Steve Huff quits reviewing cameras and claims the industry is corrupt because reviewers use affiliate links. He’d much rather concentrate on something with integrity like his paranormal channel where he talks to ghosts using an iPhone app. You heard me! Hit the jump for video and discussion!
Steve Huff Quits Reviewing Cameras
Steve Huff started his photography website way back in 2006 and was a popular resource for consumers to find out about the new camera gear. His site attracted over 3 million users a month and quickly became part of any photo buff’s daily experience online.
But all that’s over and he’s decided he no longer wants to play the game. What game you ask? Well according to Steve, the entire industry is corrupt because manufacturers didn’t give him any more gear after he published negative reviews of their products. And the above video is both a teary-eyed swan song and a diatribe against the industry that no longer kisses his ass.
Steve points to two key events that illustrate his point.
First He Didn’t Like The Fuji X-Pro1
Steve recalls the Fuji X-Pro1 review he did where he said the camera felt like a beta product that shouldn’t have been released. He jokingly referred to Fuji’s flagship as the X-Slow1 and went on to list everything that’s wrong with the camera along with the few things he did like and posted that as his review. Essentially he was telling people to not buy it. Which is a perfectly reasonable thing to do when you’re a reviewer.
Except that’s just not the way anything works. Reviews aren’t supposed to make buying decisions for customers. Reviews typically list the good and the bad and let the consumer decide if that product is right for them. Steve was playing camera god. And Fuji responded by not sending him any more gear for review. I mean, why would they?
The reality is that the X-Pro1 was a weird camera with really dodgy af. But it had a lot of other things going for it and I know a few photographers that still swear by and shoot with the origianl X-Pro1 today. And considering Fuji’s record for updating firmware to continuously make their products better I’m not sure Steve’s dismissive review was on point.
Then He Didn’t Like The DJI Ronan
The next example that Steve cites was when DJI handed him an early version of their Ronan Gimbal and asked if he’d review it. Steve liked the gimbal but couldn’t get over how heavy it was. He posted his review and concluded by saying it was too heavy and that he wouldn’t buy it.
That’s essentially the same as him telling all of his viewers to not buy the product. And DJI responded by asking him to take out the bits about it being too heavy but Steve refused because artistic integrity or some such nonsense.
And DJI never sent him any more gear. Because why would they?
And Then There’s The Money
Steve goes on to talk about how much money he’s made reviewing cameras and uses B&H as one example (among many). He points out that he’s earned over $500,000 from $14,000,000 (that’s million) in sales from B&H alone! There are many other vendors including Amazon plus the ad revenue he gets from the site and from his YouTube channel.
But the idea here is not that he has earned a lot by running his site and channel. He brings this up so that viewers understand that the reviews they’re watching have been bought and paid for. Not because he willingly set up these affiliate accounts and promoted products on his own. The clear implication here is that the industry is somehow corrupt because a ton of money is exchanging hands.
So Steve Huff quits camera reviews. And he wants us all to know how terrible the industry is. So he’s glad to go.
Because sour grapes.
But What About The Ghosts?
Steve Huff runs another channel with 1.7 million suscribers where he talks to ghosts using an iPhone app.
It bears repeating.
Steve Huff runs another channel with 1.7 million subscribers where he talks to ghosts using an iPhone app.
I mean, believe what you want to believe about the afterlife. But 1.7 million subscribers is nothing to sneeze at! And you have to wonder if Steve is making advertising revenue off of this new channel? So… what’s that about credibility and integrity when your message is being subsidized and your videos are a source revenue?
I guess that doesn’t apply to ghosts.
StreetShootr’s Take
This whole thing comes off like a sour grapes rant of someone disilllusioned by their own waning popularity.
And the irony of his ghosts channel is not lost on me. On one hand he’s complaining that he camera reviews are subsidized with complicit favors by the camera industry and he’s not allowed to tell his viewers the truth without being blackballed. But he has no problem claiming to talk to ghosts through an iPhone app for ad revenue. Where’s the truth there? He felt compelled to tell his viewers that he wasn’t going to buy a gimbal because it was too heavy. So by that standard shouldn’t he preface every ghost video by telling his viewers that there is zero proof anything he’s doing is real in any way?
He paints picture of poor little Steve that’s been left behind by a corrupt camera industry. He told the truth and somehow got blackballed.
But the reality is that Steve Huff saw youtube as add-on to his website – he even says his “How Much $$$ Have I Made” video. And when he wasn’t looking the creator culture emerged and turned YouTube videos into a form of entertainment that had value beyond the things they were describing. And his viewers moved on to something more interesting.
So Steve Huff quits.
And really? Nobody noticed.
What’s your take on Steve Huff’s decision to quit reviewing cameras? Will you miss his warmth and charm? Or was he just another fossilized relic that time forgot? Post your ideas in the comments below and keep the conversation going!