The best place to learn about digital photography products is www.dpreview.com (Digital Photography Review) – it’s up to date with news, and also provides in-depth product reviews and a comprehensive set of forums (fora?) about many aspects of digital photography.
Their research is more detailed and thorough than mine – if this blog has any value it is that perhaps others will gain something from working through the learning process in a similar way to my blundering path.