[Music] Hi I'm Dustin Abbott and I'm here for The 2023 da Awards where I look back Over the various pieces of gear that I Reviewed in 2023 and I look at what Stood out to me as being the most Exceptional in its class we're going to Break that down by about five or six Different categories and we'll also take A look add at least one runner up in Each each category as I looked back over My schedule for 2023 I added them up and I reviewed a total of 52 different Cameras and lenses in 2023 of course Along with a lot of other additional Items and so there's a lot of content That we have looked at over the year but We're going to start by taking a look at Cameras that I reviewed in 2023 and so Those include the Fujifilm xt5 the Sony A7r Mark 5 the Canon R6 Mark I the Fujifilm xh2 the Fujifilm Xs20 the Fujifilm gfx 100 Mark II that's A medium format camera and then the Sony A7c Mark I and so in this particular Class obviously there's a few apsc Cameras in there there's some full-frame Cameras and one medium format so what Stood out to me as being the camera of The year starting with the runner up it Is the Fujifilm gfx 100 Mark II this is Their new flagship camera it is Beautifully made it handles more nicely Than any of the medium format cameras
From Fuji that I've used before it is More accessible it is less expensive Than its predecessor plus it Sports the Best sensor that I have ever tested in Any camera if they can get that Autofocus just a little bit better they Would pretty much be in the place where They are legitimately comp competing With full frame at least as far as the Cameras go and so fantastic job from Fujifilm my winner however is the Sony A7r Mark 5 I actually ended up buying The camera after reviewing it despite Having no real intention to purchase it Prior to my review it is a camera that I Use daily in fact I'm filming on it Right now IE appreciate all the subtle Refinements that really make it a joy to Use and one of the biggest of those is Finally the inclusion of medium raw and The ability to shoot at a lower but Still very useful resolution point in Situations where I don't need all of 61 Megapixels but it has amazing autofocus It's userfriendly it has great video Options it really is just a fantastic Jack of all trades camera that just Happens to also do incredibly high Resolution images and so it is my winner For the camera of the Year our second Category is zoom lens of the year and so There is actually a lot of zoom lenses That I reviewed in 2023 not all of them Released in 2023 there are a few where I
Was catching up where for whatever Reason I had not reviewed them Previously but lenses included the sigma 60 to 600 mm sport lens uh two Fuji non Zoom lenses the 150 to 600 mm and the 100 to 400 millimeter I also reviewed The pair of uh Sony GM zooms including The 24 to70 f2.8 GM mark2 and the 70 to2 200 F2 2.8 GM Mark I and no I haven't Yet reviewed the 16 to 35 millim Mark 2G Master lens I'm working on it right now However it's not going to make the cut For this year but will be a contender in 2024 I also had a look at a trio of Tamron zoom lenses that were re-released In Fujifilm x-mount as Fuji has started To open up to third party lenses so that Included the Tamron 11 to 20 mm f2.8 Zoom the 17 to 70 mm f2.8 zoom and then The big telephoto the 150 to 500 mm I Also looked at the Sony 70 to 200 mm F4g lens Mark 2 I looked at the fujian 18 to 120 MIM F4 the Sony 24 to 70 MIM F4 G lens the sigma 100 to 400 MM which Has just been re-released in X Mount the Tamron 70 to 180 mm f2.8 G2 Tamron 17 to 50 mm F4 and then finally a trio of Sigma lenses including the sigma 10 to 18 mm f2.8 the Sigma 70 to 200 mm f2.8 2.8 sport long awaited there and then Finally the Sigma 18 to 50 mm f2.8 Re-released in X mount in 20123 and so first we'll start with a Pair of honorable mentions and then my
Runnerup my honorable mentions fall to a Pair of telephoto zoom lenses that is The Tamron 70 to 180 mm G2 and the Sigma 70 to 200 mm f2.8 sport both of these Lenses are really exceptionally good and They give really incredible options to The incredible but also expensive Sony 70 to 200 mm f2.8 G Master Mark I and so They are well worthy of some mention Here but my runner up actually goes to The sigma 10 to 18 mm f2.8 that lens is Compact it is sharp it is Affordable It's a very small wide angle uh Zoom 4 Apsc and in most comparisons that I put It up against it is smaller and lighter Than lenses it competes against but it Is optically better and much less Expensive it really I think is is the Wideangle zoom to get at this point on The various uh platforms it's released For including e- Mount uh Fuji X Mount And then also Leica L mounts my winner However for the year is the Sony 70 to 200 mm F4 G macro lens it is put simply Maybe the most versatile zoom lens that I have ever used and while other lenses You know claim to have some macro Pro Performance the way that Sony executed It with the ability to get that one to Two magnification at any focal length in The zoom range really gives a lot of Creative options it plays extremely well With Sony's teleconverters it is Optically exceptional its autofocus is
