For digital cameras, I have never been let down by Digital Photography Review. [dpreview.com]

I do love that site. They have amazingly extensive reviews, and it’s especially nice that they show example photos taken with each particular camera.

I actually love the review site 3LUXE ([3luxe.com]). They have a completely new approach that seems to be much less biased. Basically their schpiel is that they “do all of the research for you, and then provide you with the Best Ofs – aka top 3 recommendations – in each category. As someone who doesn’t have a lot of patience when it comes to taking the time to do research, I love that this helps cut back on it.

I really like 3Luxe as well, especially for products that I’m not inclined to research, like kitchen appliances and other products that I need, but may not find that interesting. After all, who wants to sift through dozens of reviews for a vacuum cleaner – but we all do want to know which ones work the best!

Some of the best review sites I’ve found are:
dpreview – most thorough for camera related, great forums.
Tom’s Hardware – very thorough and complete, lots of good articles.
BeHardware – lots of great info
TrustedReviews – good reviews

Tom’s Hardware is one of my favorite sites as well. They always review things from several different angles, and answer much of what I want to know about an item.

Some of the best review sites I’ve found are:
dpreview – most thorough for camera related, great forums.
Tom’s Hardware – very thorough and complete, lots of good articles.
BeHardware – lots of great info
TrustedReviews – good reviews

As others have mentioned… I spend a lot of time researching major (and many minor) purchases before buying. Sometimes, up to months… as with the Sony F717, Epson 2200 (both of which I’ve owned for 4 yrs) and recently… Philips DVD player (bought 2) and an LCD monitor for photo editing (the one I’ve been following for months has finally reached a price point that I want).

Ryan wrote:

sometimes people can’t believe how much research I put into products before I purchase them. In the end I think I’ve always been satisfied with my choice.

Yes, I think I also put way too much time into researching products before buying them, but it has payed off. I am now shocked at the idea of just walking into a store to get a computer or a camera without reading any reviews beforehand.

Given all of the different sites that offer reviews, there’s no reason not to spend the time researching products before buying – especially for major purchases like computers. And you’re right, it certainly does pay off.

sometimes people can’t believe how much research I put into products before I purchase them. In the end I think I’ve always been satisfied with my choice.

Yes, I think I also put way too much time into researching products before buying them, but it has payed off. I am now shocked at the idea of just walking into a store to get a computer or a camera without reading any reviews beforehand.