Introduction
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Yet another year has passed, and it’s already time to announce the winners of the DPReview Annual Awards for 2023.
Although it was a crazy year here at DPReview, the camera industry kept chugging along, and in 2023, manufacturers treated us to some exciting products. Nikon delivered the full-frame retro camera its users have dreamed of for years, Fujifilm brought high-end video specs to medium format, Panasonic finally jumped on the phase-detect autofocus bandwagon, and Pentax joined Leica in the monochrome camera game. And, although it arrived too late in the year for us to thoroughly test it, Sony made waves by launching the first full-frame camera with a global electronic shutter.
On the lens front, Canon introduced a 24-105mm F2.8 zoom, something photographers have made noise about for years; whether they like the size and price of such a lens remains to be seen. Nikon continued its trend of building compact telephoto primes, Sony stretched the popular 24-70mm walk-around zoom into ultrawide territory, and Fujifilm announced not one but two tilt-shift lenses for its medium format system.
There’s a lot to keep track of (and still to review fully), but we’ve been busy working with the latest releases to make sure we know how they compare. Here, then, are our awards for what we believe are the most compelling new products of 2023. Let us know what yours would be in the comments.
Best Accessory
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Shortlist:
- DJI Pocket 3
- DJI Mini 4 Pro
- GoPro Hero 12 Black
- Røde Wireless Pro
Honorable mention: DJI Mini 4 Pro
The DJI Mini 4 Pro brings some premium features from its Mavic 3 series drones to the Mini line for the first time. Omnidirectional obstacle detection and avoidance, waypoints that map a repeatable flight route, and cruise control are features that used to cost nearly $800 more with the Mavic 3 Classic. Combined with improved optics, support for Raw stills, vertical video, a longer 34 min battery life (using a standard battery) and support for 4K/60p 10-bit video, it’s a compelling addition to a stills or video kit. It takes very little space in the gear bag and should be easy to deploy when needed to augment a photo or video shoot as a second or third cam.
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Winner: Røde Wireless Pro
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Rarely does a product come along that completely changes how you produce your work, and this year, Røde’s Wireless Pro mics were that product. These mics use 32-bit float, a recording format that uses scientific notation to record sound values. The result is files that avoid clipping from loud sounds and noise on low sounds brought up to acceptable levels in post. For solo video creators, capturing usable audio is critical, and poor-quality audio can erase an entire day’s work. Røde isn’t the first to produce 32-bit float recorders, but we gave them high marks for doing it in a small and rugged form factor, its screw-mount lav socket, timecode sync, 850ft range and the affordable price point.
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Best Zoom Lens
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Shortlist:
- Canon RF 24-105mm F2.8 L IS USM Z
- Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports
- Sony FE 20-70mm F4G
- Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VCD VXD G2
Honorable mention: Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VCD VXD G2
Tamron has mastered the art of creating fast, compact zoom lenses that cover slightly quirky focal ranges, and the 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VCD VXD G2 fits right into this mold. It delivers excellent optical performance wide open while adding image stabilization and a USB-C port that allows you to customize its buttons and update firmware from your computer. All this is in a lens that’s noticeably lighter and more compact than first-party 70-200mm F2.8 options while remaining versatile for everything from portraits to sports. Tamron struck an outstanding balance between price, performance and size with this lens, making it our honorable mention for the best zoom lens of 2023.
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Winner: Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G
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With the FE 20-70mm F4 G, Sony has created an ultra-wide to normal, constant aperture zoom lens that provides much more flexibility than the classic 24-70mm focal length; those extra 4mm at the wide end make a world of difference. It’s a great travel lens, particularly when paired with Sony’s newest a7C II and a7CR cameras. Despite its compact size, it delivers the goods visually, with sharp results wide open, pleasing bokeh, and well-controlled flare. Even videographers have reason to love this lens: it’s possible to combine Sony’s Active SteadyShot and breathing compensation features and still maintain a roughly 24mm field of view. The 24-70mm F4 G is a fun lens to shoot with, has few compromises, and a price point that’s approachable to enthusiasts, earning it our award for best zoom lens of 2023.
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Best Prime Lens
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Shortlist:
- Nikon Z DX 24mm F1.7
- OM System M.Zuiko Digial ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS Pro
- Sigma 14mm F1.4 DG DN
- Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM
Honorable mention: Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM
Since introducing E-mount, Sony has released no less than six 50mm prime lenses. But when it released the 50mm F1.2 GM in 2021, we assumed it was Sony’s designated 50mm G Master lens. How wrong we were! Just two years later, Sony is back with the FE 50mm F1.4 GM, and it will hit the sweet spot for many photographers. It’s a sharp lens that produces excellent image quality, renders smooth, round bokeh and pleasing focus to out-of-focus transitions, and focuses in a snap. All the while, it remains impressively light and compact relative to other high-quality 50mm prime lenses. Unless you need an F1.2 aperture, this is the 50mm G Master to get.
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Winner: Sigma 14mm F1.4 DG DN
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When we spoke with Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki earlier this year, he told us an essential part of Sigma’s strategy was to create unique lenses, and the Sigma 14mm F1.4 DG DN certainly qualifies. It’s an astrophotography behemoth that’s sharp wide open, controls coma well, and is fast enough to collect every bit of precious starlight available. It even has a lens heater retainer for cold nights. When Sigma announced its 14mm F1.8 Art lens in 2017, it spurred a new generation of night sky photographers along with similar lenses from other manufacturers. Sigma has reset the bar once again with the 14mm F1.4 DG DN, earning our award for best prime lens of 2023.
