Amateur Photographer magazine

[peterob]

Mar 30, 2024 17:15:43 GMT Chester PB said:

Some news that may be relevant for this thread.

Today, being a 'valued customer', I received a letter from Kelsey Media informing me that my quarterly direct debit was increasing to £35.06, which I calculate as a 37.5% increase on the £25.50 rate I have paid for the last 8 years. Obviously costs have increased since then, as well as a change in publisher, so this is not a great surprise. Presumably the cover price will go up too, since not all the increased costs will be postage.

However, I would be happier with the increase if AP stopped devoting so much space to trying to be 'What Smartphone'.

Also, I am curious why my letter says £35.06 when the AP website says £34.99 for the same product.

I didn't read mine. Think it got recycled - I'm amazed that you can remember what it was last year. I haven't a clue but I did think it was an annual renewal payment so I just mentally flagged "too late to cancel", and assumed they were just notifying me that the renewal had taken place.   I have been finding AP less and less interesting. I still open it with interest but find I skip most of the content. 

[neilt3]

Bait and switch .
£34.99 sounds so much cheaper , whoever goes on to start the subscription won't cancel when they see the extra few pence .
All those 7p's add up for someone !

[JohnY]

I can't remember what I paid last year but could look it up with on line banking. If you are not in a hurry to see the content then just look on the AP website.
As long as Kelsey aren't too greedy I will maintain my sub.
I also continue to subscribe to BJP.
I would be sad to see either publication pop their clogs before me. That is not the best reason to wish the continuation of a publication is it?

[Ivor E Tower]

I've been paying £29.11 every 12 to 13 weeks for a good while now and not yet had a letter advising of an increase. Mind you, I've not received my subscrber's copy yet (due on Easter Saturday) and when I remarked on Royal Mail delivery issues being the biggest concern to renewal on the AP stand at the recent TPS at the NEC, the staff agreed and are by the sound of it equally frustrated with Royal Mail's inability to deliver regularly and on time. For me, it's pre-pandemic since the magazine regularly dropped onto the doormat on a Saturday morning

[JohnY]

Private Eye arrives as it should by 1st class post. I suspect that even the bulk first class post cost accounts for a major cost of the sub.
The copy of AP that sometimes arrives on Saturday, should arrive by Tuesday, still not has arrived. Radio Times that normally arrives Tuesday arrived today.

[zou]

It's almost as though it were a double bank holiday weekend huh.

[JohnY]

Apr 3, 2024 20:45:55 GMT zou said:

It's almost as though it were a double bank holiday weekend huh.

No almost about it.

[Chester PB]

Apr 3, 2024 19:33:18 GMT Ivor E Tower said:

I've been paying £29.11 every 12 to 13 weeks for a good while now and not yet had a letter advising of an increase. Mind you, I've not received my subscrber's copy yet (due on Easter Saturday) and when I remarked on Royal Mail delivery issues being the biggest concern to renewal on the AP stand at the recent TPS at the NEC, the staff agreed and are by the sound of it equally frustrated with Royal Mail's inability to deliver regularly and on time. For me, it's pre-pandemic since the magazine regularly dropped onto the doormat on a Saturday morning

I've been paying £25.50 for eight years, and suspect it was an old rate that nobody had noticed was still being used, and my change to £35.06 is part of a catching-up exercise. If you have not had a letter, then there will be at least three rates in use - £29.11, £34.99 and £35.06. The word that comes to mind is 'chaos'. Perhaps you will receive a letter soon, with yet another rate that will apply to you. 

I wish they would put all the mobile telephone stuff in a specialist (monthly?) magazine, but I suspect that its target audience would be prepared to pay for it. Does anybody here buy AP for the mobile telephone stuff, or read it?

My Easter AP arrived today (Thursday), which is not exceptional. 

[peterob]

Apr 4, 2024 15:19:48 GMT Chester PB said:

Apr 3, 2024 19:33:18 GMT Ivor E Tower said:

I've been paying £29.11 every 12 to 13 weeks for a good while now and not yet had a letter advising of an increase. Mind you, I've not received my subscrber's copy yet (due on Easter Saturday) and when I remarked on Royal Mail delivery issues being the biggest concern to renewal on the AP stand at the recent TPS at the NEC, the staff agreed and are by the sound of it equally frustrated with Royal Mail's inability to deliver regularly and on time. For me, it's pre-pandemic since the magazine regularly dropped onto the doormat on a Saturday morning

I've been paying £25.50 for eight years, and suspect it was an old rate that nobody had noticed was still being used, and my change to £35.06 is part of a catching-up exercise. If you have not had a letter, then there will be at least three rates in use - £29.11, £34.99 and £35.06. The word that comes to mind is 'chaos'. Perhaps you will receive a letter soon, with yet another rate that will apply to you. 

