Ok - so in the last two months i have bought two different photo mags Digital Camera and some other one claiming to be the #1 selling in the uk - and i am fairly non-plussed by them.  £5 was the price tag on both of them, they did come with a CD highlighting some rudimentary photoshop/compositional skills in photography which i suppose is where a lot of the cost/worth comes in.  But apart from that i thought there were a lot of "filler" articles and a lot of ads: in one of them about 1/3 of the mag was adverts (not counting the ones in between articles - i'm talking about the back of the mag!)

after "test running" the two separate mags i have to say i think just playing around in photoshop and looking at photos online as well as reading some online tutorials / reading tips here on the forums / getting critical comments on photos is far more worhwhile if you want to improve your photography (both mags had a "Take better photos now!" headline on the front and an article outlining the basics of composition and setup).  Admittedly in one of the mags there was a hardware section where they reviewed a few external harddrives which was interesting but not completely comprehensive. But i was really not very impressed with them... if i wanted information on specifics like a review of a new cam there is dpreview.com a lens: fredmiranda.com anything else like harddrives is easily sought on google and you can compare the specs yourself (i recently did so and got myself a 500gig MyBook Pro)... i have seen many a tutorial online which outshines the tutorials i read in the mags (thinking more photoshop related stuff than actual photography - although the photography related "How to improve your shots with filters" article in one of the mags was laughable).
Anyone subscribe to a mag/buy one regularly? or do you think the internet is a sufficient knowledgebase for learning about your hobby/profession?

Inshaala, I tried a couple or three mags also and was disappointed by the lack of quality in the articles. I wonder if that lack may be due to deadlines placed on the writers and editors? I think I'll stick to Rendo and other sites on the web (mainly) .

I totally agree with you that the help, suggestions and critiques here at RR are far more worthwhile. 

Hi Rich

Yep, I tried Digital Camera once, in fact it was Darren who bought it for me thinking he was helping - apart from looking at a few great photos (obviously not really open to scrutiny due to their small size in glossy print!), I found them pretty useless too - especially as I am far less experienced to understand what they were talking about!!

There was a fairly good camera comparison that they had carried out by giving someone 4 or 5 different low to middle end DSLRs to try out for a day, but that's hardly a constructive way of comparing for everyone - dpreview is far better than that or the advice offered here in the forums!

So in short, yes I agree with you - online resources nowadays, is far richer in it's availability to offer the answers one may be seeking.

Hugs

Chrissy xx

Right just let me dust off my soapbox, I don't use it often but I'm in the mood today.

I've given up on the general photographic magazine as I find that they tend to cycle through the same basics every year (good for those starting out) and the sense of deja vu is very strong after reading a few of them of late.  At times it feels like paying money for old rope especially considering the average cost.

I find equipment reviews can be useful but (call me cynical if you like) I can't help but feel that sometimes some reviewers have raved about products that while they are good are in fact no worse than products that they are negative about.  Put it down to my suspicious nature but I can't but wonder which companies advertising rep bought them dinner that afternoon.  As Chrissy says "dpreview" is a far better resource as are a number of other sites.

I've taken to reading the more arthouse photographic magazines (unfortunately available in a far more limited number of outlets) these can be expensive but they tend to concentrate on displaying a reasonable sized body of work from each contributer in high quality and the write ups are more interested in motivation than methodology.  I find them a springboard for creativity, the technical details I'll fill in for myself later and if I can't there is always plenty of help and advice available here on the forum.

I feel better now so sorry if I've stood on anyones toes and I'm off to put my soapbox back in its cupboard and have some lunch.

shutterbug is the only one I buy and only when it has stuff I want to read

So i'm not alone then...  ah well - i may have a look out for those more arthouse mags as i think i would get a bit more from them in terms of inspiration and interest.

Yes I have to agree with you Rich many are poor value for money I tend to buy the Photoshop specific ones such as Photoshop Creative.. For Canon Users I  can recommend the EOS magazine which can be obtained free if you are a member of Canon Professional Services there are some entry requirements such as what gear you own to join.. Failing that you can subscribe via http://www.eos-magazine.com/Magazine/Magazine.html

It is also worth noting that after a year things also tend to get repeated in many mags anyway..

I get Outdoor Photographer, and though there is the occasional good article and useful bit of info, on the whole they are not really worth your time. Get National Geographic and use it for inspiration! ;']

i buy Amatuer Photographer mag from the library when its out of date 20 p :)

http://www.naturesbestmagazine.com/ - great inspirational images, and more of the "what they were going for/trying to convey or show when they took this image" kind of articles.

Otherwise I have been getting Shutterbug since the early 90's. Yeah, you could count on their regimine - I actually tracked that (not the actual ones - just as an example) January would be their "Darkroom" issue, Feb would be their "Medium Format" issue, somewhere around May would be their "Getting Great Nature Shots" issue - get the idea? I can't tell if it's any use to me these days - i mostly just flip through for the fun of it.

I get others, hoping for a gem, but I'm usually let down by the technical stuff or the creative stuff.

The main ones I wait for are Photoshop Sepcific - Photoshop User, and Layers.

If you want to directly learn more, I'd suggest taking one of those workshops for a day or weekend. Nothing beats hands-on where there's a Q&A session as well, and you don't have to take a full semester type of course where it could invade your work schedule.

Only one for me is Canon EOS Magazine!

I did buy Digital Photo for a year when I first went digital and some of the info was helpful but like many mags they tend to repeat their offerings about every 12 months or so.
 Now if I see a mag that may interest me I flip thru it and generally find it uninteresting.
And yes most are about 70% advertiements and even they get stupid when you look at something you may want and they still have this old fashioned idea about "call for latest price"
Get real you mag guys. 
Most of what I want now I either find free on line or with the help of you guys and girls in the forums

Forum for me, at least if you don't quite get the answer given you can clarify it and others jump on board. Mags always refer to the newest cams and best equipment that I don't have!

I only buy 3 magazines, New Scientist to keep my brain in gear. National Geographic for what it is. Juxtapoz to break my mind free of the mundane. 
The few photography magazines I've bought have left alot to be desired. I get more information from  here and other sites. IMHO, save your coin, get your info online.

New Scientist and National Geographic seem to go together for a lot of people, and I read them both too. I have become a little bored of NG though, the articles always seem to be written in the same style.

Photography wise, I'll occasionally buy something if it looks to have a couple of interesting articles. I read Amateur Photography most weeks for free, in my local library. It's not something I'd buy every week, but I do enjoy reading it (and looking at the photos).