DPReview TV’s Best and Worst Gear Of 2022 (In pictures!)

It’s that time again!

As has been a tradition for nearly a decade, Chris and I just released our annual Best and Worst episode, where we round up the year’s most exciting and disappointing releases while playing a drinking game. This year’s episode was an absolute blast, and I strongly recommend you check it out.



If you prefer the written word (or have no patience for video games and slurring), we present the DPReview Best and Worst of 2022 in slideshow form! Here we can give our sober perspectives on why we chose each of the winning and losing products in their respective categories.

Enjoy!


– Jordan

Best Lens Runner Up – Sigma 20mm F1.4 DG DN Art

We’ve been happy with the results whenever we’ve seen the word ‘ART’ associated with a Sigma lens design. Enter the Sigma 20mm F1.4 ART DG DN, its latest offering in Sony E-mount and Panasonic L-mount.

Optically the Art series lenses are brilliant, and this lens is no exception. The 20mm is sharp wide open with beautiful bokeh as well. Flare is well-controlled, and even sunstars are rendered decently. If you’re into close-up photography, the Sigma delivers good sharpness and 1:6 life-size reproductions.

The classic Sigma Art design is handsome as ever, but we appreciated the controls on this 20mm. The locking switch to hold the manual focus in place is particularly handy when you want to avoid accidental re-focusing. This is a helpful feature for astrophotography, where the 20mm Art shines quite brightly. The bright maximum aperture and minimal coma delivered better night-time photos than we expected.

It’s hard to find any real weaknesses in the Sigma 20mm Art, and it certainly lives up to its namesake.

– Chris

Best Lens – Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II

It’s March of 2016, Sony’s full-frame mirrorless Alpha bodies have been on the market for three years, and the brand new G-Master 24-70 F2.8 has just been released. Finally, a professional-grade general-purpose zoom with an F2.8 aperture to solidify Sony’s commitment to the Alpha system. At the time, it received well-deserved accolades for its rendering of bokeh, focusing speed, and overall build quality. It gave comparable image quality to its SLR mount contemporaries, and it was the first standard pro-zoom from the first mirrorless camera company to go head-to-head with the firmly established SLR titans of the industry. That by itself was tremendously exciting.

Unfortunately, a fair amount of time had passed with the release of modernized mirrorless zooms from Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic. The Sony 24-70 was looking downright archaic.

Enter the 24-70 G Master II. Everything that needed to be updated, Sony addressed. Substantial weight and bulk were shed, creating a compact and easy-to-carry lens. Sony modernized the focusing motors for near-instantaneous focusing. Sharpness was dramatically improved at F2.8 and from center to corner overall. All the character and clean out-of-focus background bokeh was retained. Sony once again has a standard zoom that shines alongside its contemporaries and mates perfectly with its recent compact Alpha bodies. Best lens released in 2022!

– Chris

Best Camera For Video Runner Up – Sony FX30

Initially, on hearing about the FX30, I wasn’t too excited about the prospect of a crop sensor FX3, despite the impressively low price. That was until I learned that the FX30 features a brand new 26-megapixel sensor that offers vastly better performance than Sony’s current APS-C mirrorless cameras. Rolling shutter is far better controlled, and the oversampled 4K will offer sharper results than even the far more expensive FX3 and a7S III.



The FX30 also offers all the latest video features from Sony, including the Focus Map, Breathing Correction and dedicated video menu. For intermediate video creators, it’s an incredible value proposition, and I can see this camera making a lot of people happy. However, these are our personal picks, and I just couldn’t bring myself to give Best Video Camera of 2022 to a model that doesn’t have my beloved EVF.


– Jordan

Best Camera For Video – Fujifilm X-H2S

It’s staggering to think of how much progress Fujifilm has made in terms of video capabilities in the last few years. While both the X-H2S and X-H2 are optimized for video, I think the X-H2S offers the more compelling package. The stacked sensor not only allows for high frame rates and minimal rolling shutter, but gives the ability to capture video using a higher bit depth, which increases the F-Log2 dynamic range.



The Fujifilm X-H2S doesn’t just catch up with the competition’s video capabilities; it brings some exciting new innovations. The ability to capture Open Gate 6.2K video gives plenty of reframing options and is rarely found on 3:2 sensors. The optional fan means you can bulk up the camera for longer shoots in hot environments but keep the package more compact for day-to-day filming. The list of recording formats is almost problematically endless but makes sure you can capture your video in a format that will work for your editing software.



I’m a huge fan of APS-C/Super35 sensors for video capture, and our Video Camera Of The Year and runner-up both prove there’s plenty of life left in this format.

– Jordan

Best Camera For Stills Runner Up – Fujifilm X-H2S

The Fujifilm XH2S is built for speed. The engine behind this race car of a camera is a stacked 26MP CMOS sensor which unlocks 40 frames per second shooting speeds in electronic shutter mode and 15 frames per second with the mechanical shutter. But it’s not just about full-resolution images at blistering speeds, as the stacked sensor also boosts how often auto-focus calculations can be made. Couple that with improved subject recognition and tracking auto-focus, and it’s easy to see the XH2S as a capable pro camera.