Incredible it is a lens I don't think is Maybe excited people on paper but in Actuality when you use it you realize Just how useful a lens it is and how That Sony basically nailed every single One of the details with it and so it is My winner for the zoom lens of the Year Our third category is budget apsc prime Lenses and so I used the cut off as $600 So this is sub $600 and this is specifically for apsc There actually are a number of lenses That fall in that category including the Fuji non 30mm f2.8 macro the Fuji non 8 Mm f3.5 wide angle the sigma 23mm f f1.4 The vrox proa 75mm f1.2 released in 2023 In emount which I tested the viltrox pro AF 27 mm f1.2 and then some less Expensive the TTR Artis uh 35mm f1.8 and Then a trio of the Siri sniper lenses 23mm f1.2 33mm f1.2 and 56 mm f1.2 Lenses and so all of those that's a Total of nine different lenses fall into That particular category my runner up is The vro pro AF 75mm f1.2 it was not a New lens for 2023 and that it was Released in X Mount at the end of of 2022 however on e-mount it came with it Came better than ever it came with more Features it came with a more confident Autofocus system it is continues to be Incredibly sharp and I think it's Probably the the best apsc port portrait Lens that I have used at this point it
Create produces just beautiful beautiful Uh images it's very reasonably priced You can get it for a little over 500 Bucks if you use a discount code and it Just is extremely high performing and so It is my runner up and not far removed From that is my winner which is the vrox Proa 27 mm f1.2 so far only released on X Mount though it will come I believed e Mount and then Nikon Z or Zed mounts and I'll just put it this way right now on On my Fujifilm xh2 body it is my Favorite lens I love the focal length I Love the rendering I love how sharp it Is even at f1.2 but it has that unique Combination where it's got the sharpness Of some competing lenses but it has Nicer bouquet than any of them and it is One of the few lenses that actually Handles the 40 megapixel sensor uh That's in the xh2 and the xt5 it is Incredibly good and I love pretty much Everything about it some people will say It's a little bit larger than what they They would like I completely get that But to me the optical performance makes It well worth it it is my winner for Budget apsc primes in 2023 so how about budget full frame Fullframe prime lenses so once again That's under $600 and we have a fair Number we have 13 different lenses that Fall in this category those include the Lawa Argus 28mm f1.2 Sigma 50mm F2 Sigma
17 mm F4 a trio of samyang vaf lenses 24 Mm 35 mm and 75 mm T 1.9 lenses we have A TT Artis 100 mm f2.8 that's a macro Lens it's also a tilt shift lens there's The vro 16 mm f1.8 the pergear 14 mm F2.8 Mark I the vrox 28 mm f1.8 the Canon RF 28 millimeter f2.8 the Brighton Star 28 millimeter f2.8 and then finally The vro um 20 mm f2.8 lenses so a lot of Different lenses that fall in that Category this year but my runner up is The Canon RF 28mm F2.8 this lens is just better than what I expected it's a pancake lens very Small but it is optically really really Great It produced what I felt like were Really quite special images it is Extremely portable obviously and it cost Less than $300 and frankly I've not seen A lot of lenses on Canon RF to this Point that are both inexpensive and High- Performing but if you like the 28 Mm focal length this is a lens that is Pretty much a no-brainer to add to your Canon RF kit my winner is the vrox AF 16 Mm f1.8 frankly this is a lens that Doesn't feel like it should even be in This class once again it's a lens that With a discount code you can get it for A little over 500 bucks but it has GM Levels of features performance and Quality in terms of the build and the Execution of the lens it is a lens that Really kind of blew my mind at how good
