Photography News Awards 2018 winners announced
The competition is over, the votes have been counted and the results are in. Discover what Photography News readers consider to be the best imaging kit available…
Photography is very much about workflow – and the Photography News Awards 2018 reflect that accordingly.
We begin with the capture category, which includes the expected cameras and lenses, but also covers memory cards, tripods, filters, bags and lighting. Once you have your images, you need to do something with them, so we recognise that with our categories for software, colour management kit and monitors. After you have worked on your images, you need to output them. We all know most pictures stay on hard drives or get posted online, but there is nothing like holding a lovely print; thus we have awards for printers and inkjet media.
From umpteen product categories, it doesn’t seem fair to highlight any particular winner, but we’re going to anyway.
The Innovation Award went to the L-Mount Alliance between Leica, Panasonic and Sigma. Major brands collaborating isn’t especially innovative and it probably happens all the time at some level, but we just don’t know about it. The L-Mount alliance, with two major brands such as Panasonic and Sigma adopting the lens mount of another, Leica, is less usual, but it makes sense. Panasonic has already announced two mirrorless full-frame cameras and Sigma has recently unveiled an 11 prime lens line-up using the L-Mount. It would be a major surprise if L-Mount products did’t figure prominently in the 2019 awards.
Medium format digital is never going to be mass market, but there is no doubt Fujifilm has made the joys of bigger images more affordable than ever with its GFX system. This year’s winning medium format camera is the GFX 50R and, while its sensor and processor are known quantities, packaging it in a different and more compact body and with handling reminiscent of its old roll-film cameras has definitely attracted plaudits.
Enjoy, and thank you for supporting the awards. It is, as always, massively appreciated.
CONSUMER DSLR
Winner: Canon EOS 800D
Nominations: Canon EOS 2000D, Nikon D3500, Nikon D7200, Pentax K-7 and Sony A68
ADVANCED CSC
Winner: Panasonic Lumix DC-G9
Nominations: Canon EOS R, Fujifilm X-T20, Leica M10-P, Nikon Z 6, Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and Sony A7 III
ADVANCED DSLR
Winner: Nikon D850
Nominations: Canon EOS 6D Mark ll, Canon EOS 7D Mark ll, Nikon D500, Pentax K-1 Mark II and Sony A77 II
PROFESSIONAL CSC
Winner: Fujifilm X-T3
Nominations: Nikon Z 7, Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S, Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Sony A7R III and Sony A9
PROFESSIONAL DSLR
Winner: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Nominations: Canon EOS 5DS R, Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, Nikon D5 and Sony A99 II
CONSUMER CSC
Winner: Olympus PEN E-PL9
Nominations: Canon EOS M50, Fujifilm X-T100, Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80
COMPACT/BRIDGE
Winner: Panasonic Lumix LX100 II
Nominations: Canon PowerShot SX740 HS, Fujifilm XF10, Leica C-Lux, Nikon Coolpix P1000 and Sony DSC-HX95
MEDIUM FORMAT
Winner: Fujifilm GFX 50R
Nominations: Fujifilm GFX 50S, Hasselblad H6D-400c MS, Hasselblad X1D-50c, Leica S (Typ 007) and Phase One XF IQ3 100MP
WIDE-ANGLE LENS
Winner: Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art
Nominations: Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM, Fujifilm XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28mm f/1.4E ED, Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 F, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art, Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM, Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2, Tokina Fírin 20mm f/2 FE AF and Zeiss Milvus 25mm f/1.4
STANDARD LENS
Winner: Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD
Nominations: Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Fujifilm XF16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR, Fujifilm XF35mm f/2 R WR, Nikon Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.2 PRO, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Art, Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art and Tokina Opera 50mm f/1.4 FF
TELEPHOTO LENS
Winner: Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sport
