed my mind about PO. No, not the ferry company and their outrageous treatment of staff, but the YouTube channel Photography Online. A couple of years ago I praised their first few videos here as a very polished production that promised to be a regular watch.

Now, after a couple of years of, initially weekly and later fortnightly programmes, the same small group have pretty well exhaused most photography topics and as they use their own equipment and favour Canikon, they have always been quite dismissive of Sony products. In the latest episode however the lead presenter, Marcus Mcadam, carried out a "scientific" comparison of what they considered the king of detail; the Canon 5Dsr (his personal camera) against the Sony a7riv, due apparently to overwhelming requests.

It was immediately obvious that Marcus had little but contempt for the Sony and he made a real pantomime of trying to magnify the image in the viewfinder, declaring it impossible by pressing the AF-ON button because it had a "little magnifying glass next to it", and nothing happened! He refused to press the trashcan button (which, as the menu clearly shows, would have provided an explanation for each control and setting), because he doesn't like pressing delete buttons and he ended up using the Sony in auto focus with his Canon in manual. They both were fitted with same spec Sigma lenses.

After the broadcast I read some of the comments and numerous people made reference to his lack of knowledge about the Sony and explained the focus magnifier feature but when one suggested he could have spent a few moments familiarising himself with the camera before attempting a comparison test his responses was, "You shouldn’t have to. Cameras should be intuitive. No other camera we’ve ever had has been that difficult to figure out."

Amazingly, at the end of the section he grudgingly acknowledged the Sony was the better camera for image resolution!

Rant over, but I have grown increasingly less impressed with the presentation that I think PO and I will go our separate ways.

Anyone else watch it?


Edit: In the interest of presenting both sides of the argument, here is the link to the episode.



Edited by bonneville - 31 May 2022 at 16:53

I've been watching the Photography Online series since its first episode. It's well polished material, and the presenters provide mostly accurate info.

Yes, the 'meaty' educational stuff is in shorter supply these days, and that's probably inevitable. It's starting to feel more and more like other typical review channels.

Yes, Marcus is highly opinionated, and I think that's often intentionally played for laughs.

Yes, there have been factual mistakes made in some episodes, which is also probably inevitable. This is one to add to the list.

I personally don't reject a source or an individual for those things, but overall I'm noticeably less enthusiastic about the channel these days.

As usually it's difficult to get someone to "understand" something, when their lively hood or self worth is tied up in "not understanding" something.