Amazon layoffs will shut down camera review site DPReview.com after 25 years [Updated]

Just last month, Amazon announced the devastating news that it would be shutting down the well-known camera review website DPReview.com after 25 years of operations. This affects the livelihood of countless camera enthusiasts, photographers, and hobbyists around the world.

DPReview is a website dedicated to digital photography and digital imaging. Launched in December of 1998, the website had rapidly grown and boasted upwards of fourteen million visitors on the daily. Featuring reviews of cameras, lenses and advice on photography, DPReview was one of the main sites frequented by those looking to stay up to date on the latest cameras and lenses.

Unfortunately, Amazon has decided to shut down DPReview in an effort to cut costs and focus on its core business operations. This decision is part of Amazon’s move towards profitability since the last couple of quarters have seen Amazon’s profits slump.

This unexpected move is likely to affect many people plenty of photographers, hobbyists and influencers in the camera world who utilized the site for reviews and education. Over two decades, the website had become a hub for the camera world, providing information from the experts and reviews from people all over the world.

By eliminating the website, Amazon is potentially killing the vibrant camera community that was built over the years on DPReview. This decision may also affect digital camera sales, as many people relied on the site as a way to compare different models and make their decisions.

Amazon’s move to oursource DPReview’s digital content to third-party websites is also a bid to grab digital advertising dollars, but this move may prove to be too little too late as the digital camera market has been slowly dropping in the past few years.

The closure of DPReview is a tragedy for all digital imaging enthusiasts around the world, but it’s a move that Amazon had to make in order to focus on its core business. Hopefully, the digital camera market can survive without DPReview and those affected by the closure can find new sites to supply them with all their camera news and reviews.