DIWA Press Release

02/14/2005 - DIWA (Digital Imaging Websites Association) discloses the secret behind its success story, the world’s most comprehensive and reliable testing procedure for digital imaging products. Not one, but a minimum of four randomly selected test samples are tested, each by individual technical experts, to find the real truth about a product’s performance. Get the inside story and be amazed.

Too many “tests and reviews” on the Internet are worthless, often misleading more than guiding the reader. Lack of expertise is a major concern, but also lack of time seems to be a frequent factor. Many so-called “reviews” are merely a transcript of the manufacturer’s own brochure, supplemented by some fancy words to please the industry and the advertising department.

DIWA Awards is an international organisation of digital imaging websites, all focussing on digital cameras and imaging tools. All member websites have highly skilled technical experts with a passion for photography, making reliable, unbiased tests and reviews. These are published on their local website, in their own native language and in their own editorial style. The core of the DIWA philosophy is to merge all these valuable test results into one final conclusion, to build a neutral, balanced picture of any given product.

To make this possible, a unique, comprehensive, error-proof and trustworthy testing procedure was created, translating all results into comparable values in a universal language. All DIWA reviewers must fill in a scoreboard where more than 200 camera functions are listed. Each and every one of them must be tested and evaluated, then rated with a numbered score. Three versions of the chart are made, each for amateur cameras, advanced cameras and system cameras. Behind each individual score, there is a weight figure related to the importance of that particular function on that particular camera type.

The scoreboard is then submitted to DIWA for comparison. If major differences are discovered, the matter is investigated. In some cases, a mistake was made or the camera did not perform well, both disastrous for the manufacturer, the publisher and the reader. In other cases, one reviewer may have discovered something the others overlooked. In either case, the DIWA system will prevent errors from being published, making it the only testing procedure in the world that will disclose imperfect test samples as well as human error. The averaged scores will finally determine if the product is worthy of an award, or not. Three awards are issued, in the value of gold, silver or bronze.

Go to www.diwa-awards.com and see a full sample of the scoreboard and be convinced about the true value of a DIWA Award.

DIWA test-chart
http://www.diwa-awards.com/press/testchart.html