LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE WINNERS OF THE BEST CAMERAS OF 2017:
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that we chose the Nikon D850 as our joint winner for best high-end ILC of 2017. It’s hard to imagine how much more advanced a DSLR could be. Offering a combination of incredible resolution, speed, equal best-in-class dynamic range and excellent autofocus, the D850 is a winner whichever way you look at it. A highly respectable 4K video option is the icing on the cake.
Performance is excellent, handling is luxurious, and it’s out of stock pretty much everywhere – for good reason.
Taking the crown is a refined DSLR that’s supremely capable in almost any scenario – the Nikon D7500. We’ve long been fans of Nikon’s midrange DSLRs, and the D7500 is no different. With a capable autofocus system, great image quality, comfortable ergonomics and an expansive lens ecosystem, the D7500 has a lot going for it.
Whether you’re into sports, portraiture, landscapes or low light work, there’s really not much the D7500 can’t do. The crop in 4K mode is a little extreme (though the video quality is quite good), and it’s not the most compact of its peers. But the D7500 remains supremely versatile, and for that, it takes the top slot in its category.
Our expectations of compact cameras have shifted a lot in recent years, thanks in no small part to Sony. The Cyber-shot RX100 and RX10-series have shaken up the compact market by offering better image quality, faster shooting, and much more advanced video capabilities than most competitors, amid a product refresh cycle that is, frankly, exhausting.
Although it might look like a relatively minor update to last year’s RX10 III, the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV is a considerably more attractive camera thanks to the addition of phase-detection autofocus. It rarely hunts for focus even at 600mm. While it can’t manage DSLR-level subject tracking, it’s impressively capable for both stills and video, and this combined with the razor-sharp 24-600mm stabilized zoom lens makes for an unbeatable combination. As such, the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV earns our award for the best compact camera of 2017.
…its big brother the Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM. More versatile than the 12-24mm, Sony’s pro-grade 16-35mm F2.8 is built to an exceptionally high standard and offers excellent sharpness, making it an ideal companion to Sony’s new a7R III.
For many years, Sony was criticized for offering a relatively small lineup of high-quality lenses, but products like the new 16-35mm F2.8 GM prove that the company has what it takes to make world-class optics. Sharp even wide open, fast to focus and capable of producing some of the nicest sunstars we’ve ever seen, this lens will be useful for everything from landscapes to indoor sports to weddings. The Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM earns our award for best zoom lens of 2017.
“You guessed it – one of the last cameras released in 2017 ended up taking the top spot. The Sony a7R III is a truly impressive camera, which combines advanced stills and video features in a body designed to satisfy the needs of professionals and enthusiasts alike. While the a9 is faster, and features an autofocus system better optimized for shooting sports, the a7R III is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera for the rest of us, and a well-deserved winner of our award for the best product of 2017.”
TECHNOLOGY IS A FUN THING TO KEEP UP WITH. EVEN IF YOU DON’T OWN ONE OF THESE CAMERAS OR LENSES, IT IS ALWAYS FUN TO SEE WHAT THE MANUFACTURES ARE DOING. HAVING WORKED IN A CAMERA STORE BEFORE, IT IS ALWAYS FUN TO SEE THE NEW PRODUCTS, AND SEE WHAT NEW FEATURES COME OUT ON THESE PRODUCTS EVERY YEAR. WITH THESE CAMERAS AND LENSES, I DO LIKE TO GO INTO THE STORES NOW AND FEEL THEM, AND DROOL ON THEM AND WISH THAT I COULD OWN SOME OF THEM. AND AS SOON AS I GET ONE OF THEM, IT IS OUTDATED IN A YEAR WITH SOMETHING BETTER. RIGHT? SO, KEEP TAKING PHOTOS, AND KEEP TAKING ENOUGH PICTURES TO SELL THEM OR EARN MONEY WHILE TAKING PHOTOS TO BUY THE NEXT CAMERA OR LENS NEXT YEAR.
IN ABOUT A WEEK OR SO, I WILL DO A SPECIAL BLOG ON THE NEW CAMERAS AND LENSES FOR 2018. WATCH FOR THAT SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT IS NEW AND EXCITING.
