These are the Best Cameras and Lenses of 2019 According to the EISA Awards 

Michael Zhang  

 

The prestigious EISA Awards has announced its selections for the top cameras, lenses, and products for 2019-2020. After Sony dominated the mirrorless camera categories last year and won Camera of the Year with the a7 III, its competitors took top prizes with their new products this year.

The prizes are selected by technical experts from 17 leading photography publications based in countries around the world.

Camera of the Year: Nikon Z6

The Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera is the winner of the overall Camera of the Year prize. Here’s what the EISA Awards has to say about the camera:

With the Z6, Nikon has made a superb camera with sensational handling and robust build quality that delivers excellent images in almost any shooting situation. Its autofocus system includes Eye-Detection AF, allowing accurate focus wherever the subject is placed in the frame. The large and sharp electronic viewfinder provides a truly accurate preview of how your images will turn out, while in-body image stabilization helps keep your pictures sharp with every lens you can use, including F-mount DSLR optics. Quite simply, this is the best all-round camera that serious photographers can buy right now.

Here are the other Best Product winners (along with some of the explanations):
Advanced Camera: Fujifilm X-T3

Advanced Full-Frame Camera: Panasonic LUMIX S1R

Full Frame-Camera: Canon EOS RP

Compact Camera: Sony RX100 VI

Photo/Video Camera: Sony a6400

Camera Innovation: Fujifilm GFX100
“With the GFX100, Fujifilm has made a 100-megapixel medium format camera that does not suffer from the restraints usually associated with large-sensor, high-resolution systems. As the first camera of this type with in-body image stabilization, it can be used for handheld shooting under a much wider range of conditions. The spring-mounted shutter mechanism is isolated from the sensor, minimizing the risk of shutter vibration affecting the sharpness. The GFX100 is also the first medium format camera to offer on-sensor phase detection, which results in much faster autofocus. What’s more, it’s the first medium format camera to shoot 4K video with no field-of-view crop.”
Lens Innovation: Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L
“The Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM is the first standard zoom lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras to maintain a constant aperture of f/2 throughout its entire focal length range. This allows photographers to limit depth of field to a degree previously only possible with prime lenses, and allows faster shutter speeds in low-light conditions. The image quality and sharpness are excellent throughout the zoom range, while the USM motor provides fast and reliable autofocus. The lens is a spectacular demonstration of what can be achieved with the EOS R mount.”
Photo Innovation: Sony Real-time Eye AF
“Sony’s latest real-time autofocus algorithms are a game-changer. The enhanced Real-time Eye AF focuses precisely on a person’s eyes – or even on a pet’s with the Real-time Animal Eye AF function. In continuous autofocus mode, Real-time Eye AF maintains focus on a moving subject even when part of their face is temporarily obscured or turned away from the camera. The AI-driven improvements also provide accurate and reliable tracking for moving subjects. The Real-time Tracking system recognizes the whole body, and the focus area will seamlessly change between the face and the eyes. This means sports photographers can reliably track unpredictable movements, trusting the AF system to get every shot in focus.”
Photo Software: Skylum Luminar
“Skylum’s Luminar 3, soon to witness an update to v4, is an image-editing program for Mac OS and Windows that allows photographers of all skill levels to optimise their pictures with just a few mouse clicks – and with stunning results. This is made possible thanks to artificial intelligence technology. Editing, selecting and masking are all automated, and suddenly these tedious tasks that previously could only be done manually are now achieved within a second. Experienced photographers can still make adjustments manually to get the most out of the software. It is available both as a standalone program and as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.”
Zoom Lens: Tamron 35-150mm f/2.8-4 Di VC OSD
Wide-Angle Zoom Lens: Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD
Standard Zoom Lens: Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS
Pro Standard Zoom Lens: Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
Telephoto Zoom Lens: Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM
Pro Telephoto Zoom Lens: Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM
Wide-Angle Prime Lens: Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM
Standard Prime Lens: Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L
Portrait Prime Lens: Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM
Telephoto Prime Lens: Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS
Super-Telephoto Prime Lens: Canon EF 600mm f/4 IS III
You can find the complete list of winners and comments over on the EISA Awards website.