We’ve finally arrived at that time when industry experts gather to announce the year’s most powerful camera and lens. One such renowned accolade in the photo industry is the Expert Imaging and Sound Awards (EISA), which was first established in 1982 by five European photography magazines. With an impressive 16 publications today, the honor has grown into a formidable force, embracing evolving technology with confidence and enthusiasm. However, in this year’s edition, we saw an odd pattern: the obvious absence of camera giant Canon. But before we get into that, let’s see who won the greatest distinction of the year.
Since the EISA was specifically designed to announce ‘the best camera of the year’, we will celebrate the list with that. The title was crowned to the coveted Sony a9 III, a wonder for professional sports, wedding, and event photographers. In our review by Editor-in-Chief Chris Gampat, the author notes the device is “the single best camera that Sony has made thus far,” and “nearly every issue” he has with Sony “has been resolved in some way or another.” Another award the company received was ‘the best APS-C camera,’ which was bestowed on the Sony A6700. However, for our editor, “It’s only just good.” He reasoned that the company should have been released a while back since it is an “APS-C version of Sony’s higher-end full-frame cameras.” In addition to this, Sony has won three more awards: telephoto lens, wide-angle lens, and smartphone.
Nikon came in second on the EISA awards list, securing two wins in the camera department for the Nikon Zf and the Nikon Z6 III. The former has already received our Editor’s approval during his review, which he absolutely loved. As for the Nikon Z6 III; we were impressed by its fast semi-stacked sensor and its “autofocus performance,” which is “almost like that of the Z8.” In addition to this, Nikon has won three awards for its lenses.
Of the six camera awards, the Panasonic Lumix G9 III and the Fujifilm X100 VI earned the final two spots. This makes the list quite odd, as Canon’s mentions are limited to its lenses. Thus, this raises the question: Is Canon not doing enough?
The company recently introduced two new devices this year: the Canon EOS R1 and the Canon EOS R5 MK II. The former had its fair share of controversies, with our Editor remarking that Canon is revisiting the past decade’s phase. “The forest Canon has created doesn’t feel like a place where photographers can thrive in the future,” he explained, highlighting how there is little camera manufacturers have done to battle with the tsunami of AI imagery.
However, one could shift the blame of the obvious exclusion on the release date of the bodies. Both devices were introduced after the judging process, which means the experts at the EISA awards didn’t think it would be under their journalistic ethics to include a latecomer. That is pretty fair practice, even if it means that Canon will have to wait another year to make it to the shortlist.
Until then, here is a list of all the winners of the EISA awards:
- Best Camera of the Year: Sony Alpha 9 III
- Best Advanced Full-Frame Camera: Nikon Z6III
- Best Full-Frame Camera: Nikon Zf
- Best APS-C Camera: Sony Alpha 6700
- Best Micro Four Thirds Camera: Panasonic Lumix G9 III
- Best Compact Camera: Fujifilm X100 VI
- Best Lens of the Year: Sigma 50mm F1.2 DG DN | Art
- Best UltraWide-angle Lens: Laowa 10mm F2.0 Zero-D FF
- Best UltraWide-angle Zoom Lens: Canon RF 10-20mm F4 L IS STM
- Best Wide-angle Lens: Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G
- Best Buy Wide-angle Zoom Lens: Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD
- Best Standard Zoom Lens: Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN | Art
- Best Telephoto Lens: Sony FE 300mm F2.8L GM OSS
- Best Telephoto Zoom Lens: Sony FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II
- Best Buy Telephoto Lens: Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VC VXD G2
- Best Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens: Nikon Nikkor Z 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 VR
- Best Portrait Lens: Nikon Nikkor Z 135mm F1.8 S Plena
- Best Photo/Video Zoom Lens: Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 L IS Z
- Best Super-Zoom Lens: Nikon Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
- Best Creator Smartphone: Sony Xperia 1 VI
For more information, do visit the EISA award’s website.