DSLR Reviews

Finding an inexpensive full frame camera is difficult these days. And with Nikon set to release a new mirrorless full frame camera this month, things aren’t likely to get any cheaper.

Ask just about any professional photographer what the top cameras are for capturing sports, photojournalism or wildlife and they’ll likely tell you the Nikon D5, Canon 1D X Mark II or the Sony A9. These full-frame cameras are truly the cream of the crop when it comes to capturing high-quality images of fast action.

Three of the most talked about full-frame, interchangeable lens cameras of the past year, undoubtedly, have to be the Sony A7R III and A7 III mirrorless cameras, and the Nikon D850 DSLR. While we’ve reviewed all three models at Shutterbug, we haven’t done a direct head-to-head comparison of them.

Shutterbug, a member of the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA), once again teamed up with over two dozen other member magazines from around the world to select the winners in the annual TIPA World Awards for the best photo products of 2018 in 40 different categories.

The year is 2068 and the Dystopian Party has defeated the less conservative Cacotopian Caucus and all Americans are now permitted to own one and only one camera. You have five minutes to choose your system. When time is up, all of the gear you own that is not directly useable by your choice—and all of your other cameras—will be tossed straight into a cosmic wood chipper and shredded into impalpable dust. Which camera do you pick?

The 45.7-megapixel D850 is Nikon’s first DSLR with an FX-format (aka full frame), backside-illuminated CMOS sensor with no low-pass filter, which is designed to shoot high-quality images and video even in low light. The D850 can capture 4K UHD at 24/30 frames per second (fps) that’s output at a full-frame width of 16:9, allowing widescreen 4K clips at a true field of view.

Another year has come and gone, which means it’s time for Shutterbug to once again pick our favorite cameras and lenses of the past 12 months. With so much great photo gear to choose from in 2017, it was a difficult task. The below list though is a good summation of the cameras and lenses Shutterbug’s editors and writers most enjoyed shooting with last year.