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Best Entry-Level or Mid-Range Camera
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Shortlist:
- Canon EOS R50
- Canon EOS R8
- Fujifilm X-S20
- Sony a6700
Honorable mention: Canon EOS R8
The Canon EOS R8 is a full-frame camera that borrows some of the best features from its bigger siblings in the Canon lineup and packages them into a small body with a vastly reduced entry fee. It takes the sensor, processor, and autofocus system from the EOS R6 Mark II and offers it for $1000 less. The camera captures vibrant and lifelike colors and accurate skin tones, performs well at high ISO, and captures detailed 10-bit video. There are some tradeoffs in battery life, the lack of a mechanical first curtain shutter and the loss of an AF joystick, but for beginners and casual users, it presents an interesting value proposition.
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Winner: Sony a6700
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The Sony a6700 excels for users of all types, whether you’re focused on stills, video, vlogging or all three. It is a camera that strikes a fine balance of providing features that most users would seek in more expensive cameras (well-controlled rolling shutter and dual dials, for instance) while making calculated compromises in ergonomics, shooting speeds, and the lack of an AF joystick. In exchange, you get some of the best video and AF tracking on the market today, including a mode that automatically crops and follows your subject for vlogging, along with solid build quality and a large selection of lenses.
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Best Enthusiast Camera
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Shortlist:
- Nikon Zf
- Panasonic Lumix S5 IIX
- Panasonic Lumix G9 II
- Sony a7C II
Honorable mention: Panasonic Lumix S5 IIX
The Panasonic S5 IIX is half of a pair of enthusiast-level full-frame cameras that gain phase detection autofocus for the first time in the Lumix range. This helps bridge the slight performance gap that had emerged between Panasonic and the best of its rivals. On top of this, the ‘X’ version adds the ability to output ProRes footage directly to an external SSD or ‘Raw’ footage over HDMI. The result is a well-priced camera that offers both stills and video shooters a reason to look closely at the L-mount system.
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Winner: Nikon Zf
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The Nikon Zf looks a lot like the camera Nikon has been promising to make for several years now: a camera that calls back to its now classic designs of the early 80s but with modern tech to back it up. And, based on our use so far (the review is well underway), it delivers on that promise. Image quality is everything you would expect, but the autofocus takes a big leap forward compared with the Z6 models that preceded it. Video specs are also much improved, but where the Zf really stands out is the looks department. It’s not a camera you’d want to use for extended periods with a heavy lens, but even after years of retro-styled cameras, this Zf still manages to stand out from the crowd.
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Best High-End Camera
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Shortlist:
- Fujifilm GFX 100 II
- Leica Q3
- Nikon Z8
- Sony a7CR
Honorable mention: Sony a7CR
The Sony a7CR looks a lot like a parts-bin special: lots of familiar components jumbled together to fill a gap in the lineup. But they’re good components, and it’s an interesting gap that gets filled. The a7CR takes the body of the compact a7C but adds a larger viewfinder and front dial, then adds the excellent image quality and autofocus of the a7R V, but for $900 less. The viewfinder is still small and low resolution, and the controls aren’t quite as extensive as those on the a7R V, but you get a lot of the rest of its capabilities in an appreciably smaller package as a result.
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Winner: Nikon Z8
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Sony’s a1 and its Stacked CMOS sensor rewrote the axiom that you could have a high-resolution camera or a fast camera, but not both. The Nikon Z8 takes the same concept and adds that you can do it at a more affordable price. At $4000, the Z8 isn’t cheap, but it does pretty much everything the Z9 does for $1500 less, which helps put that price in perspective. Its autofocus will perform comfortably on the most challenging of sidelines, its image quality is up there with the best landscape cameras, and its video won’t look out of place on the biggest screens. It’s hard not to be impressed by the Z8 because it supports you regardless of what you ask it to do.
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Product of the Year
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Shortlist:
- Fujifilm GF 30mm F5.6 T/S
- Nikon Z8
- Sigma 14mm F1.4 DG DN Art
- Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G
Honorable mention: Sigma 14mm F1.4 | Art
Sigma first built its reputation with wide-angle lenses and has significantly enhanced that reputation with the introduction of the “Art” series of lenses in 2012. It seems fitting that the lens that most caught our eye this year was a wide-angle from the Art series. The 14mm F1.4 is the widest rectilinear F1.4 lens on the market and was designed with astrophotography in mind. It’s a lens that’s inspired us to go out and use it for its intended purpose in a way that few lenses do. The arrival of tilt-shift lenses for mirrorless (and medium format ones at that) and of standard zooms that extend to the ultra-wide has been exciting, but it’s the Sigma that’s left us seeing stars.
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Winner: Nikon Z8
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The Nikon Z8 is our product of the year for exactly the same reason it’s our High-End Camera of the year: it brings the same capabilities that Nikon delivers to its pro audience in a camera that dedicated enthusiasts might be able to get hold of. It’s slightly smaller than Nikon’s DSLR standard bearer, the D850, while outperforming it in almost every way. Cameras continue to evolve, and we suspect more affordable cameras will start to challenge the likes of the Z8 in terms of autofocus or speed or video capabilities, but as things stand, there are very few cameras that have ever offered the all-around strength that the Z8 exhibits.
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Author:
This article comes from DP Review and can be read on the original site.
