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10 Most Popular Pieces of Photography Gear Among Our Readers in 2019

Brett Day
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12/31/2019
6 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm X Pro 3 first impressions product images

There are a couple of surprises in the top 10 pieces of photography gear our readers purchased this year.

2019 has been an excellent year for those who love seeing new photography gear hit the streets. There have been many pieces of photography gear that have warmed our hearts in 2019, including the excellent Fujifilm X-Pro 3, and Sony’s Megapixel monster – the A7R IV. These two cameras made the top 10 list, as you would expect, but they are joined by other photography gear that may surprise you. Join us after the break to see what cameras, lenses, and lights were popular among our readers in 2019.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in this list of photography gear is the Canon 5D IV. The workhorse DSLR did have a fantastic sale price towards the end of the year that helped boost its numbers, but it shows that the desire for well priced, pro-grade DSLR’s is still strong. The X-H1 sold like hotcakes too, even though the camera is a couple of years old now. And the Canon EOS R picked up steam towards the end of the year as well. Perhaps the tasty line-up of RF mount glass is starting to bring photographers back toward team Canon. The Sony 35mm f1.8 FE is one of the most popular lenses of the year thanks to its top performance and low price, and the Flashpoint eVOLV 200 found its way into the hearts of many photographers too. Check out the ten best selling pieces of photography gear below.

Fujifilm X-H1

camera market

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great image quality
  • The best autofocus of any APS-C camera on the market
  • Film styles
  • 4K 24p 200MB/second video is fantastic
  • Weather sealing
  • Pretty good battery life if you switch off all connectivity
  • Easiest setup and connection to a mobile phone that we’ve experienced
  • The top LCD screen is nice
  • Dual card slots
  • Versatile images
  • Fantastic EVF

Cons

  • Fujifilm Eterna is overrated
  • Bluetooth being on in the background can drain battery life on top of the IBIS
  • The grip and the size overall make it difficult to reach the shutter dial and it’s very difficult or nearly impossible to reprogram the exposure functions due to how their lenses work
  • The vertical grip isn’t necessary, but we see how and why folks would like it

Buy now: From $859

Canon 5D Mk IV

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great image quality. Though we still feel we can do MUCH more with Sony and Fujifilm files when it comes to color, Canon’s dynamic range is pretty darn good
  • Ergonomic feel reminds us more of the old 5D Mk II than the Mk III, and we like that.
  • Fantastic autofocus
  • Touchscreen, finally
  • The quiet shutter is nice
  • Weather sealing

Cons

  • Price point

Buy now: $2,499

Fujifilm X Pro 3

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Superia is beautiful (Classic neg)
  • We love the lack of no major screen
  • Autofocus can be fine-tuned for different situations, but still isn’t perfect
  • You can push the shadows for forever and get details – the highlights not as much, but they’re still there
  • The screen helps you stay focused and aware
  • USB C charging ensures that you can keep using the camera
  • Video features deliver pretty video
  • Arguably, you don’t need to edit the RAW files because the JPEGs let you do so much
  • For street and documentary shooting, the hidden screen will keep you in the zone
  • Face detection is fantastic when not trying to track erratic movements
  • Acros and clarity enhancements are going to make you fall in love with Fujifilm all over again
  • The Chrome effect for skies is very nice, but sometimes very subtle
  • Autofocus is fantastic for events and most professional work
  • Fujifilm’s collection of small primes pair wonderfully with this camera
  • The best camera on the market to embrace high ISO noise
  • Using the OVF will prolong battery life at the expense of slower autofocus
  • This is less of a street camera than it is a documentary and event shooter’s camera
  • The wider lenses make zone focusing easy. This is imperative for street photography
  • Multiple exposure mode is a very welcome addition
  • Very good battery life

