This year Fstoppers will be awarding the best photographic equipment of 2015. I have an idea of what my favorite gear is but I don't want to leave anything out and so I want to hear from you. What pieces of your kit deserve recognition?
Let me start off by saying that although the list we compile will be the "best gear of 2015," it does not mean that this gear had to be released this year. Some equipment, especially things like camera bags and tripods, do not see upgrades very often. As long as the gear is currently available to buy, it has potential to make this list.
Below I've added a few categories that we know we will have. In the comments below please let me know which product you believe should win each category. If you can think of additional categories feel free to post them below as well.
Best Tripod System under $500
Best Tripod System over $500
Best Camera Backpack
Best Camera Shoulder Bag
Best Camera Roller Bag
Best Entry DSLR
Best DSLR Under $2500
Best DSLR Over $2500
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $1500
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $2500
Best Mirrorless Camera Over $2500
Best Lenses (we are still trying to figure out how to categorize these)
Best Point and Shoot Camera Under $400
Best Point and Shoot Camera Over $400
Best Strobe Lighting System (Budget)
Best Strobe Lighting System (High End)
Best Speedlite System (Budget)
Best Speedlite System (High End)
Best Constant Lighting System (Budget)
Best Constant Lighting System (High End)
Best Slider System
Best Camera Stabilizer
Best Photography Accessory Under $200
Best Photography Accessory Over $200
Best Drone/Aerial System
Most Innovative Product
I'm sure that I am leaving out a bunch of different categories so please let me know if there are any that we should add. I look forward to hearing which products you believe are the current best in the market.
You guys should do a "worst gear/software/what so ever list" as well ;)
Holga Digital ;)
Easy. Best software: Adobe Lightroom. Worst software: Adobe Lightroom.
Funny enough, this year seems like it's been a bigger year for C1. I can't open my browser without articles like
"Hello. Have you heard about our lord and savior Capture One?"
LR is annoying but I keep going back for some reason. :P
I know what you mean. Funny enough....I have owned Capture One (7) for quite some time and upgraded to 9 just recently with its release with the aim of actually giving it a shot for the first time. The new smart contrast controls were just the cherry on top to get me to give it a fair shot with my next project. So here it goes... Time will tell...
I do like the more extensive tool set C1 has, so I don't have to go into Photoshop. It's mostly the UI and layout that takes some getting used to.
Mirrorless under $1500 - EM-5ii or X-T10
Accessories under $200 - MagMod basic, over $200 Magmod Complete
If you had to choose only 1 camera which would it be?
XT-10 without doubt.
EM-5ii. It's a sexy little thing, good for street, and that 64mp shot is a monster for product/interior photography.
I second the votes for the xt10
Best Camera Backpack - Incase DSLR Pro (review coming in like the next day)
Best Strobe Lighting System (High End) - Profoto B2 is the talk of the town this year
Best Constant Lighting System - Not sure if you consider it budget or high end, but the new Ice Light 2 is a big improvement over the original
Best Lenses
One of the best lenses I've purchased in 2015 is the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM, also known as a pancake lens because of it's uniquely shaped barrel.
I've been shooting a lot more video recently in my career. And when you put this lens on a Canon 70D with the Dual Pixel CMOS AF, it's a killer combination. It's fairly wide on a crop sensor Canon camera, shoots a fairly wide aperture, it's sharp, and even though it's not a macro lens, you can shoot super close to subjects. Nice bokeh as well.
This lens is great for video interviews where you need a wide shot in tandem with a reasonably shallow depth of field. But it's also awesome for shooting B-Roll. Though it's not my main lens for still images, I have used it on occasion and it's super sharp.
At the time of writing this, a brand new one runs $149. But you can grab one of these lenses on sale at most retailers this time of year. I actually bought mine refurbished from Canon a couple months ago. Killer lens, very reasonable price
Best Speedlite (Budget)
For me, I use Yongnuo speedlites. I've heard all of the mixed reviews, good and bad. I decided to buy some back in January of this year. The Yonguo 560 2's have been great and consistent.