Nominations: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM, Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III USM, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR, Fujifilm XF200mm f/2 R LM OIS WR, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR, Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 EF, Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS and Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD
SUPERZOOM LENS
Winner: Olympus M.Zuiko 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO
Nominations: Fujifilm XF18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS, Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD
MACRO LENS
Winner: Voigtländer 65mm f/2 Macro Apo-Lanthar
Nominations:
Fujifilm XF80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro, Laowa 25mm f/2.8 Ultra Macro, Olympus M.Zuiko 30mm f/3.5 Macro, Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art and Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 VC USD
MEDIUM FORMAT LENS
Winner: Hasselblad XCD 80mm f/1.9
Nominations: Hasselblad XCD 21mm f/4, Fujifilm GF110mm f/2 R LM WR and Fujifilm GF250mm f/4 R LM OIS WR
TRIPOD: ALLOY
Winner: Manfrotto BeFree Aluminium Travel
Nominations: 3 Legged Thing Punks Travis, Benro Slim Travel – Aluminium, Kenro Karoo Compact Tripod (Large, Aluminium), Nest Traveller NT-6294AK Tripod and Slik PRO 700DX
TRIPOD: CARBON FIBRE
Winner: Kenro Karoo Ultimate Travel Tripod (Carbon Fibre) 401C
Nominations: 3 Legged Thing Equinox Albert, Gitzo GT3543LS Systematic, Manfrotto BeFree GT carbon, Novo Explora T20 and Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 263CGHT
ON-CAMERA FLASH
Winner: Rotolight NEO 2
Nominations: Hähnel Modus 600RT, Metz Mecablitz 64 AF-1, Nissin Di700A, Pixapro Li-ION580 MKII TTL, Pixel X900 and Profoto A1
PORTABLE FLASH
Winner: Profoto B10
Nominations: Broncolor Siros 400 L, Elinchrom ELB 500 TTL, Elinchrom ELB 1200, Interfit S1, Pixapro Pika200 TTL and Profoto B1X
MAINS FLASH
Winner: Interfit Honey Badger 320Ws
Nominations: Broncolor Siros 400 S, Elinchrom ELC Pro HD and Profoto D2
CONTINUOUS LIGHT
Winner: NanGuang RGB LED Tube Light
Nominations: Interfit LM8 18in Daylight LED Ring Light and Rotolight Anova PRO 2 Bi-Colour
FILTER
Winner: Marumi Magnetic Filter System
Nominations: Benro 100mm Filter System, H&Y magnetic Filter System, Hoya Ultra-Pro Filters, Lee Filters Reverse ND Filter and SRB Elite Filter System
MEMORY CARD
Winner: Lexar Professional 1000x SDHC/SDXC UHS-II
Nominations: PNY Elite Performance 512GB SDXC UHS-I, Samsung MicroSDXC PRO Endurance 128GB, SanDisk Extreme microSD UHS-I 400GB and Sony SD SF-G TOUGH UHS-II
EXTERNAL STORAGE DEVICE
Winner: G-Technology G-DRIVE Mobile SSD
Nominations: Drobo 8D, LaCie Portable SSD, Samsung Portable SSD X5 and Western Digital My Passport Wireless SSD
SOFT BAG/BACKPACK
Winner: Tenba Shootout 16L DSLR Backpack
Nominations: Crumpler Kingpin Camera Bag 9000, Gitzo Adventury 45L, Lowepro FreeLine BP 350 AW, MindShift FirstLight 30L and Think Tank StreetWalker V2.0
ROLLER/HARD CASE
Winner: Vanguard Alta Fly 55T
Nominations: Manfrotto ProLight Reloader Tough-55 LowLid, Lowepro PhotoStream SP 200 and Think Tank Airport TakeOff V2.0 T499
PRINTER
Winner: Epson EcoTank ET-7750
Nominations: Canon Pixma PRO-100S, DNP DS820A, Fujifilm Frontier-S, Mitsubishi Smart D90EV and Tomy KiiPix
INKJET MEDIA: PHOTOGRAPHIC FINISH
Winner: PermaJet Photo Lustre 310
Nominations: Canson Infinity Platine Fibre Rag 310GSM – satin, Fotospeed Platinum Baryta 300 Signature, Hahnemühle Photo and Gloss Baryta 320
INKJET MEDIA: FINE ART FINISH
Winner: Hahnemühle William Turner 310
Nominations: Canson Infinity Rag Photographique 310gsm, Fotospeed Platinum Cotton 305, Hahnemühle Photo Rag Metallic and PermaJet Photo Art Silk 290
COLOUR MANAGEMENT DEVICE
Winner: DataColor Spyder5PRO+
Nominations: Datacolor Spyder5CAPTURE PRO X-Rite, X-Rite ColorMunki Photographer Kit and X-Rite i1Studio
MONITOR
Winner: BenQ SW320 Pro 32in IPS LCD
Nominations: BenQ SW240 24in IPS LCD, Dell UltraSharp 32 UP3216Q, Eizo ColorEdge CG318-4K 31in, Philips Brilliance 40in 4K Ultra HD LCD (BDM4037UW) and Samsung 32in QLED 4K UHD U32H850
INNOVATION
Winner: L-Mount Alliance: Leica Camera AG, Panasonic and Sigma
Nominations: Canon EOS R System and Nikon Z System
SOFTWARE
Winner: Serif Affinity Photo
Nominations: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC, Portrait Professional v18 and DxO PhotoLab 2
Best retailer winner: CameraWorld
Best Used specialist retailer winner: MPB
Processing Lab winner: One Vision
Photo Website Provider winner: Amazing Internet
Training provider winner: The Photographer Academy
