What’s your favorite camera of the year? Cast your vote for our 2022 Camera of the Year Reader’s Choice Award! (UPDATE: Poll closed)

 

 

It's that time of year again! Camera of the Year Awards time! As we approach the end of the year, it's time to look back at all the cameras (and lenses) that came out in 2022 -- or that we here at IR reviewed in 2022 -- and assess all the good, the bad, their strengths and weaknesses, and pick our favorites. The best cameras, of all shapes and sizes, and the best lenses. This year saw the debut of some really amazing and impressive cameras from several different manufacturers. It was a busy time for us as camera reviewers, and once again, it was another stellar year for photographers.

As we've done in the past couple of years, we also want to include you, our loyal IR audience, to take part in the decision-making process. We want you all to have your say, as well, and vote for your favorite camera of the year. The editors here at IR are still debating and deciding on our own favorites, but in the meanwhile, the voting poll has just opened for our Reader's Choice Award of 2022!

As with previous Reader's Choice polls, we've tried to simplify the voting process somewhat. This year, we've narrowed down the selection to the eight best models released this year, and it's an impressive group of camera bodies indeed. Once again, we have a nice variety across the different camera brands in our poll. A few manufacturers have more than one product on the ballot, too, as we felt these products all were deserving of a shot at the top spot. Also, a couple of models, namely the Canon R3 and Nikon Z9, technically first debuted (at least in part) in 2021, but they either did not make our sample deadline for the 2021 Awards or the product did not ship to the public until sometime in 2022. So they are included in this year's awards selection.

We'll be unveiling our own Camera of the Year awards soon, of course, so stay tuned for that. We'll have many more categories included, as well as our picks for the best lenses released in the past year.

But for now, it's your turn. So take a close look at the ballot box and get your votes in today!

 

 

Here is a quick rundown of our selections for our Reader's Choice Awards for 2022. Listed in alphabetical order:

Canon EOS R3

Canon's most pro-oriented R-series mirrorless, the R3 is all about speed and performance. Featuring a 1D-like gripped body design, eye-control AF built into the electronic viewfinder, a 24MP stacked CMOS sensor, a new processor, overhauled AF system, 6K RAW video recording capabilities and much much more, the Canon R3 is kitted-out with Canon's latest and greatest mirrorless technology. In our review, the R3 pretty excelled at everything, offering fantastic image quality, outstanding autofocus and burst-shooting capabilities, and being incredibly well-built and comfortable to use. The R3 may not have the highest resolution compared to some of its competitors and compared to the other cameras on this list, it's certainly one of the most expensive. This is a pro camera through and through. Pricey or not, the Canon R3 is a stellar camera, and an easy one to include on our list here.

 

 

Fujifilm X-H2S

The Fujifilm X-H2S not only has a new, updated physical design with excellent ergonomics but also an impressive, all-new imaging pipeline with Fuji's very first stacked X-Trans sensor. Fujifilm's most pro-oriented X Series camera to date, the X-H2S has a 26MP stacked sensor combined with a new image processor, incredibly fast burst rates of up to 40fps, an upgraded AF system with AI-based subject-detection modes (another first for a Fuji camera), 6.2K video, 7-stop IBIS and more. The name of the game with this camera is speed and performance, and in our review, the X-H2S lives up to its impressive specs, and it proved to easily be Fuji's best camera for sports and wildlife photographers. The high-speed stacked sensor helps give this camera a major boost in continuous shooting and AF performance. It's not a perfect camera, and it stumbles a little bit in some areas, but overall, the Fujifilm X-H2S is an amazing camera with excellent image quality, performance and design.

 

 

Fujifilm X-T5

The second Fujifilm camera to appear on our list is the much-anticipated successor to the popular X-T4, the Fuji X-T5. Sporting a revised design with a slightly larger grip and new LCD design, the X-T5 maintains that classic X Series styling and manual dials that Fuji fans have come to know and love. At the same time, the imaging pipeline of the X-T5 is essentially the same as on the flagship X-H2, with a high-res 40MP X-Trans sensor, updated 7-stop IBIS system and X Processor 5 imaging chip. Essentially, the X-T5 is the flagship X-H2 crammed into a slimmer, lighter and more affordable package. It's an amazing bang-for-your-buck camera, and one that's incredibly stylish, fun to use and ruggedly built. Like its X-H2 bigger brother, the X-T5's 40MP sensor and new processor deliver some excellent, high-resolution images. The AF and performance is the same as the X-H2, as well, with fast AF performance, AI-based subject-detection modes, and fast burst shooting up to 15fps at full resolution. It's hard to deny how much of an all-around impressive camera the X-T5 is, especially at this price point.