Best Strobes (Budget)
Not sure what price you would consider budget. But I would definitely say that anything Paul C Buff is nothing short of awesome. Great prices and very well built, quality products. The Alien Bees, Einsteins and White Lightning Strobes are awesome. If I were to buy a new Paul C Buff light today, I would definitely go with the Einsteins. But if you need a ton of power and are shooting large commercial vehicles, I'd go with the the White Lightning X3200s at a whopping 1320 watt seconds of power
Best Camera Backpack - F-Stop Gear Ajna
Best Camera Shoulder Bag - Mountainsmith Descent
Best Camera Roller Bag - Lowepro Pro Runner RL x450 AWII
Best Constant Lighting System (High End) - Kino Flo Celeb Light
Best Slider System - Kessler CineSlider
Best Camera Stabilizer - Ronin M
Best Drone/Aerial System - DJI Inspire
Most Innovative Product - Metabones Speedbooster Lens Adapters
CamRanger! ;o)
I was thinking that product is old but it's so amazing it deserves to make the list
I prefer dslrdashboard though, more powerful and compatibility.
Joe Battaglia if I had a camera it would be a EOS 5DS canon.
point and shoot over $400... does the FujiFilm X100T qualify... Because it changed my day to day.
i would say yes it counts as a point and shoot. but so does the Sony Rx1
Definitely the x100t
well played! I really wish I could bring myself to get one. It just seemed too expensive at the time.
haha ya! super expensive! now that the mrkII is out, you can a used mrkI for 1400ish. Which is tempting...
see... the way that my crazy consumer brain is set up... The camera, that made beautiful imagery just 2 days ago... is CLEARLY no longer even an option since there is a new one out. lol. HA! but seriously, I would always wonder what they did to improve it. I've been good recently, No updates to my studio workhorses, but this would be different.
ha! I'm the same way... been itching to upgrade my original X100 though
Definitely the x100t
Best mirror less over 2500: A7RII all day long
Best Camera Backpack - Wotancraft Commander
Best Camera Shoulder Bag - Holdfast Romographer
Best DSLR Under $2500 - Nikon D750
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $1500 - Sony A7
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $2500 - Sony A7II
Best Mirrorless Camera Over $2500 - Sony A7RII
Best Strobe Lighting System (Budget) - Paulcbuff Einstein
Best Speedlite System (Budget) - Neewer flash with litium ion battery
Best Photography Accessory Over $200 - Holdfast Moneymaker
Nikon D750
Nikon D750, Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art (review coming soon! -- And I think we could do lenses by typical wide-angle, medium, telephoto, and then have prime/zoom variants for each), Gitzo GT1544T w/ their new ballhead, profoto b1.....the list goes on.....
SLIDER: Rhino Slider Evo
...saw Lee's review of it, which looked legit so supported Kickstarter, took delivery of it about a month ago, it is absolutely tits! I just pre-ordered their Arc panning add-on they've released few days ago too. Anyone doing motion should look into it, it's one of those rare wow products IMHO and my fav gear I bough all year (and that's after dropping about $20K on converting to Sony E-mount system). This is my 3rd slider after Cinetics and then Syrp and for my use it's the one that actually works REALLY REALLY WELL!
Glad you like it. It's one of my favorite pieces of gear
Best accessory under $200 - WD Passport Wireless 2TB
Best miriness user $1500 - Fuji X-T1
Best speedlite system (budget) - Neewer beats out Younguno because of the brick style battery.
