You think?
Around here, the samples are actually provided by a PR agency because
the manufacturer has contracted out the promotional work to a sub-
contractor. There is a fair chance that the account person's other
accounts are vaccuum cleaners and nose-hair clippers. Some of them
are very professional and helpful (Kodak's agency) but they know
bugger all about technical matters. It's just product - they can
arrange an interview with a real person if necessary. Someone in the
sales management field who, of course, knows a great deal about
chroma noise and circles of confusion.
And as for selecting the items that go out to make sure that they
are the pick - hah! Usually they are pre-production units that have
been written off as media samples (and sold by Cameta down the
track?) You may be the fifth person to play with it and the first
four didn't worry too much about something they don't have to pay for
so several bits, including the manual, have disappeared along the
way. The E-500 I got to play with arrived by courier, stapled into a
silver shopping bag, in its box but rattling around because the
packaging material was lost. It felt...unhappy. If they are pushed
for samples, you may get one straight out of wholesalers stock with
the request to please repack neatly - most amusing that some people
really believe that testers get to keep them!
Rather than knowing what a real working, off the shelf model may do,
you're more likely to be making allowances for the fact that it's pre-
production and knocked around and so not really representative. You'd
like to say "send me a good one' but there's a deadline looming...
AndrewF
On 22/01/2006, at 6:53 PM, Moose wrote:
> Hadn't heard about that one! The contrary factor is that those folks
> don't act like CR, go out out to anonymously buy several samples at
> retail, then test them. They get samples provided by the
> manufacturers.
> No duds. That doesn't bother me, by the way, as I want to know what a
> properly working model can do. And per the above, most will perform
> much
> the same.
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