I wish they would put all the mobile telephone stuff in a specialist (monthly?) magazine, but I suspect that its target audience would be prepared to pay for it. Does anybody here buy AP for the mobile telephone stuff, or read it?

My Easter AP arrived today (Thursday), which is not exceptional. 

Mine came this morning.  Not a lot in it of interest.  Agree the camera phone reviews - to which you can add anything to do with drones and/or GoPro cameras - don't get read.  Anyway now that you remind me and I'm in the office wherein there is a calculator it seems a very unlikely news story that Sony now have a 6x4.5 sensor with a diagonal dimension of 61.something mm. (Can't be bothered to go downstairs and look again).  Perhaps it is a 4.9 x 3.7 sensor (rounded up, so slightly smaller than this). That would be 20% larger by area than the current Fuji GFX sensor.    

[Chester PB]

Apr 4, 2024 15:37:33 GMT peterob said:

Apr 4, 2024 15:19:48 GMT Chester PB said:

I've been paying £25.50 for eight years, and suspect it was an old rate that nobody had noticed was still being used, and my change to £35.06 is part of a catching-up exercise. If you have not had a letter, then there will be at least three rates in use - £29.11, £34.99 and £35.06. The word that comes to mind is 'chaos'. Perhaps you will receive a letter soon, with yet another rate that will apply to you. 

I wish they would put all the mobile telephone stuff in a specialist (monthly?) magazine, but I suspect that its target audience would be prepared to pay for it. Does anybody here buy AP for the mobile telephone stuff, or read it?

My Easter AP arrived today (Thursday), which is not exceptional. 

Mine came this morning.  Not a lot in it of interest.  Agree the camera phone reviews - to which you can add anything to do with drones and/or GoPro cameras - don't get read.  Anyway now that you remind me and I'm in the office wherein there is a calculator it seems a very unlikely news story that Sony now have a 6x4.5 sensor with a diagonal dimension of 61.something mm. (Can't be bothered to go downstairs and look again).  Perhaps it is a 4.9 x 3.7 sensor (rounded up, so slightly smaller than this). That would be 20% larger by area than the current Fuji GFX sensor.    

I had forgotten about the drone and GoPro articles, probably because I ignore them too since they are of no interest to me. Why do I suspect that old farts like us are no longer part of the desired 'readership demographic'? I sometimes notice the price of the mobile telephones, and notice that one can still buy an excellent DSLR and a couple of lenses for the same money. Second hand, of course, but there is so much choice now. For example, I've noticed that second hand original model Sigma 10-20 lenses can now be found for under £100 in Canon or Nikon fittings, and I know how good this lens is because I've got one, but mine cost £250 second hand (when the new ones were £370). 

[andy]

I suspect all the phone, action camera and drone articles are because they are what gets the views online and are more likely to attract new magazine readers.

I think it's safe to say more people buy phones than proper cameras and I wouldn't be surprised if the drone and action camera markets were also bigger, at least amongst amateurs. Can't blame folk for being interested in what a photography magazine says about products they are interested in when the camera performance is a major selling point.

FWIW I'm still off gopros after buying the first one and it was garbage. Other action cameras might be of interest though. Drones are just annoying.

[MJB]

I'm puzzled why anyone would spend £140/year on a magazine that they find has no content that interests them.

[peterob]

Apr 7, 2024 8:30:11 GMT MJB said:

I'm puzzled why anyone would spend £140/year on a magazine that they find has no content that interests them.

Inertia really.  The content of interest has diminished more, more recently.  I've been reading it for a long, long time and it is a kinda "habit".  I ought to cancel it really because the bits I do read are becoming fewer and fewer.  Same kinda goes for the New Scientist, that seems to be pitched to be more "accessible" these days.   

[davem399]

I see that AP is one of many magazines that can be accessed through the Readly app, which costs £7.99 per month currently. I know many folk like to handle a hard copy, but if there is little of interest in an edition, it might be an idea to read those bits of interest on an app.  And there is access to loads of publications across a range of interest.

[Kath]

I no longer subscribe to anything. At one point my husband had bought me a magazine subscription for Christmas and because I was enjoying the magazine, just kept it going. Then we realised there was a pile of unopened magazines next to the bed because I'd been too busy/tired to open them. Subscription stopped asap after that.