At the end of every year, we like to take stock of the new cameras and lenses that have been released and tease out some market trends. It’s clear that in 2022, camera makers were still suffering from the after-effects of Covid and its associated supply chain problems, with relatively few new models released. At the time of writing, there were just 14 new cameras aimed at enthusiast photographers, compared to 34 pre-pandemic in 2019.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen a decisive shift towards full-frame mirrorless as the dominant camera type. But 2022 brought something of a revival of smaller formats. Just two out of 12 new mirrorless models were full frame, albeit in the strikingly impressive forms of the Sony Alpha 7R V and Canon EOS 6D Mark II. Panasonic and OM Digital Solutions (formerly Olympus) both released ambitious flagship Micro Four Thirds models, the GH6 and OM-1 respectively, with the latter backed up the smaller, travel-friendly OM-5. Fujifilm wowed us with three superb powerhouses, namely the 40MP X-H2 and X-T5, plus the super-fast X-H2S that can shoot at 40 frames per second. Canon showed up with two APS-C mirrorless models using the RF lens mount, the 31MP EOS R7 and 24MP EOS R10, while Nikon contributed the budget-friendly Z 30 that’s aimed substantially at vloggers.
To understand whether this truly represents a resurgence of smaller formats, though, we also need to consider the year’s lens releases. Of the 48 new optics announced for mirrorless systems, 27 were for full-frame, 13 for APS-C, 4 for Micro Four Thirds, and 4 for medium format. This tells its own story, really. Most disappointingly, neither Canon nor Nikon have shown any serious inclination to build up APS-C mirrorless lens ranges, instead preferring to push users towards buying larger, more expensive full-frame optics.
Ricoh Imaging, meanwhile, is still trying to keep the DSLR flame alive. However, its ‘new’ Pentax KF DSLR is practically identical to the six-year-old K-70, and likewise its only new lens is a 100mm f/2.8 macro that looks very similar to the previous model, albeit with updated optics. On the flip side, around 40 more DSLR lenses disappeared from retailers’ shelves, including many from Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Tamron.
As for fixed-lens
