Back in April, we shared some big news: for the first time since DPReview went live in 1998, we've been rebuilding the entire site from the ground up. This isn't just a cosmetic update or a new coat of paint, but a rebuilding of the entire codebase and migration to a modern web platform we can support for years to come.

After months of work, we're ready to make the switch. This has been a massive undertaking. Beyond building everything that's new, we've had to migrate more than 25 years of content, product databases, widgets, and more to an entirely new system.

It took a little longer to wrap up than we expected, and that was deliberate: we wanted certain things working properly out of the gate rather than rushed. A good example is our Image Comparison Tool, the widget that lets you compare studio scene images between cameras. We haven't just rewritten it for the new site; we've redesigned it to work well on phones and tablets, too.

Here's what to expect over the next few days, and how the change might affect your use of the site.

What to expect

The migration begins tomorrow, Friday, July 3. You can keep using the site as usual during this period, with a couple of limitations:

• Comments on articles will be frozen so we can migrate them to the new system.
• Creation of new DPReview accounts (including forum accounts) will be temporarily unavailable.

On Wednesday, July 8, we plan to flip the switch and turn on the new site. From that point, you'll see the new DPReview website in place of the current one.

The forums will not be directly impacted by the migration. If you're already a registered forum user, you can carry on as normal.

Once the new site goes live

Launch day is the start, not the finish line. As with any project of this scale, some things will take some additional time to wrap up. We'll make sure to share a list of work still in progress, along with FAQs covering the new site and how to get support.

We will also set up a dedicated forum thread to log known issues and provide a place to report bugs and ask questions. Some bugs will inevitably slip through, and we appreciate your patience as we track them down and fix them.

In the meantime, we're re-sharing the FAQ we published a few weeks ago, in case anything comes up before launch. Once the new site is live, we'll add more FAQs to cover additional questions we know you'll have.

None of this would have been possible without you. Your feedback over the years – including all comments, direct messages, emails, and the occasional rant – helped shape the new site. We're looking forward to sharing the results and building the next phase of DPReview alongside you.

FAQs

Is the current site broken? If not, why change?

Not broken, but overdue. The site has been running on the same aging codebase for over 25 years, and maintaining it has become increasingly costly and limiting. Moving DPReview onto a modern shared platform with our sister site Gear Patrol means we can invest in new features and improvements far more efficiently than we could on legacy infrastructure while keeping DPReview's editorial identity fully intact. The old system was a ceiling. This removes it.

Will this affect DPReview's editorial content?

Our editorial mandate isn't changing. We'll continue to bring you the same authoritative, unbiased coverage of cameras and photography you've come to depend on, written by the same people.

When can I see what the new site looks like?

We hope to share some sneak peeks in the weeks leading up to launch. You'll be able to see the full site on launch day.

Will the new site be faster?

Yes, the new site will be faster and more reliable for most things. That said, some functions are limited by factors outside our control. Downloading a large sample image, for example, still depends on your connection speed. We can make the site faster, but we can't speed up the entire internet :)

Will the review archive and the camera and lens databases be available at launch?

Yes. We are migrating all our existing content, including articles, reviews and the camera and lens databases.

Will the site still be optimized for desktop users with large monitors?

Absolutely. While mobile is an important part of the new design, we have no intention of short-changing desktop users. We love big, beautiful photos, and if you're on a large monitor, we want you to get the full benefit of that experience.

Will my saved bookmarks still work?

Yes, existing bookmarks will continue to work.

Why do you need to freeze the Challenges system?

The current Challenges system will not be carried over to the new site – we're building a new one that will launch after the site goes live. To avoid any challenges starting under the old system that can't be completed during the transition, we're freezing new challenge creation on April 25th. Any challenges already underway will complete normally before the switchover.

Will this affect the forums?

The new website will not change how our forums work. There may be minor cosmetic updates to align with the new site design, but the forum experience will remain fundamentally the same.

Will the new site have ads?

Yes. Advertising is one of the ways we fund DPReview's operations, and that won't change with the new site.

Will my account and post history be preserved?

Yes. Your account, comments, forum posts, and history will all carry over to the new site.

Will there be further updates after launch?

This is the beginning, not the end. We'll continue to make improvements after launch, and the new codebase will make it significantly easier to introduce new tools and features going forward.

How can I provide feedback?

You can leave a comment below or reach us at community@dpreview.com. Once the new site is live, we'll have a dedicated area of our forums where you can ask questions, discuss the changes, and share feedback.

Rainbow Lorikeet eating a fig Nikon Coolpix P950 | 714mm (2000mm equiv.) | F6.5 | 1/400 sec | ISO 450 Photo: Kathie Thomas

Community member, Kathie Thomas, loves birds. She greatly enjoys getting that shot that shows off a bird's unique color palette and physique, and fortunately lives in an area with hundreds of beautiful bird species.

"Birds are my #1 genre – I just love them. I'm always trying to get that better shot, and when I get a really good one, it's not long before I'm trying to do even better. I am blessed to live in a region with many bird species year-round. Some live here, some are seasonal and some are just passing through. I keep a daily eBird record of the birds I've seen and heard, and of course, a photo with it."

This story is part of our What's in your bag? community spotlight series. The series showcases the diverse gear and photography of our community, and shares their stories of how that gear helped them to capture the perfect shot.

Have your photography featured on the DPReview homepage! Find out how.

