Question from someone new to the world of photography...

When i first started out with my DSLR, i jsut read the manual and did a little research online to help me out with it. In regards to the "online" community of photography, i did not - and still don't - know who is who. I came across Ken Rockwell... yes, that guy. Only recently, i have noticed that quite a few people have some sort of disregard for him and i am wondering why? Again, i am only an amateur and have found his website very useful to me. For you folks who have been into photography for many years, does he give bad advice? What is it that ticks people off about this guy? By the way, i never donated anything to him.

This could get to be a long thread but I think the main issue is that KR promotes himself well to be high on the search results, purposely makes semi-inflammatory statements to create artificial dialog, is inconsistent on his recommendations, and seems to lead newbs into purchasing stuff that they will wind up replacing when they realize the limitations. Reading what I wrote it might come off harsh but it wasn't intended that way. I really was trying to just list what are IMHO facts. I equate him to a bad used car salesman.

Eduard said:

This could get to be a long thread but I think the main issue is that KR promotes himself well to be high on the search results, purposely makes semi-inflammatory statements to create artificial dialog, is inconsistent on his recommendations, and seems to lead newbs into purchasing stuff that they will wind up replacing when they realize the limitations. Reading what I wrote it might come off harsh but it wasn't intended that way. I really was trying to just list what are IMHO facts. I equate him to a bad used car salesman.

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I figured that this may end up as a very long thread, but i had to ask. Honestly, i really don't know. I have read his site and it seems to be - to me atleast - like he is giving out good advice. Perhaps in a few years i will have a different opinion.

D5100Shooter said:

I figured that this may end up as a very long thread, but i had to ask. Honestly, i really don't know. I have read his site and it seems to be - to me atleast - like he is giving out good advice. Perhaps in a few years i will have a different opinion.

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Like anything else on the net where folks are making recommendations with links to products that generate revenue into their pocket, you have to be a little suspect. I'm not trying to discourage you from that site, I'm suggesting you use the Ronald Reagan approach (when he was discussing nuclear disarmament): "Trust but verify".

Have you noticed that his site has a statement asking for donations? That can also be a slight turnoff.

Regarding Ken I just read between the lines...All the things I've bought because of his input has been spot on, but I've also checked other reviewers opinions....I really don't think to many people would donate to him because I'm sure like him all the reviewers are being well paid....I would suggest they all pay Google and other search engines to have their names top of list...

You can't pay google to be at the top of a page. Google searches are a matter of link exchange, word distribution etc. Everytime someone lists his website it helps his rank. the more popular the site the more if helps him in his rankings. This forum has a good ranking so when his site is mentioned it helps him even if it is in a negative way. My hobby is Genealogy and many years ago I set up a website on my genealogy. At the time I worked for a webhosting company. The owner was a genius on search engines. He worked with me in rewriting my site to raise the rankings. My last name is Kuykendall. Do a search in Google and you will see my website at the top at least 95% of the time.