I love shopping at B&H Photo and Video. In person, by phone or online. I always get super service by salespeople who know what’s what. But this is not a plug for B&H. This is a recommendation for a great resource for researching equipment online: B&H’s site and product reviews by shoppers.

Here are some of the advantages of doing research online at B&H:

• Clean interface. The whole site is easy to navigate and search. Links from one product to another are intelligent and help with making comparisons.

• Unbeatable number of products. These guys have it all. Every manufacturer, every product.

• All the manufacturer’s hype is clearly listed under the “Features” of each product.

• All the manufacturer’s product data is listed in a reader-friendly, consistent format under “Specifications.”

• Popular products include a healthy number of reviews from diverse users.

This last feature is my favorite, and the #1 reason I visit B&H.  For example, today I was checking out the Canon EOS 40D. There are 310 individual reviews listed with the 40D at B&H. A header in the review section provides an overview of the listings, such as: 5 star rating overall; 241 reviewers found the 40D had “Comfortable controls” (a “pro”); 11 found it “Loud” (a “con”); and 98 reviewers call themselves “Professional,” while 164 are “Hobbyist/enthusiast.”

The real value is in the comments themselves, most of which are quite thoughtful, some lengthy and technical. Some reviewers upgraded to the 40D, others bought it have another backup. There are reviewers upgrading from the Rebel series, the 20D and 30D, or who are expanding their arsenal from their 5Ds or even a 1Ds Mark IIIs. Candid comments from such a range of users offers a valuable, fresh perspective.

Of course there are plenty of digital photography review services online. You can always go to the manufacturer’s site. But while Canon’s site for the 40D offers “Drivers & Downloads” (nice touch for camera owners), there’s nothing special there for research (like realistic, “street” prices).

The blog run by Consumer Reports has a posting on the 40D from December 20, 2007 called, “Canon EOS 40D digital SLR: First Impressions.” The write is good, but hey, consumer reporting is reporting for consumers, and this overview doesn’t pick apart the 40D the way professionals will need.

To see a camera really picked apart to, I always head to the amazing Digital Photography Review. The folks at DP Review are amazing. Check out the their review of the Canon 40D, and you’ll see what I mean. Their article on the 40D includes 30 different, extended topics (30!), and each topic page is loaded with images, diagrams, comparison information and gobs of precision tests. (They even help you calibrate your monitor so that you view their articles correctly.) Truly amazing.

While DP Review rocks, I still stand by the value of the simple, clean display of specs and the candid reviews found on B&H’s site. Sometimes—with all of our research options—we simply want to hear a few “real” voices. The accurate but less technically intense content of B&H offers a refreshing companion to the brilliantly comprehensive nature of a review from DP Review.

As a digital photographer, the chances are good that you visit Digital Photography Review and also know about B&H. How do you rate these equipment-rating sites?

Can you recommend a better or different kind of site for digital photography equipment reviews?

Tags: B&H, Camera Research, Camera Reviews, dpreview.com, Photography Product Reviews, Research