Do you want to shape and create content for one of the world’s largest audiences of photography and video enthusiasts? DPReview is hiring! We have two open positions: a News Editor and a Community Coordinator who will help support our online forums and user community. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Please note that these are US-based positions.

News Editor
Full-time (Seattle, WA or remote)

Role overview

DPReview is seeking a full-time News Editor to join our growing Editorial team.

The News Editor role at DPReview requires an experienced technical writer who thrives in a fast-paced environment and possesses a deep understanding of digital photography and the camera industry. The News Editor’s primary responsibility is to report on camera and photo industry news, industry trends, and photography culture, including context and analysis that reflect DPReview’s thought leadership in the industry.

Qualified candidates will be capable of independently researching news and information, writing, editing and delivering publication-ready content. They should be able to efficiently and effectively monitor industry news and trends to identify relevant stories from sources including manufacturers, PR representatives, online resources and social media. Additionally, they must be strong collaborators who can work closely with DPReview’s Editorial team to add a unique perspective to news and other short-form articles.

A typical week for the News Editor will involve monitoring trusted sources of information to uncover breaking industry news, developing content around embargoed materials for product announcements, corresponding with PR agents and evaluating pitches for news coverage, uncovering unique stories and story angles exclusive to DPReview, and liaising with and seeking insight from the Editorial team to incorporate expert insight into news. Speed is of the essence, with a target of 2-3 published articles per day.

Like all successful DPReview team members, candidates must be goal-focused self-starters who maintain an agile mindset, operate independently, lead by example, communicate effectively across all channels, and are productive in a remote work environment.
This role will report to the Managing Editor but will work closely with the entire DPReview team in a cross-functional environment.

Role responsibilities

• Write, edit and publish short-form articles covering breaking news, product launches, newsworthy industry trends, and stories about photography and photography culture, focusing on finding a unique angle whenever possible.
• Liaise with and seek insight from the wider editorial team to incorporate expert knowledge into articles.
• Analyze news metrics and performance using analytical tools and data to improve performance and deliver increased traffic to news content over time.
• Develop and foster relationships with PR representatives to grow DPReview’s portfolio of industry contacts and to ensure consistent early access to breaking news and embargoed information.
• Build and maintain relationships with brands, industry experts and independent content creators who may serve as sources of news or similar content.
• Monitor information resources such as competitive publications, industry news sources, and social media for story ideas.
• Coordinate with DPReview’s social media and platform teams to identify impactful content for promotion across DPreview’s social media channels.

Role requirements

• A passion for photography and digital camera equipment
• Excellent understanding of the technology behind modern digital imaging
• At least 2+ years of writing and producing content at a fast-paced, deadline-oriented, product-focused publication or as an industry-centric technical writer or editor.
• Ability to independently produce 2-3 short-form articles per day
• Strong grammar and copy-editing skills
• Ability to examine and parse data into actionable editorial strategy
• Strong project management and communication skills
• The ability to work efficiently under pressure and to take feedback constructively
• A willingness to travel and work odd hours as the assignment or news cycle dictates

How to apply

Please use the link below to contact us about applying. Make sure to include the following information:

• A brief introduction of yourself that includes an overview of why you believe you are a good fit for the Reviews Editor position.
• A link to your LinkedIn profile if you have one.
• Links to writing samples you believe are most related to DPReview’s coverage. If you have writing samples that are not online, please indicate this.
• Links to any previous work applicable to DPReview.

Only those candidates considered for an interview will be contacted.

Click here to apply for this position

DPReview Community Coordinator
Part-time (remote)

Role overview

DPReview is seeking a part-time Community Coordinator to join our growing Editorial team.

The Community Coordinator role at DPReview requires an individual with experience managing online communities and creating great user experiences to grow and maintain our online forums. The Community coordinator will serve as an ambassador between DPReview’s Editorial team and our community members, engage directly with users across DPReview’s forums, liaise with and support volunteer community moderators, support users requiring assistance, and approve posts awaiting moderation. The Community Coordinator will identify and create opportunities to turn community-based activity and information into content for publication on DPReview.com.

Qualified candidates will have experience working with or managing an online community or interest group, including community moderation, fostering clear communication between community members and moderators, and a passion for creating a positive and inclusive community environment. Candidates should have an interest in cameras and editorial experience, ideally for a technical publication. Knowledge about photography and related technology, familiarity with the camera market, and experience working with volunteers are strongly preferred.

