Cameras and Lenses of the Year, 2018

It is that time of year, when we chat about the cameras that have been announced in 2018 and toss in some commentary by our in-house experts. We also make time for our favorite new lenses and a few accessories and miscellaneous pieces of gear. At the end of the show, we’ll go around the room and offer our thoughts on each of our favorite cameras from this year.

While we already touched upon the new Canon and Nikon mirrorless full-frame cameras in a previous episode, we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge these big announcements at the top of the show. Other than these long-awaited announcements, 2018 was a comparatively quiet year for other manufacturers. Sony announced the Alpha a7 III Mirrorless full-frame camera at the beginning of the year, and both the RX100 VA and the RX100 VI; Zeiss has everyone curious about its full-frame ZX1 Digital Camera. Leica put out the Leica Q-P Digital Camera along with M10-D.  Fujifilm bookended its year with two big announcements, the Fujifilm X-H1 in February, and the X-T3 later in the year—and added a few smaller X-series cameras, point-and-shoots, and the Instax SQ6 Taylor Swift Edition along the way. Panasonic announced the Lumix DC-GH5S as the update to the G5, and Olympus released the PEN E-PL9.

Several lenses were highlighted during the roundup episode, including the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di RXD Lens for Sony E and the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC CN lens. The Zeiss Batis 40mm f/2 CF lens for Sony E also found favor, as did the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM lens and the Rokinon 24mm f/2.8 AF lens. 

In addition to cameras and lenses, we spoke about new bags from Lowepro and Peak Design; lights from Luxli and Profoto; tripods by Robus; and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the GoPro Hero 7.  

This really was an episode full of insightful gear talk, and we discussed a wide range of products; we hope you enjoy and that it will help with any gift-buying decisions you may be making.

Guests: Chelsea Jensen and Shawn Steiner