We love that the body design allows for deep customization to suit how you want to shoot it. A battery grip option brings more battery life to the table and better balance if you’re shooting with larger lenses too. The in-body image stabilization is rated up to 7 EV, a boon for both photo and video applications. And you’ll love composing images with the 5.76M dot EVF.

Everything on the Fujifilm XH2S screams versatility, and it’s hard not to fall in love with the camera. It also happens to be the most full-featured video camera we’ve used this year. The XH2S is confidence inspiring and versatile, an easy runner-up for best photo camera of 2022.

– Chris

Best Camera For Stills – Sony a7R V

When reviewing cameras, the picture-taking experience is always fun, but often the camera experience is that of using a tool. Workmanlike and functional, but not exactly inspirational. So I was very surprised to find a generalist like the Sony A7RV so enjoyable to use. On paper, it is a fairly standard Sony Alpha body. The same excellent 60MP sensor we’ve seen before in the Sony A7RIV. The same new body design and menus that we’ve seen from Sony’s latest offerings. Familiar electronic viewfinder and LCD panel. Really nothing revelatory at all. We’ve seen all of this before, just never together in one body.

All of the above features are solid upgrades on their own, but when combined together, they form an extremely capable camera that can handle almost any photographic situation with aplomb. Couple that with the improved use of deep-learning algorithms, which provide noticeable improvements to an already first-class autofocusing system, and you have a camera that is effortless to use.

And it’s the effortless experience that makes the A7RV so much fun to use. The latest Sony bodies handle well. I never had to worry about AF performance. The in-body image stabilization is rock solid. And I know the images will be rich with detail. It truly is a joy to use, and for that reason, it is my winner for best photo camera of 2022.

– Chris

Worst Camera For Video – Sony ZV-1F

An affordable vlogging camera with a fixed wide-angle lens. Sounds like a great idea on paper, but the execution left something (many things) to be desired. 



The sensor is an older design with severe rolling shutter artifacts, exacerbated by the lack of any optical stabilization. The contrast-detect autofocus is prone to notorious ‘wobble’, especially when using the otherwise extremely effective ‘Product Showcase’ mode. There are a variety of picture profiles, including S-Log 3, but the 8-bit capture really limits their usefulness. And once again, we see another vlogging camera released without any ability to attach headphones for audio monitoring. These issues really limit the advantages of using the ZV-1F over most modern smartphones. 



Oh, and photographers thinking this might be a fun street camera? This thing only shoots JPEGs.


– Jordan

Worst Lens – Fujinon XF 18-120mm F4 PZ LM WR

I’m always thrilled when seeing video-optimized zoom lenses, but my enthusiasm for the Fujinon 18-120mm F4 was dampened as soon as I got my hands on it. While I appreciate multiple ways to control the servo zoom, all of them feel flimsy. Photographers planning to use this as a hybrid lens will find the controls sluggish and imprecise.

Most egregiously, we found this lens to be quite soft, wide open. Usually, we give a pass to video-optimized lenses for a lack of sharpness across the frame, but this particular optic was launched alongside the X-H2S, which can capture 6.2K video across the entire 3:2 sensor area. This just made the 18-120 mm’s limitations more apparent.

As it stands, if you want a fantastic, native XF video zoom lens, you’re still looking at the manual focus, comparatively expensive Fujinon MK zooms.

– Jordan

Worst Camera For Stills – Nikon Z30

It’s difficult to find a BAD piece of camera gear nowadays. Everything on the market is functional and generally produces decent results for the end user. But there are many emerging markets at play, with vlogging being one of the most prolific, and every camera company seems to be having a go. But vlogging is one of the most obvious genres where cameras must compete directly against the smartphone.

When it comes to photos, the Nikon Z30 certainly outpaces smartphone image quality. Its 20.9MP sensor takes brilliant photos with lots of room to push shadows. The grip is comfy to hold, and the dual command dials make manually operating the camera a pleasant experience. With some nice positive features, why does this end up as the worst photo camera?

The lack of an EVF is the most glaring offense, although most vlog-style cameras are guilty of this. But Nikon also suffers from a limited selection of dedicated APS-C lenses. In particular, there is a 12-28mm PZ on the horizon, which, if it were available, would make the Z30 much more appealing. Oddly the audio levels are missing when the screen is set to the new vlogging display, exactly when you would want them the most. You can choose to ignore this new display mode and get your audio levels back, but then why include such a feature? This would less of issue if the Z30 featured a headphone jack, but that’s missing as well.

For photography, I’d go to a Z fc or Z50, which is only a little more expensive but provides superior handling and an EVF. Looking at the Z30’s competition, if photography is your primary concern, the Sony a6100 offers an EVF, similar image quality and a more intuitive and reliable autofocus system. As a hybrid video/photo camera, I think there are better choices on the market than the Z30, but just barely.

– Chris