Which photography magazine should I subscribe to?

[Sabes]

Thinking of asking for a subscription for Christmas. Any suggestions?

[JohnG]

It depends on what you expect to get out of it. Over the last few years I've tried subscriptions to several different ones.

IMO most magazines today are about 60% advertisements.

Gear reviews in mags are next to useless. Why? Because, magazines get most of their revenue from advertisements. So, just about every piece of gear they review - regardless of manufacturer is made to sound like it's the greatest thing to hit the market. I have yet to see a single review state: this product isn't very good. You get much better and more honest reviews from trusted souces on the web.

Occasionally a nice photoshop tip - but, again, there are better sources of info. There are some wonderful books out there (I like Scott Kelby's books on photoshop) and specific questions you have can be asked/answered in forums on the web.

About every 4 or 5 issues there is an article of interest to me.

So, bottom line - if your goal is to learn more about photography or about new gear - books and the web are much better sources.

If you've got another goal, then let us know - I'm sure someone can suggest a periodical that would suit what you want.

Good luck!

[rjseeney]

John is right. The mags are great for shopping, only ok for information. Most of the articles are very simplistic, and reviews leave a lot to be desired. There are occassionally some good tips, but for the most part 90% of each issue I find fairly useless. Pop Photo, Shutterbug, etc all fall into this category.

[rfortson]

I agree with the posters above. Most of the articles are fluff pieces. However, I still enjoy reading them and they help keep my motivation for photography up. I currently get (too many) Pop Photo, PC Photo, Outdoor Photographer, American Photography, and Photoshop Elements User. The first three are basically interchangable, AP tries to be "artsy" (means they regularly delve into "glamour" shots), and PEU is a true "how to" magazine. I find they're all good to scan while I'm eating lunch during my work break. PEU is about the only one that really gives useful tips, but only on post-processing in PSE.

Oh, and Shutterbug is basically the same as Pop Photography.

Russ

[peripatetic]

There are a few magazines that focus on photography rather than equipment.

Two of my favourites are the UK-based magazine "Hotshoe" and the US-based magazine "Lenswork".

http://www.hotshoeinternational.com/home.do

http://www.lenswork.com/aboutlw.htm