It was and not just me it is one that Has been pretty much a universal hit and So if you're have a Sony e-mount camera And you're looking for a full-frame Wide- angle prime lens it's a no-brainer Go for the VR AF 16 mm f1.8 it is my Winner for the budget prime lens our Fifth category is premium prime lenses And so these are over $600 and because There are fewer lenses I did not break Down the categories um and so this will Be a combination of fullframe apsc and Medium format lenses so the contenders Include the sigma 50mm f1.4 DN lens the Sony 50mm f1.4 G Master lens the fujian XF 33mm f1.4 along with the 23mm f1.4 Both Apsc there is the medium format uh GF 55mm F1.7 from Fuji and then finally another Sigma lens and that is the 14 mm F1.4 wideangle prime lens so a total of Seven lenses in that category and my Runner up is the fujinon GF 55mm F1.7 it is put simply my favorite GF Lens thus far it is an incredibly useful Focal length it has the matches the Fastest maximum aperture on medium Format it is incredibly sharp even when I reviewed it on 102 megapixel sensor Um it has as noted it has nice bouquet Has a great focal length I have kicked The tires with the idea of buying into The gfx system and if I were this is the
Lens that would be at the very top of my List for first purchases for GF my Winner is the Sony 50mm f1.4 G Master Lens this is a lens that again after I Reviewed it I bought one and in fact I'm Filming on it right now and since I Bought one back in the spring of 2023 Free I can tell you this that almost Every episode that you have seen has Been filmed with that lens it does Everything well and it is a little bit Overlooked because it's overshadowed by The 50mm f1.2 a lot of people when it Was released said why we don't need Another 50mm lens but when you have used It to me I've reviewed dozens and dozens Of 50mm lenses over the years this is a Lens that kind of combines the essence Of all the best qualities of those Lenses into one it has beautiful Rendering it is Extreme sharp it has Amazing autofocus and they have kept the Size reasonable and the price fairly Reasonable and so I think it is kind of The convergence of the best of 50mm Lenses that I have reviewed to this Point it's a lens that I reach for Constantly so those are the main Category winners I've got two other Bonus categories for you if you're Interested in more and that is number One which company had the best year in Our industry to me the winner is vrs Before 2023 vro was a novelty an
Afterthought after 2023 they are a Serious disruptor in this space they Released five lenses in 2023 that Included the 27 mm f1.2 the e-mount Version of the 75mm f1.2 the 28mm f1.4 The 16mm f1.8 and then the 20mm f2.8 Four out of those five lenses I would Say were exceptional for their class and Are basically pretty much my favorite Lens is released in those particular Categories and so they have done an Amazing job while keeping the price down And if you hear about their future plans Their future plans sound even more Ambitious so this is a company that I Have gotten increasingly excited about Because they're not just doing the same Thing that everyone else is but they are Really kind of pushing the boundary of What's achievable particularly at the Price point that they sell their lenses So Kudos Kudos toil TRS they are adding The features that I want the autofocus Performance that I want want and Certainly the optical performance that I'm looking for one final category What's the lens out of all of these that Surprised me the most I would have to Award this to the pergear 14mm f2.8 Mark I my expectations were extremely low for That lens going into it I hadn't Reviewed something from perger in a long Time and they you know they pitched to Me constantly and so finally I said yes
To this lens I took it on a trip with me And I shot a lot with it always on A7r Mark 5 that's 61 megapixels and I Was shocked at how sharp the lens was There are some issues about it that show That it's a budget lens but it can Produce incredibly Dynamic images and it Only cost about $260 it is a huge value and hugely Exceeded my expectations for what it Could do and how Compact and nicely Built it could be for that price point And so it is the lens that surprised me The most as I review 2023 the the thing That stands out to me probably above all Is that we are definitely living in a Golden age of Photography there are so Many incredible lenses and cameras being Released and we have the opportunity in Many cases to choose between all kinds Of great options when we're wanting to Select a lens or a camera that's a great Thing for us as the market and here is Hoping that 2024 proves as good as 2023 Was for us as photographers have a great Happy New Year and remember remember let The light [Music] In