Male Zebra Finch Nikon D7100 | AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6E ED VR @ 500mm | F5.6 | 1/1250 sec | ISO 320 Photo: Kathie Thomas

Meet Kathie Thomas

Home base: Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia

"My uncle was a wedding and portrait photographer and often shared with me what he'd been doing when I was in my early teens. My parents bought me my first camera for my 14th birthday. It's been a journey ever since! My uncle is long gone now, but my aunt tells me that he always wanted to do the type of photography I do, which is nature photography – he never got around to it, sadly."

What's in Kathie's bag

Kathie's camera bag Photo: Kathie Thomas

Favorite camera: "Nikon is the brand I've been using for over 20 years now. In fact, my husband gave me my first digital camera in the early 2000s, a Nikon, of course. I later upgraded to a D90, which I wore out after about 6 years, having taken almost 100,000 images with it. I've been a Nikon girl a long time now! I currently have a Nikon D7000, D7100, Coolpix P950 and a variety of lenses. The P950 is my favorite – it's lightweight, and I get excellent bird shots with it."

• Support gear: Kathie typically carries spare batteries for her P950, as its battery life can be limited during long birding sessions, along with a water bottle and a few snacks for time spent out in the bush or along the coast.

• Camera bags: "I use a simple, colorful backpack with a zippered compartment against my back, so no one can open it while I'm wearing it. It's big enough to carry my camera, although that's usually hanging at my hip on a shoulder strap."

Barking Owl in flight Nikon D7100 | AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm F3.5-6.3G ED VR @ 300mm | F8 | 1/2000 sec | ISO 800 Photo: Kathie Thomas

How has your photography changed since you started?

"It's improved heaps – I understand so much more about it now. I chose to do a Diploma of Photography Course back in 2014, just for the sake of doing it, so I could learn more. But it's the regular usage and learning from other photographers that have really helped me improve. I also belong to a local photography club."

"I learned from a professional nature photographer some years ago, that when tracking a bird, don't look it in the eye, look around elsewhere, move slowly towards it, take a shot now and then, and keep moving slowly without eye contact. It often has helped to get the shots I've wanted – especially before I got my P950."

What trip memories come to mind where you discovered a new bird?

"Many! Before we retired, we used to take overseas trips by plane and by cruise ship, visiting many places. But since retiring, my husband and I have invested in a campervan (motorhome) and have begun traveling around our own country, Australia, and exploring a bit more consistently. My goal is to record as many different species of birds as I can."

Australasian Darter Nikon D7100 | AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm F3.5-6.3G ED VR @ 268mm | F6.3 | 1/1600 sec | ISO 500 Photo: Kathie Thomas

"Don't underestimate your abilities and work at surprising yourself. Move out of your comfort zone and try different things. A friend thought she wasn't very good, but she recently got a Highly Commended in our photography club exhibition. I could tell she was really choked up about it and thrilled. I told her I always thought she did well."

Kathie really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would be grateful if you could join her in the forums.

Kathie's work

You can check out her other work on Instagram. Thanks, Kathie, for being featured!

If you'd like to share your photography, tell us about your main camera, lens choices, key settings and strategies. Your photos and story could be featured in the next article!

Editor's note: This article continues a series, 'What's in your bag?', highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself and your photography by filling out this form. If you're selected for a feature, we'll be in touch with next steps.

Submit your photos and story to be featured in 'What's in your bag?'

Image: Capture One / Hasselblad

Capture One and Hasselblad are partnering up: a new update is adding support for editing Raw files from some of the camera-maker's medium format models.

At launch, Capture One will support Raw files from the X2D II 100C, the X2D 100C and the CFV 100C digital back. Support for tethering is coming later in 2026 as well.

Capture One long declined to support Hasselblad Raw files, and the company was fairly candid about why. The roots of the tension trace back to Capture One's origins as part of Phase One, a direct Hasselblad competitor in the medium format space, before the two were split into separate companies by private equity firm Axcel in 2019.

In an official support article, CEO Rafael Orta said that the decision came down to both technical considerations and "the nature of our relationship with the manufacturer." He went on to say that "the relationship between Phase One and Hasselblad was notoriously antagonistic, and as I’m sure you’ll know from life experience, it takes a second to blow up a bridge and a very long time to rebuild it."

Image: Capture One / Hasselblad

It seems that the bridge has now been rebuilt, and the relationship is strong enough for a partnership. While the tension between the two companies may have eased since Capture One became its own entity, it wasn't a simple step to add support for Hasselblad Raw files. In an interview with Orta ahead of the partnership announcement, he told DPReview that it "takes quite a bit of work to support super-capable cameras, especially the latest generations."

Orta explained that Capture One only adds support for cameras after the team has had a chance to use them and create thousands of images. He said they work to develop a deep understanding of how individual image sensors, file formats, and each brand's color science work.

The process involves very close collaboration with the partner companies, and adding support for Hasselblad Raw files was no different. "Every camera and every manufacturer is special," said Orta. "Each one has its own take on color science and how they process sensor data inside its cameras. We're very dedicated to making sure that when you open that file, you're seeing colors that are true to our standards."

Photo: Capture One / Hasselblad

"The way we see it, it's a labor of love, to be honest," Orta said. "We give each individual device the same process, but we also understand that each device has its own technology."

"Tomorrow is the start line, and we're excited to see where photographers take this"

The new Raw support and upcoming tethering won't be the extent of Capture One's partnership with Hasselblad, according to Orta. "Tomorrow is the start line, and we're excited to see where photographers take this," he said.

Raw support for the X2D II 100C, the X2D 100C and the CFV 100C digital back is available starting today. Users will need version 16.8.3 of the desktop app and version 3.3.4 for the mobile app. A free seven-day trial is available from the Capture One website.