DPReview posted its list of top products this year, which you can view here, and the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II won best zoom lens, and the Sony A7R V won best high-end camera.
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II
Take a flagship lens that was as reliable as it was consistent and ratchet everything up to 11 – that’s the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II, the most improved player on a team of all stars.Sony improved its professional flagship zoom with better optics in every way, shape and form, with advancements in sharpness, macro capabilities, autofocus, contrast, ghosting, flare control, size and weight, and even a cleaner, smoother, satisfyingly soft bokeh, to produce a new king that plays nice with both stills and video.
Clever considerations such as a toggle switch to make the clickable aperture ring smooth, options for tight and smooth resistance on the zoom ring (useful for video where you don’t want to accidentally nudge it), and a lens hood with a built-in door to adjust filters, only add to an otherwise stellar product.
We did feel a desire for a little more resistance to the manual focus ring, and would love to see a focus and zoom lock in a future version, but these are small gripes in an otherwise excellent lens, one which delivers premium quality at a premium price.
Sony a7RV
Never one to rest on its laurels, Sony’s latest high-res stills camera builds on a successful platform, with the A7R V bringing pro-grade features to an attainable high-end body. While it still contains the familiar 60MP BSI sensor from the previous model, its autofocus capabilities, stabilization, menus, and video all got meaningful upgrades that significantly improve the way the camera operates.It’s a testament to how mature the FE ecosystem is at this point that Sony can file down what few remaining rough edges still exist and meaningfully improve the shooting experience. That’s exactly what we saw in the A7R V this year.
The end result is a very capable, adaptable stills camera for portraits and landscapes. We love its flexible flip screen, human detection capabilities, and impressively detailed RAW files. It might not be a hybrid video powerhouse (rolling shutter remains a nagging issue), and the clunky high-res mode is still a hassle, but on the whole we’re very impressed – enough to name the A7R V as our high-end camera of the year.
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony a7RV: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
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