shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

Should I use Imaging Resource?

Please enable cookies. - imaging-resource.com

Depends. This is a free, ad-supported camera review publication, not software you buy or deploy. Use it to research cameras; don't expect uptime guarantees, since it shut down and relaunched after its 2023 acquisition.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 12 public sources; several snippets truncated.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityMedia site; no support model
  • Security posture

Pricing

Not disclosed

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Camera buyers doing pre-purchase research
  • Photographers comparing RAW image quality
  • Readers tracking new camera releases

Not for

  • Anyone shopping for software — it's a magazine, not a tool
  • Teams needing reliability or support guarantees
  • Users allergic to cookie walls and ad loads
  • Anyone assuming the archive will stay up — it already vanished once

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

History of outages: closed May 2023, down again later; archives can vanish

medium

Cookie consent wall gates the content before you read anything

medium

Monetizes via advertising and an Amazon storefront; advertiser influence possible

low

Old reviews from 2010 still live; always check the review date

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free in-depth camera reviews with standardized lab testing
  • RAW image comparison tool across camera bodies
  • Active under new owner; publishing reviews into 2025–2026
  • Long-standing staple in photography communities alongside DPReview

Cons

  • Not software: nothing to subscribe, integrate, or deploy
  • Closed May 2023 after acquisition; readers lost access
  • Cookie wall blocks content until cookies enabled
  • Ownership churned through Madavor/BeBop-era chaos

Sources & method

Analyzed 10/01/2026 - 12 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x7review x2security x1news x2

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Not disclosed

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free; ad-funded, no paywall
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Cookie wall and heavy ads slow first visit
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Lab test targets, sample RAWs, comparison tool
  • Support quality. Media site; no support model
  • Security posture: 3/5. No security page; no known incidents
  • Free Price to read Ad-supported, no paywall
  • 1998 Founded Veteran independent review site
  • Acquired 2023 Ownership Brief shutdown, then relaunch
  • Active Status 2025 Editor's Choice list, Jan 2026

Pricing

Free tier: Yes

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Photographers long treated it as a trusted review staple, and its 2023 shutdown and revival drew strong reactions in camera forums.

“Imaging Resource is back online!”
Mu-43 forum
“Imaging-Resource Closed?”
DPReview forums
“After Dpreview, Imaging Resource is gone too...”
Facebook, 43rumors
Full analysis

Based on 12 public sources; several snippets truncated.

Free camera-review publication, not software. Deep lab tests and RAW comparisons; died and relaunched after its 2023 acquisition.

Methodology

Based on 12 public sources; several snippets truncated.

Sources

  1. Imaging Resource homepageimaging-resource.com
    official
  2. Camera Reviews Archiveimaging-resource.com
    official
  3. About Usimaging-resource.com
    official
  4. Advertisingimaging-resource.com
    official
  5. Compare Images toolimaging-resource.com
    official
  6. How We Test targetsimaging-resource.com
    official
  7. 2025 Editor's Choiceimaging-resource.com
    official
  8. Imaging Resource closed following acquisition by new owner — Redditreddit.com
    news
  9. The Bewildering Story of BeBop and Madavor Media — PetaPixelpetapixel.com
    news
  10. Imaging Resource is back online! — Mu-43mu-43.com
    review
  11. DPReview alternatives — Cameraderie forumcameraderie.org
    review
  12. Security page (none found)imaging-resource.com
    security

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.