EISA 2018 Photo Equipment Awards

The awards with my editorial comments having used virtually everything on the list at least once and several for extended periods of time:

Camera of the year:  Sony a7 III (Easily the best prosumer mirrorless camera on the market at the moment)

Pro DSLR: Nikon D850  (Best DSLR ever and, nothing else even comes close)

Consumer DSLR:  Canon EOS 6D Mk II  (slow year in this category if this much maligned camera got an award, it's arguably worse in several ways than the original EOS 6D, I would not in good conscience recommend this camera to anyone)

Pro Mirrorless Camera:  Sony a7R III  (For my purposes, the best camera on the market)

Consumer Mirrorless Camera: Fuji X-H1 (I like this camera a lot but it has it's critics, especially on the video side and it still sues the X-trans sensor that I just hate)

Best Buy Camera:  Canon EOS M50 (I'd get the M5 instead)

Superzoom Camera: Sony RX10 IV (A surprisingly good camera for what it is)

Traditional Camera for Video:  Panasonic GH5S (Great for video but for still photo in the m43 space, I'd go with an Olympus OM-EM1 Mk II)

DSLR Zoom Lens: Sigma 14-24 f/2.8 Art (This is better than the highly regarded Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 and available for other cameras - an outstanding lens)

DSLR Telephoto Lens: Tamron 70-210 f/4 (A good alternative to the much more expensive Canon and Nikon lenses)

DSLR Prime Lens: Canon 85mm f/1.4L (I haven't used this lens but it's reputation is stellar)

DSLR Pro Lens: Nikon 180-400mm f/4E 1.4x (This is an incredible lens - I reviewed it here http://www.ejphoto.com/Quack%20PDF/180-400.pdf

Mirrorless Standard Zoom:  Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 (I was impressed with this little lens given the price but it does have some limitations compared to the much more expensive Sony 24-70 f/2.8GM. My unvarnished review here - http://www.ejphoto.com/Quack%20PDF/Tamron%2028_75Review.pdf

Mirrorless Telephoto Zoom:  Sony 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 (This lens still blows my mind every time I use it - is this really a 100-400 zoom?  Not even the highly regarded Canon 100-400 II comes close and the Sony 100-400 is just as good with a 1.4x which is almost unheard of.  Nikon isn't even the game in this space with their laughable 80-400 if compared to this lens)

Photo Innovation:  Canon Speedlite 470EX (it gets the award due to it's bounce flash computational capabilities - I have not used this flash)

Like everything now days, EISA is a marketing tool, and makes sure all major camera makers get a piece of the action. Good rundown of the awards.

Mike in O wrote:Like everything now days, EISA is a marketing tool, and makes sure all major camera makers get a piece of the action.  Good rundown of the awards.

TIPA is much worse - there you can pay your way onto the list.