Photo magazines

jagman

jagman

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Hi,

Do you think photographic magazines are expensive for what you get?
Most now are £3.99p and all much of a muchness, and if you take one for long enough they tend to go over the same subjects again.
I don't know which to try next other than flicking through in W H Smith.

What do others think?

Jagman
 
I find flicking throught the pages in w h smiths on my monthly trip to the big smoke confirms they are repeating the same old stuff. On the occasion that something catches my eye I might buy one.
 
I have a protocol for buying a magazine;

Always look for the tips you want; these will normally show on the front cover much like "how to take better landscapes!".

If it is a sealed pack then don't buy, if it's not sealed then have a flick through a see what the tips are and whether the mag is worth buying in general. take into account the freebies given as well.

Look for cheaper alternatives, not just magazines but remember that google is the best magazine because you can find what you want using google.

I sometimes purchase amateur photographer on the odd occasion which is great reading material when camping or travelling.
 
whitevanman said:
I find flicking throught the pages in w h smiths on my monthly trip to the big smoke confirms they are repeating the same old stuff. On the occasion that something catches my eye I might buy one.
Click to expand...

+1:) and now with some mag's being owed by the same company it's more repeat's of the same thing..:)
 
I have a terrible habbit of buying various magazines monthly wasting my money away. Must stop. I normally flick through first but stock up for travelling. Bad habbit. 1/5 mags is any good these days :/
 
photoplus is more dedicated towards canon so might be worth looking at

i find it more usefull then other mags becuase it is more dedicated towards the canon and i will be buying another year when it is due

they seem to be covering alot that most have not done in the recent year or so
 
As a beginner I find them helpful, in fact last month i literally bought six different mags to find out which i prefered.

I can get practical photography with tesco clubcard points for £13 for a year so I'll sign up to that and buy the odd different one now and then such as the canon one.
 
I subscribe to photoplus which as already mentioned is a canon based publication. I used to spend a few quid each month on various mags but got bored with them as generally you can find all the info online for free, plus the fact you are mainly paying to get a load of adverts.

Another thing I found with magazines is that they can be biased in their reviews and you can generally get a better review on the web.
 
I have bought several to gleen as much info as possible but as others have said, they do seem to repeat through the mags. Plus they all have conflicting views on equipment.

Would be nice to find one mag that helps everyone, all the time!
 
Take the old ones to the local camera club where they are sold on for £0.50 each....Get to scan the others too.
 
I've never bought one, but have a stack of them a foot high, donated to me by a friend. He gives me them once he's finished reading them. Quite a good deal, I think. :thumbs:
 
30 years ago I used to subscribe to Amateur Photographer.
I bought one a few weeks ago and they were still delivering the same kind of hints and tips - only the ads were different.

These days the Canon targeted EOS Magazine (online version) is the only one that I pay for.
 
I go and check them each month, then quickly walk away telling myself that the saved £3.99 is £3.99 more towards a Nikon D90.

Ok so i'm not actually putting the money away, but it gives me a reason to avoid the temptation.

Even the competitions don't really appeal as I am one of the unluckiest people ever !! :-(
(IMHO as far as winning competitions that is)
 
I'm lucky as my Brother in law buys a few each month and then passes them onto me - he also got me an eos magazine subscription for my birthday :thumbs:
 
I got a decent subscription deal through an online offer a while ago - I pay £1.10 per copy of Amateur Photographer delivered. It's a good read, with (in my opinion) new and interesting articles rather than just the same old hints repeated.

Happy with my deal.

Always browse the others though whilst the wife wanders round Tescos!

Anth.
 
Seems a good price for AP although I usually have a look at it first to see if there is anything that interests me

Haven't bought the last two copies for that very reason, topics like portraits and wedding photography I find rather boring i'm afraid along with reviews of the latest viewfinder less cameras
 
I find all the usual magazines to be full of the usual BS. For me, photograph is such an individual pursuit that I have no need to emulate the pro's. My aim is to be pleased with my work, that's all.

All the gear news is reported on here, DPreview and others well before it reaches the press.

All the best lens reviews are online.

The best forum discussion is.... well, right here! [mostly, although on occasion I visit dpreview...]

Flickr, Pbase and others have far more organised and varied galleries.

I will admit that magazines are far better on the loo, though! .... no plugs in the bathroom [not since the wife dropped that toaster in my bath again...]

And at the moment, with having no camera apparatus at all, I buy AP to read on the train just for the Jacob's /WEX/Ffordes etc adverts in the back. And if I owned an iPhone, I wouldn't even do that anymore...
 
I have Digital photographer on subscription. It's a good read a great mix of articles between professional and skilled amateur, plus has some excellent tutorials. It's not a bad resource to return to at times for a re-read.

They now do a cheaper version you can download every 4 weeks for the ipad/iphone
 
A stall in my market sometimes sell older photo mags for just £1, just a few months old which is ideal. I particularly like Outdoor Photography. Otherwise there is no way I would pay full price anymore.
 
Pog said:
A stall in my market sometimes sell older photo mags for just £1, just a few months old which is ideal. I particularly like Outdoor Photography. Otherwise there is no way I would pay full price anymore.
Click to expand...

exactly the same here, they sell old issues for £1.00 each or 3 for £2.50 however for some strange reason they don't come anymore.
 
jagman said:
Hi,

Do you think photographic magazines are expensive for what you get?
Most now are £3.99p and all much of a muchness
Click to expand...


I've always been a bit of a mag junkie in all areas. That's a kinda standard mag price I'd say. Whether they are worth it is a personal one but probably not as most of the info is online for free anyway but I like a mag to sit and read. I've narrowed my selection down to a few now, practical photographer, black & white photography, BJP and Cannon EOS magazine, hard version
 
I'm anothr magazine junkie, although I'm trying to wean myself off Photography Monthly and Practical Photography since they seem to be on 13 month rolling schedule with their How To articles. I will continue getting AP though since it doesn't seem to repeat stuff as often, still admits that there's such a thing as film and has a few of my pics in it this week! I also like the ads in it, especially comparing prices from year to year and the 2nd hand places. Not so keen on the Digital specific mags, unless there's something specific on the cover that grabs me.
 
I subscribe to B+W Photograpy.

This is one of a very few magazines where I actually read it from cover to cover.

There are not many advertisements and the articles are great ... for me.

But there again I like Mono
 
PHOTO Pro magazine: £22.50 for 12 issues. Bargain. Great magazine for those who already know what aperture mode is ;)
 
Fully certified magazine junky here, walked into WHS the other day after three weeks working away and walked out £30 worse off. Photography, bikes, toys, phones, you name it.

If you want a good quality, well produced photography magazine that won't teach you anything about selective colouring buy the British Journal of Photography. Twice the price of other photography magazines but the content is ten times better.
 
I normally only buy magazines under two cricumstances:
I am about to buy some kit and want to read some reviews (beyond those online)
I am stuck in an airport with nothing to read.
I do tend to keep the magazines (for many years) as they do repeat the technique side regularly and hence they are more about reviews of latest/greatest kit.

If I seriously want to read about photography - I'll buy a book on the specific subject - African wildlife, American Landscapes, etc.
 
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