 

 

Nikon Z9

The Nikon Z9 is the second camera that was technically unveiled, at least somewhat, back towards the end of 2021, but we didn't review the camera until the beginning of 2022. And there's no way we could forget about including this incredible camera. This top-of-the-line Nikon Z-series takes this relatively new Z mirrorless series of cameras to a completely new level. As we said in our review, Nikon calls this camera "revolutionary," and we have to agree. The Z9 has a 45MP stacked full-frame sensor, a first for a Nikon camera, which underpins this camera's impressive capabilities. The fast readout speed of the sensor lets the Z9 get away with having only an electronic shutter, which is very unique. It also lets it have 20fps RAW burst, 30fps JPEG burst shooting, 120fps at 11MP, and a truly blackout-free EVF experience. In our review, the Nikon Z9 thoroughly impressed us. The image quality and the performance were both outstanding. Excellent image quality, outstanding autofocus performance, and blazingly-fast performance. "The Nikon Z9 is an outstanding camera and Nikon's best."

 

 

OM System OM-1

The first camera model baring the "OM System" branding from the newly-formed OM Digital Solutions Corporation, the separate company spun-out of Olympus's Imaging Division, and boy, oh boy, what a camera it is, indeed! Coming in as the spiritual successor to the Olympus E-M1 Mark III and, in a way, the E-M1X, too, this flagship OM System packs in all the bells and whistles into a characteristically small, lightweight and incredibly rugged body. The heart of the OM-1 is a unique sensor in the world of Micro Four Thirds, a 20MP stacked Four Thirds CMOS sensor, which is the first stacked sensor in an MFT camera. (Stacked sensors...are you sensing a trend here in 2022?) The stacked sensor, while the same resolution as several previous Olympus cameras, gives the OM-1 a major performance boost as well as better AF performance and improved image quality. The camera can shoot at up to 50fps with C-AF and an insanely-fast 120fps with single-shot AF, and all at full resolution. The image quality is also better at higher ISOs, and the AF speed and sophistication are improved as well. The OM-1 includes even more AI-based intelligent subject-detection modes than we saw in the E-M1X. The last line of our review sums it up pretty well: "The OM-1 is more impressive than any previous Olympus camera in just about every way." Overall, it's a fantastic camera, and especially so if you nature and wildlife and want a small, durable camera system.

 

 

OM System OM-5

The second OM System camera on our list is the svelte OM-5, the successor to the popular Olympus E-M5 Mark III. Unlike the OM-1, this camera features no Olympus branding at all. What you get with this new camera is essentially the E-M5 Mark III with the imaging pipeline of the E-M1 Mark III. It's not a drastically different camera overall from a physical standpoint; the OM-5 looks and feels like the E-M5 III, which isn't a bad thing. The camera is small, lightweight and incredibly easy to carry. What's more, the OM-5 has improved weather sealing, making it an even better companion on your next outdoor adventure. The image quality is very good overall, and if you're familiar with the E-M1 III, you'll be right at home with the excellent imaging performance of the OM-5. Overall, it's not a revolutionary camera, but it's still an excellent one. Compact, light, affordable and captures amazing images. What's not to love, really?

 

 

Panasonic GH6

The venerable GH series continues its excellent, well-deserved legacy with the sixth-generation mode, the Lumix GH6, and it's (somehow) even more of a powerhouse hybrid camera than ever before. Though technically a stills camera, too, its main claim to fame and popularity is its video capabilities, and the GH6 offers those in spades. Still images, of course, look amazing thanks to the GH6's new 25MP Four Thirds sensor, making it the highest-resolution Micro Four Thirds camera on the market. The camera can capture excellent images across a wide range of ISOs, and thanks to its improved IBIS system, it offers a new 100MP handheld high-res shot mode now, too. When it comes to video recording, it feels like the Panasonic GH6 has basically every video format and resolution under the sun, including 5.7K 60p 10bit, 4K 4:2:2 10-bit 4K 60p and Full HD at 300fps in 10-bit. Plus, there's Apple ProRes 422 video recording internally, unlimited video recording time, and an attachable fan accessory to help ensure extended recording times. The GH6 really is a "Swiss Army Knife" camera for multimedia creators, with features and performance to fit nearly any budget or production style.

 

 

Sony A7R V

Last but definitely not least is the long-awaited Sony A7R V, the successor to the wildly-popular A7R IV. Combining high resolution with high performance, the Sony A7R V continues the Mark IV's legacy as an incredibly versatile and capable camera. The A7R V keeps the same impressive 61MP full-frame sensor as its predecessor (which we are not complaining about!) yet pairs it with an all-new image processor and a dedicated AI Processing Unit. Suffice it to say, the image quality out this camera is incredible. It is stunning. Fine detail, dynamic range and colors are all very, very good. The biggest improvements to this camera are with AF, with the camera getting a major overhaul in focusing features and sophistication. The dedicated AI Unit handles the intelligent subject-detection features, which now go beyond just face/eye-detection, and now include things like human pose estimation, head and body tracking for animals, and insect detection (something we've never seen before in a camera). The camera isn't the fastest, shooting at up just 10fps, but still, the camera is very capable at capturing sharp images in all sorts of situations. For video creators, even though this is mainly a stills-oriented camera, you're still presented with an impressive array of options, such as 8K 24p video and 16-bit RAW 4K 60p video out via HDMI. All in all, the Sony A7R V is another incredible camera in Sony's marvelous Alpha series of full-frame mirrorless cameras.