fredmiranda.com
Login

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Nikon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1       2       3              5              7       8       end
  

Archive 2019 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?

  
 
runamuck
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #1 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Ken Rockwell is aimed at soccer Moms and football Dads. That is his target audience. His are simple, easy to understand terms instead of MTF charts and the like. He does well enough with that crowd. He is apparentoly making a decent living t it.

I once recommended Fred Miranda at two camera clubs. I got back terms like arcane, persnickety,supercilious, pretentious, and other not so nice words. One said "The photos are good. The forums suck donkey ****."



Nov 21, 2019 at 03:12 AM
Sauseschritt
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #2 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


sealion2288 wrote:
There aren't even ads on his site. The only thing he promotes are three (occasionally others) major retailers who send him a tiny referral if one uses his links to make a purchase. His site doesn't even generate traffic driven income (pay per click). I find nothing wrong with someone who wishes to be compensated for his time and effort, and if he can squeeze a few dimes from those retailers, more power to him. Most of us use them anyway.


I wasnt specifically talking about Ken Rockwell at all with that statement, but about reviews in general.



Nov 21, 2019 at 04:50 AM
RandyR
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #3 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


TMI

runamuck wrote:
Ken Rockwell is aimed at soccer Moms and football Dads. That is his target audience. His are simple, easy to understand terms instead of MTF charts and the like. He does well enough with that crowd. He is apparentoly making a decent living t it.

I once recommended Fred Miranda at two camera clubs. I got back terms like arcane, persnickety,supercilious, pretentious, and other not so nice words. One said "The photos are good. The forums suck donkey ****."




Nov 21, 2019 at 10:58 AM
carlgorski
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #4 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


He likes very vibrant colors and boost them up. I like his pictures. His reviews and comments are real world. He tells it like it is.


Nov 21, 2019 at 02:41 PM
indusphoto
Online
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #5 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


To answer OP's point, he did know about white balance and uses it to create his preferred look. He gets it the way he wants in camera and that says something. It is not just about Camera settings, but also to visualize the scene on the spot and make up your mind about presentation.




Nov 24, 2019 at 02:38 AM
ckcarr
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #6 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Ken is fine when you're starting out.


Nov 24, 2019 at 09:37 AM
M. Currie
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #7 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


I actually rather like Ken's notion of getting it right in the camera, in principle at least. As an old slide shooter I got used to that idea, and I think working on the idea that it's still important can help to get better shots. I just don't think one should be doctrinaire about it, and I'm quite willing to modify a picture after - especially cropping - now that I can do so. I missed many good photographs in the past because I couldn't be sure enough fast enough of the framing and whatnot, and did not have time to "zoom with my feet." I hope I still benefit from the discipline of trying to get it right from the first, and still prefer photographs that are not excessively manipulated, but as I get older I get less zealous about purity. Aside from that I often don't agree with Ken's judgment of what is actually right.


Nov 24, 2019 at 02:25 PM
jgoetz4
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #8 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Ken wants you to see what he can do, not what you can do with any given piece of equipment...


Nov 24, 2019 at 04:17 PM
Sauseschritt
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #9 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Oops, why does this posting still appear on my quote list when I already answered to it.

Ignore this post.



Nov 25, 2019 at 09:23 AM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #10 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


jgoetz4 wrote:
Ken wants you to see what he can do, not what you can do with any given piece of equipment...


if so, then he has a problem there.



Nov 25, 2019 at 10:37 AM
Smousefam5
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #11 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


ckcarr wrote:
Ken is fine when you're starting out.


For most the people on here he is of limited use but for the newer and/or casual shooter he is very helpful in my opinion.



Nov 25, 2019 at 08:23 PM
Weaselwagon
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #12 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


He's always yelling at the kids in his neighborhood and doesn't like dogs.


Nov 26, 2019 at 01:55 AM
Jan Brittenson
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #13 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Ken is fine. He's just myopic in his inability to see past his own experiences and subjective, sometimes emotional, responses. This means instead if looking at a tool and seeing what it might be good for, considering trade offs, and communicating this to people who might care, there is only one litmus: him himself. If it doesn't work for him it's "not a professional" tool, or a toy, a marketing ploy, etc.



Nov 26, 2019 at 06:12 PM
MedicineMan404
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #14 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


I'm probably the odd man out but at this point (having watched many of the 'tubers over the years) I actually enjoy KR more than Professor Tony and Peg. Kai seems to give straight up info but irritatingly between his weird sexual innuendos, Galer is fine too if your pure Sony, Kai's sidekick Lok is fine IF you can understand the broken English, AfroKnows is probably the best going for info, and the Aussie who's into soft porn is usually too much accent and flair for my needs. In the end they're all entertainment with just a hint of hard reality.


