DPReview March Madness, semi-finals!: Digital Photography Review

Semifinal matches

Our march into madness is nearing its end. We’ve tallied your votes and sacrificed some humans along the way it seems. We’ve updated the bracket; click the image above with the new matchups to see it larger.

Four final surviving photography concepts enter, and only two will advance to the final championship match. We know it’s silly fun, but laughing is better than the alternative, and we’ve enjoyed the hypothetical ‘would you rather’ debates.

So what’s it going to be, who will make the final round, you decide alongside the DPReview team. Go forth and vote!

Please note that for the best experience, we recommend voting on our desktop site.

Poll Rules:

This poll is meant to be a bit of fun. It’s not sponsored, promoted or paid for in any way and DPReview doesn’t care how you vote. Our readers’ polls are run on the basis of trust. As such, we ask that you only vote once, from a single account.

Round 3 – Results

Photo Division

Digital bodies vs. Prime lenses

The DPReview team debated amongst ourselves. What follows is an edited version of this conversation:

Jordan Drake: I’d reluctantly stick to zooms if it meant I could avoid shooting film again. Especially if we’re talking about our YouTube show – I really don’t want to film that on Super16 and get good with a box cutter for splicing.

Dale Baskin: Yeah, I would definitely give up prime lenses before I gave up digital bodies, though I wouldn’t be happy about it. Would using a pinhole camera count as a prime lens, or would that be an end run around the rules?

Shaminder Dulai: Now I really want to see you produce the show with a Bolex and hand crank.

Dale: Jordan, maybe we should squeeze in an episode of DPReview TV shot on Super16 film. I’ll bet someone in Calgary has an old Arri Super16 camera floating around!

Video Division

24 fps vs Roger Deakins

The DPReview team debated amongst ourselves. What follows is an edited version of this conversation:

Shaminder: I’m sure I can get used to 30 fps, but to live in a world without a master of craft who is actually willing to share their knowledge freely, that’s not a world I can be okay with.

Jordan: You know Deakins could make something at 30 or 48 fps look good.

Dale: I’m right there with you guys. 24p is a tool that achieves a particular look – it just happens to be the look our brains have been trained to interpret as being cinematic. 100 years from now, people aren’t going to remember the tools, they’re going to remember the art people made with the tools, so +1 for Roger Deakins.

Wild Card Division

Shallow DOF vs Annie Leibovitz

The DPReview team debated amongst ourselves. What follows is an edited version of this conversation:

Jordan: I’m willing to sacrifice one great artist to keep a very useful aesthetic that millions of other artists have benefited from.

Shaminder: Yeah, I have to agree. Sorry Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie? With this news Annie? Oh wait, Annie can’t hear us anymore, because we rather have visual separation of foregrounds and backgrounds.

Dale: Wait guys, that’s kind of like going back in time and saying you’d rather have 25mm film than Ansel Adams prints made from large format cameras. I don’t think it’s as cut and dry as you think. I’m going with shallow DOF for now, because it makes sense, but how does the world of portraiture change without Annie Leibovitz?

Shaminder: We certainly lose an icon, someone whose influence has been felt beyond her generation, certainly when it comes to dramatic lighting and stagecraft. I agree, it’s not a move to be made lightly.

Reader’s Choice Division

Jordan Drake vs Nikon Z9

The DPReview team debated amongst ourselves. What follows is an edited version of this conversation:

Shaminder: If there’s one thing I know, our readers love cameras, and when it comes down to it, if it means they can have the best camera in the world that currently exists, then there is no hesitation to demand a human sacrifice. Sorry Jordan, the commenters have spoken and demanded it. Without the Z9 there is no next version of the Z9. Gooba gabba, we don’t accept you, gooba gabba.

Jordan: That’s a compelling argument, but I’m always going to vote for my own existence every time.

Shaminder: Fair point, but could you let go of my arm? This volcano we’re standing over is very hot.

Dale: Shaminder, I’m not sure you’re wrong. Gear junkies must be appeased, no matter the cost. Despite that, I’m going with Gordon Jordan for the same reason I went with Deakins over 24fps. 100 years from now, nobody will remember the Z9, but everyone will remember Gordon Jordan thanks to his cinematic masterpieces in Hollywood on YouTube in the first part of the 21st century.

Judging rules

A quick reminder of our rules.

Winners will be selected through the following combination of public votes, DPReview editors’ votes and a coin flip:

• 45% readers choice votes (% of user votes for a each team, multiplied by 0.45)
• 45% DPReview editor’s choice (% of editorial vote for each team, multiplied by 0.45)
• 10% coin flip (because chance is a part of March Madness and everyone loves a Cinderella story)

Round 4 – 2 Matches

Ask yourself if you could only save one, what would you advance and what would you destroy?

If you were forced to wipe one from the face of the earth, what would you give the boot?

If you can only have one, would you rather live in a world without A or B?

(And a reminder, our polls are meant to be for fun and we don’t care how you vote.)

Without further ado, here are your matches for Round Four:

Semifinals

Round Four voting ends March 29, 2023