Well, the year isn’t halfway over but it seems like the Camera Grand Prix 2019 has already made up its mind about what is the best camera of the year…at least in Japan.
And the winner is…the Panasonic Lumix S1R.
To be fair, the Camera Journal Press Club (CJPC) picks the camera of the year based upon the past fiscal year’s releases, not the calendar year.
What sealed the deal for the Panasonic Lumix S1R?
The camera’s amazing sensor is what put it over the top according to the judges.
But don’t worry. We don’t have to put words in their mouths. They’re happy to explain their reasoning to us.
“The effective 47.3-megapixel CMOS sensor combined with the image processing engine realizes a highest-level resolution, producing images that are sharp, glossy, and yet natural enough. Its High Resolution Mode synthesizes 8 consecutive images to create a stunning image equivalent to 187-megapixels. The high-precision electronic viewfinder with 5.76M-dot OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) boasts a 0.78x magnification ratio, offering the finest views among all mirrorless cameras. The autofocus function using the company’s original Depth From Defocus technology is so fast and precise that, coupled with the deep-learning AI technology, it makes itself perfect to capture such moving subjects as humans and animals.”
Other awards included the “lens of the year” which goes to the Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM because “[this] large-aperture prime lens provides the widest angle as of today in Sony G Master series, in which the company has achieved, with its advanced optical technology, high resolution as well as spectacular bokeh at the same time” as well as the “reader’s choice” recipient, the Olympus OM-D E-M1X.
The editor’s awards included the Ricoh GR III and the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD (Model A036) lens.