A typical week for the Community Coordinator will include directly engaging with users in key sub-forums, moderating forum activity to ensure consistency of moderation, providing support to moderators directly or via a private forum, supporting users requesting assistance, reviewing posts that require moderation, and writing approximately three articles per week for DPReview.com built around community activity or content.

Like all successful DPReview team members, candidates must be able to lead by example, possess excellent communication skills, and be productive in a remote work environment.
This role will report to the Managing Editor.

Role responsibilities

• Engage with users across DPReview’s community forums and act as a liaison between DPReview’s Editorial team and our community.
• Provide support to DPReview’s volunteer moderators, monitor forums to ensure consistency of moderation and identify opportunities to improve moderation within the community.
• Arbitrate conflicts between community members or between community members and moderators.
• Provide support to users seeking assistance with moderation or account issues.
• Identify and develop community-based content to be featured on DPReview.com, writing publication-ready articles that meet DPReview’s editorial standards.
• Review and approve posts flagged for moderation.
• Identify opportunities to increase forum engagement and participation.

Role requirements

• 1-2 years experience managing an online community (forums, social media groups, Discord, Slack)
• 1-2 years experience writing editorial content for a regular publication (or similar experience)
• Ability to communicate clearly, professionally and with empathy with community members and moderators, including volunteers
• Aptitude for mediating community disputes with a respectful tone
• Initiative to produce approximately three articles per week based on community activity
• Ability to work flexible hours.
• Knowledge of photography and digital camera equipment is strongly desired
• Familiarity with DPReview’s forums is a plus

How to apply

Please use the link below to contact us about applying. Make sure to include the following information:

• A brief introduction of yourself that includes an overview of why you believe you are a good fit for the Community Coordinator position.
• A link to your LinkedIn profile if you have one.
• Links to writing samples you believe are most related to DPReview’s coverage. If you have writing samples that are not online, please indicate this.
• Links to any previous work applicable to DPReview.

Only those candidates considered for an interview will be contacted.

Click here to apply for this position

DPReview strives to be a diverse and inclusive company. We firmly believe that different voices, experiences and points of view are an essential component of our current and future success. We do not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s gender, age, race, religion, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, genetics or any other personal characteristics protected by law.

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I’ve been reviewing cameras since 1997 and in that time I’ve learned a lot about what to do – and not to do – in that demanding business. In celebration of DPReview’s 25th anniversary, here are five things I’ve learned about reviewing cameras, usually the hard way, both at DPR and on my website, DCResource.

Don’t break embargoes

Image: iStock/Fiona1

Websites like DPReview often get access to products well before they’re launched. The trust attached to that privilege comes with great responsibility. If we take the product out in public, the brand and model name is often covered by gaffer’s tape, just in case there are any spies nearby.

Underlying this trust is the embargo: the time when the product will be revealed to the public. Until that time occurs (which is usually late at night for those of us on the West Coast), nothing can be published. It was my job to ensure we didn’t break the embargo.

For a long time, DPReview’s content management system used UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), which is 7 or 8 hours ahead of Pacific Time, depending on the time of year. It was easy to forget to change the time zone in the CMS, and bad things could happen if you entered the wrong time. In one instance, I was the guilty party. When the team got up in the morning, websites everywhere had articles about how DPR had broken an embargo on a new product. The manufacturer was not happy – nor was management – and many meetings followed.

We quickly implemented checks to prevent this from happening again. The default time zone was switched to Pacific, and a confirmation dialog now pops up when you save an article with a day/time in the future.

Save every photo

Nikon Z6 III with its SD and CFExpress slots. Photo: Richard Butler

While testing a camera, DPReview reviewers take thousands of photos. The autofocus ‘bike test’ everyone knows and loves can account for hundreds of shots since we’re shooting multiple runs at high burst speeds. If we just copied over the photos where the camera performed well, then there would be no way to evaluate how often it didn’t do well.

The same thing goes for sample photos. We always take pictures in a variety of situations but can only post a modest selection. Having the rest of the images on hand allows DPR staff to notice trends you might not notice by looking at the random set of photos in a gallery. Maybe the bokeh seems a little ‘off’, or some photos you’d expect to be sharp are back-focused. It may take longer to copy and save gig after gig of photos, but it’s invaluable to the review process.

