Have your say: Best gear of 2022 – Readers’ Choice Award winners and final vote!

Have your say: Best gear of 2022

For the past few weeks, our readers have been voting on their favorite cameras and lenses released in 2022. Now that the first round of voting is over, it’s time to reveal the winners.

Remember though, it isn’t over just yet! It’s now time to pick an overall winner. Don’t miss your chance to cast your ballot – this one’s for all the bragging rights.

Best prime lens runner-up: Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR

First up is this year’s runner-up for best prime lens, the Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR, which provides an 85mm (full-frame equiv.) focal length. Its weather sealing makes it versatile in challenging conditions, an 11-blade aperture helps render out-of-focus highlights nicely, and it has a relatively short 50 cm (19.7″) minimum focusing distance. Fujifilm even launched it alongside its new 40MP X-H2 body – a subtle suggestion that this lens is up to the task.

Given the popularity of Fujifilm’s original 56mm F1.2 lens, we’re not surprised to see the new version make this year’s shortlist.

Best prime lens winner: Nikon Z 400mm F4.5 VR S

The 2022 Readers’ Choice Award for best prime lens goes to the Nikon Z 400mm F4.5 VR S – one of two 400mm primes launched by Nikon last year. Its reasonably compact size means it can be used without a tripod and it fits into even modestly-sized camera bags. Its images have impressed us with sharp performance across the frame, pleasing bokeh, and well-controlled flare and ghosting. As a bonus, it also works with Nikon’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters.

More important to many enthusiasts, the 400mm F4.5 VR S comes in at less than a quarter of the price of Nikon’s Z 400mm F2.8, making it both a relatively compact and affordable super-telephoto option for Z-mount users.

Best zoom lens runner-up: Fujifilm XF 150-600mm F5.6-8 R LM OIS WR

Landing in the runner-up position for best zoom lens is the Fujifilm XF 150-600mm F5.6-8 R LM OIS WR. This lens is Fujifilm’s longest telephoto option to date for X-mount cameras, covering an impressive 221-914mm (full-frame equiv.) range. It features internal zoom and focus, which is unusual for a zoom with this much range, and can even be paired with Fujifilm’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. It’s about as portable as one could hope for a super-telephoto zoom, and it balances well on larger Fujifilm bodies like the X-T and X-H series.

It’s easy to understand why Fujifilm users, especially wildlife and outdoor sports shooters, are so excited by this lens, and clearly you are too.

Best zoom lens winner: Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II

The winner of the 2022 Readers’ Choice Award for best zoom lens goes to the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II. Sony’s original 24-70mm F2.8 GM lens was no slouch, but its second generation of this popular ‘holy trinity’ lens notches up better performance in almost every way, with improved sharpness, autofocus, contrast, ghosting, and flare control. In the process Sony managed to make it smaller and lighter, making it a great match for Sony’s compact mirrorless bodies.

We were impressed enough to name this lens as the best zoom lens of 2022 in or Annual Awards, and it looks like you agree with us.

Best camera runner-up: Fujifilm X-H2S

The Fujifilm X-H2S delivers the highest performance we’ve seen in an X-mount camera to date, thanks to its 26MP stacked sensor. Its much improved AF system can track complex motion at high frame rates and a large buffer makes high speed shooting very usable. It’s also an impressive video tool: it can capture 4K/60p video (and even 6.2K/24p), includes internal ProRes LT recording, and can capture 14-bit video at up to 30p for slightly expanded dynamic range when using Fujiiflm’s new F-Log2 gamma profile. For dedicated video shooters, there’s even an optional cooling fan to support long record times.

Overall, we found the X-H2S to be an innovative stills/video hybrid camera, and based on our polling it looks like you agree that that the X-H2S one of the best products of 2022.

Best camera winner: Sony a7R V

The winner of the 2022 Readers’ Choice Award for best camera goes to the Sony a7R V, the fifth generation of the company’s high-resolution, full-frame mirrorless series. Although it’s built around the same 60MP sensor as its predecessor, the camera’s updated Bionz XR processors power notable improvements in several areas: enhanced subject recognition capabilities, including non-human subjects, more sophisticated algorithms for improved in-body image stabilization, and the ability to shoot lossless compressed Raw files in three sizes. Although it may not be a first choice as a video camera due to cropped capture options and noticeable rolling shutter, it can capture up to 8K, 10-bit video.

The a7R series has long been popular with enthusiast photographers looking to capture high resolution. Based on our poll results, it looks like Sony has delivered another winner.

Have your say – vote for product of the year!

You helped determine the winners in these individual categories, so now’s the time to cast your vote in one last poll! Choose your favorite product from this list of winners and runners-up between now and Sunday, January 15th at midnight Pacific Time. Watch for an announcement of the winning products shortly after the poll closes.

As always, thanks for casting your votes and being a part of our community throughout the year.

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Poll Rules:

This poll is meant to be a bit of fun. It’s not sponsored, promoted or paid for in any way and DPReview doesn’t care how you vote. Our readers’ polls are run on the basis of trust. As such, we ask that you only vote once, from a single account.