kosulin
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shatterkiss wrote:
I don't think he is supposed to respond.
You know, this sounds strange for me. You state that forum members can write whatever they believe is true about PCB stuff, and in whatever manner they believe is appropriate, but PCB can not respond just because he is manufacturing it? This is free society yet, and by the way, I do not remember PCB ever trying to put any other brand down. If sometimes he is not polite enough, then remember, he is not a politician, not a lawyer, he is just an engineer and takes this too close to his heart.
Honestly, that's my point. In published reviews, how often does the manufacturer of the equipment being reviewed get unlimited page space to respond to the review?
You forget that
1) most manufacturers would hire somebody to respond instead. This might be PR agency, attorney in law, or 'independent' reviewer (example: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/1529667/stop-writing-exploding-apple-gadgets )
2) most manufacturer CEOs have no idea about engineering of stuff their companies build. All they know is finances and marketing. They have no idea what is good and what is wrong with their products. They read reports prepared for them. All they know (and worry about) is how fast these toys are being sold. And their engineers are frequently under legal obligation and are forbidden from participating if discussions about their employer's stuff and competition.
3) we are speaking about Paul's reaction to posts which are anything but review.
My point is, he is reading a lot of posts which have nothing in common with 'review' definition, and which make impression of his gear as 'cheapo', 'amateurish', etc., not intended for serious high quality photography. I am a long time reader of many photo forums, have no PCB bias (positive or negative). I've never used any studio gear before (and I did photography in decades, my first camera was 1952 Zenit SLR, and I am struggling trying to find somebody able to properly restore it), and 64" PLM I've got 10 days ago is still subject of testing, was not used for real shots, and I can plea this bias was obvious for somebody new (read 'me') when I just started reading about PCB stuff.
When I read "AB is no good, 200K color temp shift is not something expected from equipment I would use", I have nothing against this statement even if there are no pictures to prove this, and even if I know that there are many setups where this color temp shift is of no real importance. The poster publishes their opinion and deserves full respect for this. But when I read something like "PLM can't deliver as good IQ as Profoto just because it can't", I want to see why. Otherwise I consider this post as BS and understand PCB's anger.
This snobbery (I do not mean you) reminds me what happened this winter at dpreview 'Canon 1D-5D' forum when it was flooded with posts about 5D Mark II, most of which were from amateurs and were of no interest for proud owners of 1Ds. Some folks there started blaming the forum as junkie, tried to demand separation of 1D and 5D forums, but totally forgot that when 3 years ago they flooded the same forum with discussions about 1D Mark III AF, we 5D owners did not blame them.
I don't think that's true at all. I think it's admirable if you choose to back up your impressions with rigorous testing and demonstrative evidence, but most of us choose to be photographers first and product reviewers second (if at all)...that shouldn't limit us from sharing our impressions or experiences. It seems to me that most of the comments have been prefaced with phrases like "I think", making it clear that people are presenting their opinions rather than establishing the Irrefutable Facts of Record.
I totally agree with what you wrote above. But when you put somebody down without explanation, you should expect the same in return (and PCB is no exception).
I think it's only a manufacturer's responsibility to make and sell the equipment...I'm fine with putting the onus on the community to test and review it. I'm not fine with a manufacturer presenting themselves as also being a member of that community and possessing the loudest voice in that test and review process, choosing to rebut some reviews and validate others.
Manufacturers have rights, also  And don't forget some other manufacturers sue those who make their stuff look bad even when there is obvious evidence provided that they build junk. PCB is much more kind, IMHO.
If you've read any number of my posts here you've probably observed that I'm all for heated discussions...between forum members, whose biases we can usually assume to be personal and professional ones. When one of the members of a heated discussion has a profit motive involved it totally changes the nature of the discussion. I think that's fairly clear.
What is wrong then? PCB has his own bias, just for reasons different from yours, and we all can keep this in mind based on this knowledge 
It's one thing to debate the quality of the latest episode of "Gossip Girl" with your next-door neighbor, it's another thing to debate it with the VP of Programming from the network that airs it and one of the stars of the show and your next-door neighbor
If we are speaking about discussion intended to deliver (or exchange) knowledge, and because I would assume both VP and TV star are more knowledgeable in area of TV production, I would definitely prefer discussion with them, even if I knew they will try to put Simpsons (or my own indie film) down. And if the knowledge they can share is of real importance for me, I would even ignore their snobbery and attempts to treat me as moron.
IMHO.
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