Nov 28, 2019 at 04:48 AM
nolaguy
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #15 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Phases of Photography

First: Intrigue - the Hey Lookie stage
You gradually discover Ken, Fro, and a dozen others immensely valuable and consume all they have to say with great interest;

Second: Disenchantment - the Oh stage
You realize that these guys turned to "education" because they made more money from giving advice than they ever could earn with photography;

Third: Whatever - the Maturing stage
You grow to understand the universe, its secrets... and you realize that you learn more from shooting, processing and Light, Science and Magic than you ever will from anyone besides your parents.

Steve Perry being the seminal, brilliant exception. I admire his talent greatly.


I'm still in stage 2.

Chuck



Nov 28, 2019 at 04:01 PM
RexGig0
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #16 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Ken Rockwell can be helpful to beginners. He can continue to be helpful, guiding a particular demographic of shooters. An earlier reply mentioned soccer moms and football dads, which probably describes this demographic well enough.

Ken Rockwell, himself, has written that he uses “weasel words,” and as I remember, he described how to recognize, and read past, his weasel words. This seems honest, to me.

Ken Rockwell used to often add the disclaimer that “professionals, and “you know who you are,” can disregard parts of what he is writing, on particular subjects. This seems honest, to me.

Ken Rockwell dot com is a useful reference for older Nikon cameras and lenses. He used to post references that led to other useful websites, such as Bjorn Rorselett’s Naturfotograf, and Karl Grobl’s and Steve Cirone’s websites.

I will still refer beginners to Ken Rockwell’s tutorial article on using ultra-wide lenses. It is well-written for beginners, explaining this subject better than I can. An experienced photographer can forget how to “speak beginner.”

I might well have never started shooting Nikon cameras, had I not read what Ken Rockwell wrote about adapters, to enable using Nikkors on my EOS EF cameras. While it was my own further research that led to the Novoflex brand, it was Ken Rockwell that planted the seed of the idea. My wife could use AI and AI-S lenses on her employer’s D300s, and I could use them on my 7D. I became a dual-system user, originally, to economize, during leaner times.

Well, those Nikkors led to acquiring pre-owned film Nikon SLRs, which led to pre-owned, prior-generation Nikon DSLRs, which eventually led to a shift toward Nikon for birds and wildlife, in early 2018, when I bought a new D5. Canon is no longer my dominant system. I can credit/blame Ken Rockwell for this, though I have paid little attention to his photography advice since about 2011 or 2012.

Ken Rockwell is a successful internet personality, who has found his niche. I see nothing wrong with that.

Edited on Nov 30, 2019 at 06:20 AM · View previous versions



Nov 28, 2019 at 08:09 PM
Jonathan F
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #17 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


I've gotten to the point where I look at obscure non-English sites about photography gear. There's some interesting reviews coming from Russia, China, Korea and especially Japan. I think some of the best street photography is coming out of Thailand. English speaking Youtubers are most likely click-baiters at this point.


Nov 28, 2019 at 09:28 PM
BobSacamano
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #18 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


MedicineMan404 wrote:
I'm probably the odd man out but at this point (having watched many of the 'tubers over the years) I actually enjoy KR more than Professor Tony and Peg. Kai seems to give straight up info but irritatingly between his weird sexual innuendos, Galer is fine too if your pure Sony, Kai's sidekick Lok is fine IF you can understand the broken English, AfroKnows is probably the best going for info, and the Aussie who's into soft porn is usually too much accent and flair for my needs. In the end they're all entertainment with just a hint of hard
...Show more

Perfectly succinct.



Nov 29, 2019 at 06:18 AM
GOVA
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #19 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


He is a tool. His site mostly re-iterates technical specs and throws a few of his photo examples.

His opinions mean nothing. Those are just created to be controversial and universal at the same time.

There are plenty of "this is the best [insert item] model ever in [insert company] history" total crap.

In any case, he is just a dude who invented this system to get donations from people who have no clue.

Arbitrary, personal and meaningless ramblings.



Nov 29, 2019 at 06:42 AM
MedicineMan404
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #20 · Opinions on Ken Rockwell?


Wouldn't you like to know how many actually donate to this showman?

Now I admit to having bought Gordon Laing a cup of coffee or two. Reward those who truly deserve it.



Nov 29, 2019 at 07:03 AM
1       2       3              5              7       8       end




FM Forums | Nikon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1       2       3              5              7       8       end
    
 

Welcome back
Log in to your account