Accessory Cost

[Manofmayo66]

I know that we all want to aspire to owning the best of the best, however, is there any reason why Bryan or Sean can't review less expensive accessories? Reviewing a $329 monopod is a little steep when most Canon users don't own a lens that costs more than $200. It doesn't have to be comprehensive reviews, instead maybe looking at 5 popular monopods under $100, then in closing, comparing them to the Gitzo Bryan just reviewed.

I have purchased most of my accessories used or an unknown Chinese brand (some surprisingly decent filters) for next to nothing. Most inexperience (or not independently wealthy) photographers want to stretch their $ as far as possible. This could be a good way to expand TDP beyond just Canon.

[neuroanatomist]

Nice in theory, difficult in practice for a couple of reasons. First, there are a myriad of accessories out there, which should be reviewed? I suspect Bryan reviews off-brand items that he finds personally useful (e.g. a $26 stud/plate for mounting a 3/8” ballhead to a light stand/SuperClamp or a $5 filter wrench set). Second is that there are generally not affiliate links for knock-offs from China sold on FleaBay.

At least personally, I don’t want ‘surprisingly decent’ filters (or anything else in the optical train). I want reliably high quality.

[Kayaker72]

I suspect the primary issue is time as TDP has two people (Bryan and Sean, that I know of) that are doing everything. TDP does review mid-level cameras and lenses and seems to be expanding to include Sony gear now. The primary focus has always been cameras and lenses, but even that is limited to dSLRs. For example, TDP doesn't review the GX"" series of cameras by Canon or any other P&S, even though they are becoming very capable.

The accessory pages have grown over the years, but there is likely too much gear out there that could be reviewed. One thing I wish had more views was bags and backpacks. TDP has done a few, but mostly of gear I think Bryan already uses. Then tripods, filters, lighting, etc. There is a lot of ground to cover.

Ultimately, I think TDP does what it does well and that is where I would prefer to put their efforts. Would it be great if they had a staff of 20 people and could cover more, sure.

Also, don't forget members of the forum are a resource and we often know of other websites that have conducted reviews.

For example, while lensrentals recently looked at filters, I still prefer the older tests done at www.lenstip.com, even though some current filters have not been evaluated..

Some links:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/201...ilter-article/
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/201...-spectrograms/

https://www.lenstip.com/139.1-articl...test_2015.html
https://www.lenstip.com/113.1-articl...ters_test.html
https://www.lenstip.com/120.1-articl...upplement.html