Cons

  • Has problems keeping subjects in focus when they’re continuously moving
  • When you need the screen, it’s a bit of an annoyance, like when photographing a portrait subject in motion
  • This camera desperately needed Blackout Free EVF shooting
  • Touchscreen menu navigation should be on this camera, but it isn’t
  • Autofocus needs improvements still. Face detection and tracking autofocus in street situations isn’t as fast as Sony
  • When we rate images in-camera, the rating isn’t brought into Capture One Pro. This is critical for the photojournalist
  • Enhancing the clarity makes the camera take extra time to render the image
  • The battery life in long term use is about on par with the new Sony Z batteries. We wish it were longer, but it’s also a much smaller battery.
  • For street shooting, the wide and tracking AF area still lets you select a zone, and it shouldn’t. This can throw off shooting in real-life street situations
  • Shooting from the hip? You may accidentally hit the function button and not the shutter release
  • Exposure dial needs a locking mechanism
  • Multiple Exposure mode saves the final images only as JPEGs
  • The addition of image stabilization could have meant this camera has a better chance at becoming the perfect camera for street photography

Buy now: From $1,799.95

Canon EOS R

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Build quality
  • Weather sealed like crazy
  • Autofocus is good
  • Protects the sensor when off
  • Canon’s menu system is still simple
  • Ergonomics feel nice
  • With a lightweight lens, it feels just as nice as a Sony camera
  • These are some of Canon’s best RAW files that I’ve seen in years
  • Good battery life
  • Fast Wi-Fi transfers, though not as simple as Sony’s

Cons

  • Needs Dual SD cards
  • Needs a joystick
  • The magic touch bar is odd and could use refinement
  • Optimizing the way the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed dials work, such as the automatic metering for ISO, not cool
  • Canon needs to improve or change their face and eye detection.
  • Bigger than Sony, but the L lenses are about on par with their G Master glass

Buy now: $1,799

Sony A7R IV

The next Canon EOS R needs to crush the Sony A7R IV

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Improved ergonomics
  • Blazing fast autofocus
  • Excellent weather sealing
  • Anti-flicker shooting
  • Dual UHS-II SD card slots
  • More resolution than most photographers will need

Cons

  • Limited touchscreen functionality: you still can’t navigate the menus or interact with the display
  • Large file sizes (to be expected)

Buy now: $3,498

Flashpoint eVOLV 200 TTL Pocket Flash

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Affordable price point
  • TTL built-in
  • Compact and lightweight
  • Modular head design
  • Excellent battery life
  • Compatible with almost all camera systems on the market as long as you’ve got the corresponding remote

Cons

  • Only 200 watt-seconds of power

Buy now: $299

Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Pro TTL Rechargeable Monolight

photography gear

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Built-in TTL
  • Can be used with Fujifilm, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, and Panasonic with the correct radio transmitter
  • Excellent build quality
  • Great battery life
  • Ultra-fast recycle times
  • Quality, consistent lighting
  • Big, bright, easy to read LCD display
  • Can work with multiple modifier types

Cons

  • When the Bowens adapter is attached, the fastener for the light stand mount almost doesn’t have enough clearance to loosen and tighten the mount.
  • The included beauty dish comes pre-installed with a Godox mount adapter, and it takes tremendous force to remove the mount and reveal the Bowens mount
  • Replacement flash tubes are pricey

Buy now: $649

Sony 35mm F1.8 FE

photography gear

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Small
  • Cost-effective
  • Weather sealing
  • Sharp; very sharp
  • Beautiful bokeh
  • The best colors we’ve seen from a Sony lens
  • Can focus very closely
  • Fast aperture
  • With AF-C on the Sony a7r III, it is fast enough for street photography

Cons

  • Though this is minor, we wish Sony gave us a working distance and zone focus scale for street shooting

Buy now: $748

Sony 24-70mm F2.8 G Master

photography gear

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Excellent image quality
  • Well built
  • Lots of versatility
  • Sharp output
  • Fast autofocusing abilities
  • Fairly compact for what this lens is

Cons

  • We’ve seen better bokeh, but this isn’t horrible
  • Tends to be heavy, though not as heavy as Nikon’s and above everyone else’s offerings

Buy now: $2,198

VEO2 235CB Tripod

photography gear

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Solid build quality
  • The rubber sections for the legs feel really good
  • If you’re on the sand, they will keep dust and dirt from getting into the legs
  • All the versatility that most photographers will need providing they adjust carefully
  • Lightweight
  • Fits onto the side of most backpacks

Cons

  • We wish there was a hook at the bottom to weigh the tripod down

Buy now: $199.99