Stuff happens

No cameras were harmed in the creation of this photo Photo: Jeff Keller

People can get a little cocky when carrying around expensive electronics. Most of the time, there are no problems. But how many times have you had your smartphone’s screen replaced? Sometimes, things go wrong.

We use tripods extensively for testing cameras at DPReview, and everything goes smoothly 99% of the time. But my number came up when shooting a gallery with a camera that won’t be named here. The camera had an expensive long telephoto lens attached and was on a pretty sturdy tripod. It was breezy – typical for Seattle.

While taking a lens out of my bag, I watched in horror as a gust of wind blew the tripod over, landing lens-first onto the concrete. Amazingly, no glass was cracked, but the filter threads were bent, and the chassis was beaten up (the camera survived, thankfully).

As soon as I returned to my desk, I sent a lengthy apology to our PR contact, explaining what happened and promising to pay the cost of the repair. Thankfully, the agency said that ‘stuff happens’ and not to worry about it. Phew.

Consistency is key

You’ve probably seen this before Photo: DPReview

People want to see how cameras compare on a level playing field. DPReview has relied on the studio comparison scene for decades, which has had two iterations and been moved at least four times. DPReview staffers check lighting and white balance and follow a prescribed set of instructions to ensure that all cameras’ settings are consistent. If, upon reviewing the photos, something’s off, the test scene will be shot again. Very finicky cameras may require three trips to the studio.

DCResource also had a studio scene, though it wasn’t as elaborate as DPReview’s, as well as a photo of a well-known mouse.

Some of the standard DCResource sample photos Photos: Jeff Keller

Something I still take a lot of pride in is the consistency of the sample photos I captured for cameras on DCResource. There were always three groups of photos: Chinatown in San Francisco, Stanford University, which asked me to leave and not come back, and Treasure Island, which faced downtown SF.

Since the weather in San Francisco is very unpredictable, I’d watch the conditions carefully and bring as many compact cameras as I could stuff in my bag. I think my record was ten. I’d work my way through the cameras at every stop and then move on to the next spot. While not a scientific test, I received many e-mails of appreciation for the effort.

Get to know your camera

Six of the buttons seen on this Panasonic G9 II can be customized, as can the functions of both control dials. Photo: Brendan Nystedt

Modern cameras are loaded with customizable buttons, dials, and menus. My personal Panasonic G9 II has:

• 17 customizable buttons (five via the touchscreen) for both record and playback mode
• A customizable quick menu that is unique to still and video shooting modes
• Three custom spots on the mode dial
• A three-page ‘My Menu’ which can be the default when you press the Menu button on the camera

And those are just for quickly accessing functions. You can customize the burst speeds, the type of shutter used (mechanical/electronic), a preferred color profile, or how quickly the focus point moves. For video, one can tweak the speed and sensitivity of the AF system to meet my needs.

Learning every little detail of a camera, right down to the menu items, has sometimes meant that our reviews take a bit longer to publish than what you’ll find on some other websites (mine included) or, these days, YouTube. Heck, if you go back several years, our reviews used to list every single menu option, and boy, were those fun to type up. But diving into the details like this allowed us to catch things and reveal subtle differences between cameras, which would otherwise have been missed.

Live and learn

These are just five things I’ve learned over the last two and a half decades of reviewing cameras. Not all of them were fun, but that was part of the adventure.

What have you learned over the past 25 years of digital photography, and how? Let me know in the comments.

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The December edition of the Editors’ Photo Challenge is open for submissions! Our theme this month is ‘Happy Holidays’.

Whatever holiday tradition inspires you – Christmas, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or something else – show us what the holiday season looks like through your lens. Whether it’s colorful lights, dazzling decorations, festive gatherings, or just a cozy moment, we want to see your best holiday season photos.

This challenge is open to photos taken at any time. Photos must be submitted by Saturday, December 7 (GMT).

Visit the challenge page to read the full rules and to submit your photos for consideration.

Enter your photos here

Also, don’t forget to check out some of the other open and upcoming photo challenges hosted by members of the DPReview community. Or, see some of the great photos from recently completed photo challenges.

Open challenges:

• The Triumph (closes Dec. 4)
• Close-up/Macro – Bugs (2024 Shots Only) (closes Dec. 5))

Upcoming challenges:

• A Big Year 2024 (opens Dec. 2)

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