Best DSLR Under $2500 NIKON D750
Best DSLR Over $2500 PHASE ONE XF
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $1500 FUJIFILM X-T1
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $2500 SONY A7R
Best Mirrorless Camera Over $2500 SONY A7RII
Best Lenses ZEISS and SIGMA ART LENSES
Best Strobe Lighting System (Budget) PHOTTIX INDRA
Best Strobe Lighting System (High End) ELINCHROM ELB 400
Best Constant Lighting System (Budget) PHOTTIX VLED 168A
Best raw processor software Capture One 9
Most Innovative Product Affinity Photo
Shoulder bag: Ona Brixton
Rolling bag: Think tank airport security
DSLR under 2.5k: D750
Lenses: Sigma 35mm art
Continuous lighting system: Lightpanels led panels
Strobes: Profoto b1 system.
Accessory under 200: xrite color calibration
Accessory over 200: Holdfast Moneymaker
Best Tripod System Over $500: I love my RRS TVC-33 with a BH-55 Ball head.
Best Accessory Under $200: a Rocket Blower.
Best Lens: Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII
I don't think I will be spending much on camera equipment next year, kind of broke the bank this year. Maybe I wll get another Rocket Blower, I seem to loose them a lot.
What about these categories:
Best medium format: camera body, back and lens.
Best RAW processor software (Capture One)
Best plug-in software
Not sure if this counts, but you said also not from this year and its definitely mirrorless ;)
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $2500
I have just a picture, there is no name, because its about 120 years old
And here you can see a video of it
http://blog.markus-hofstaetter.at/2015/11/enstehung-der-nassplatte-makin...
Best Camera Backpack : Lowepro Protactic
Best Camera Shoulder Bag : Wotancraft Ryker
Best DSLR Under $2500 : Nikon D750
Best DSLR Over $2500 : Canon 5DS
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $1500 : Panasonic GX8
Best Mirrorless Camera Under $2500 : Sony A7 II
Best Mirrorless Camera Over $2500 : Leica SL
Best Lenses : Zeiss Loxia 35 & 50 F2 lenses
Best Point and Shoot Camera Under $400 :
Best Point and Shoot Camera Over $400 : Sony RX100 Mark IV
Best Strobe Lighting System (Budget) : Phottix Indra
Best Strobe Lighting System (High End) : Broncolor Siros
Best Constant Lighting System (High End) : Westcott Flexkit
Best Photography Accessory Under $200 : Alienskin Exposure X
Best Photography Accessory Over $200 : Lee Filters Wide-Angle Lens hood
Most Innovative Product : Canon EF 35mm 1.4L II
Best Accessories: Hands down anything by ProMediaGear.
Best Camera Backpack (for active hiking/shooting) Mindshift Gear rotation 180 professional. Best bags, rollers and carry gear Think Tank Photo for innovation and bulletproof construction.
Mirrorless over $2,500 (AND competing against DSLR's over $2,500), Sony A7Rii. No contest.
Here are some of my favorites, and most used tools in 2015...
Best remote:
Promote Control
Best timelapse controller, and most innovative product:
Ramper Pro
Best timelapse software:
LRTimelapse
Best night photography lenses:
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
Sigma 35mm f/2.8 ART
Rokinon 24mm f/1.4
Best tripod (for my needs anyway):
Really Right Stuff TVC-34L with leveling base
Best ballhead:
Really Right Stuff BH-55
Best slider (for the price anyway I think):
Dynamic Perception Stage One
Best portable solar power:
Goal Zero Sherpa 100 battery and Nomad 20 solar panel
Best hiking pack:
f-stop Satori EXP
Best Backpack: F-Stop Gear Ajna
Best Lens: Sigma Art 35mm
Best Budget Strobe: Einstein (PCB)
Best DSLR: Still love my D800E
Best DSLR Under $2500 - Canon EOS 6D
Strobes - Profoto B1
Most Innovative Product - Iconasys 360 Product Photography Turntable
Best lens, at least my favorite is the Tamron 15-30 f/2.8, its crazy sharp, versatile, and brings all the greatness of the Nikon 14-24 with VC and at a lower price
The best lens I bought this year: Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM
I have a few suggestions of camera bags and tripods, but I'll just sit over here in my corner of the internets and shush... :D
Do tell