Best cameras and lenses 2020
In our Christmas issue, we like to take a look back over the previous year and reveal our favourite new kit. Of course, 2020 has been a very difficult year that has been as challenging for huge companies as for individuals. As a result, fewer new cameras and lenses have appeared than usual.
The year started with the launch of Canon and Nikon’s flagship professional sports DSLRs, the EOS-1D X Mark III and D6, in readiness for the much-anticipated Tokyo Olympics. These formed part of the usual flurry of releases in the run-up to the Japanese photo industry’s big annual trade show CP+ at the end of February. But then the reality of the coronavirus epidemic struck, CP+ was cancelled, and eventually the Olympics was postponed, too.
As factories across Asia shut down and consumer demand slumped, new products were quietly delayed until the outlook started to look more positive in the summer. Since then, we’ve seen a healthy stream of new cameras and lenses, but with manufacturers clearly targeting sectors where they feel they can make a profit, even when selling in lower volumes than usual. As a result, we’ve mostly seen cameras aimed at the committed hobbyist, along with some that specifically target vloggers making videos for YouTube.
Manufacturers also seem to have reached a consensus over what high-end mirrorless cameras should look like. This year has been all about relatively small SLR-shaped bodies with a central viewfinder, fully articulated screen, dual card slots and in-body image stabilisation. We’ve seen some interesting attempts at compact full-frame bodies, too, but Sigma’s fp is too stripped-back for our liking, while Sony’s Alpha 7C suffers from poor handling and a tiny viewfinder.
Full-frame domination
The industry’s headlong charge towards full-frame mirrorless continues apace, to the extent that for the first time in the digital era, more full-frame cameras have been released over the course of 2020 than those with other sensor sizes put together. Likewise, while many fewer lenses have been launched than usual, the vast majority have been for full-frame mirrorless. The flipside of this has been a paucity of interesting cameras in the sub-£1,000 bracket, with the honourable exception of Fujifilm’s attractive new X-S10 that’s designed to lure Canon and Nikon APS-C DSLR users to mirrorless.
Whether this is a pointer to an expensive ‘new normal’ for the camera industry remains to be seen. But it seems likely that we’ll see less emphasis on cheap mass-market cameras in the future, and more on high-end enthusiast models. Read on to discover our favourite cameras and lenses of 2020.
Fujifilm X100V
● £1,299 ● www.fujifilm.eu/uk
WHAT WE LIKE
● Classic, stylish design
● Fantastic image quality
● Useful tilting screen
It’s now a decade since Fujifilm released its original, groundbreaking X100. By combining a large APS-C sensor with a fixed lens in a classically styled body, the company not only transformed its fortunes and reputation among serious photographers, but also established one of its best-loved camera lines. This year’s fifth-generation X100V maintains everything we love about its predecessors, while adding in some significant and very welcome updates.
Outwardly, the new model looks very much as before. Its design is reminiscent of 35mm rangefinder cameras, with an array of traditional analogue control dials for shutter speed, aperture, ISO and exposure compensation. It also maintains the unique hybrid viewfinder that gives a choice of optical or electronic viewing. But elsewhere it’s all change, with a completely redesigned 23mm f/2 lens that now includes two aspherical
