Camera Review Site Imaging Resource Acquired by Madavor Media

After announcing that the publication would be closing down last October, photo industry mainstay Imaging Resource revealed today that they have been acquired by Madavor Media: the publisher of Outdoor Photographer, Digital Photo Pro, Digital Photo Magazine, and others.

Etchells’ announcement of the acquisition was ebullient, expressing much gratitude at have found the right “home” for IR at Madavor.

“If IR is to continue in any form, it can only be in an environment that will support our decades-long commitment to objectivity and quality,” writes Etchells. “I think I’ve found that kind of home in Madavor.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean that things will immediately revert to “business as usual” for Imaging Resource. A couple of major changes will take place as a result of this transfer of ownership.

First and foremost, Dave himself will take a step back from day-to-day operations, taking on the title of Editor Emeritus. He will consult with the team and keep developing his weather sealing test, but the staff will now consist of just two full-time employees and one freelancer, compared to the 10-person staff IR used to run. Secondly, the site will lean on the Madavor IT team to give it a much-needed facelift.

“It’s been well over a decade since the last major site redesign, and frankly it looks it :-/” writes Etchells. “It’ll take Madavor’s IT team a little while to get their arms around IR’s labyrinthine site code, but I’m so looking forward to seeing a clean modern design on the site(!)”

The announcement has been met by cheers from the photo community at large, which will be very happy to see IR survive and continue to provide in-depth camera and lens reviews for the foreseeable future. If Madavor does indeed allow IR to maintain its editorial integrity—which has been beyond reproach for well over a decade—then this will be a positive for all photographers.

To read the full announcement straight from the two sources, head over to Imaging Resource or check out Madavor’s announcement over on Digital Photo Mag.