The best digital camera overall: Panasonic Lumix S1
Why you should buy this: Impressive image quality, robust design, and functional controls
Who’s it for: Professionals, landscape photographers, and serious photo enthusiasts
Why we choose the Panasonic S1:
The Panasonic Lumix S1 isn’t exactly what we expected from a mirrorless camera — but in many ways, it exceeds expectations enough to be the most impressive model on the market. Besides the excellent image quality coming from the full-frame 24-megapixel sensor, a 96-megapixel high-resolution mode lets you capture even more detail when using a tripod. We were very impressed with the out-of-camera JPEG image quality, which produces excellent color and contrast, while the RAW images offer plenty of flexibility and strong high-ISO performance.
The S1 uses contrast detection autofocus instead of the usually faster phase detection, but Panasonic narrowed the gap thanks to its proprietary Depth From Defocus technology. Autofocus tracking and subject recognition are very good, even in low light, and while speed is often indistinguishable from competing phase-detection systems, we did notice some occasional misses that cropped up seemingly at random. Still, the good outweighs the bad.
A comfortable user interface seals the S1’s position atop this list. The control scheme doesn’t skimp on anything and is highly customizable, offering more direct access control than mirrorless cameras from other brands. It also offers both SD and XQD card slots, with support for even faster CFExpress cards coming in the future. The body is fully weather sealed and houses one of the best electronic viewfinders we’ve seen, with 5.7 million pixels of resolution and a refresh rate of 120 frames per second.
On the downside, all of this makes the camera quite heavy. At about 2.25 pounds, it weighs more than some full-frame DSLRs. The Lumix S1 may not be the best camera for travel photography because of that, but the Lumix S1 is otherwise a tremendous achievement that leaves very little to be desired.
The best mirrorless camera: Sony A7 III
Why should you buy this: While Sony calls this their basic camera, the performance is anything but.
Who’s it for: Pros and enthusiasts who want both portability, performance and full-frame
Why we picked the Sony A7 III:
The Sony A7 line has long been one of our favorite mirrorless cameras — and the A7 III mixes some of the best qualities of the series together in one camera. With the low light performance of the A7S II, the dynamic range of the A7R III, and some of the A9’s blazing speed, the A7 III is plenty of camera for many photographers — and yet it’s the least expensive current full-frame model in the series.
The A7 III sports a backlit 24-megapixel sensor that delivers impressive image quality, with great results even at very high ISOs. Equally impressive is the dynamic range, which helps keep more of the details in the shadows and highlights intact. That five-axis stabilization system doesn’t hurt, either. The camera also offers a solid 4K video mode, with a plethora of customizable options for adjusting the look of the picture.
Sony has had time to fine-tune the A7 the third generation is a refined, high-end product. Autofocus is quick to lock on, the 10-fps burst rate holds for 40 RAW files, and the battery life — at over 700 exposures — is the best we’ve seen in mirrorless.
The control scheme isn’t our favorite, and many competing cameras use higher resolution viewfinders, but the Sony A7 III offers plenty of features for the price. If you need more resolution, the Sony A7R III has it — but the A7 III is a lot of camera for $2,000.
The best DSLR camera: Nikon D850
Why should you buy this: 45MP images plus 7fps continuous shooting speed.
Who’s it for: Studio, portrait, landscape, wedding, wildlife, and potentially even sports photographers.
Why we picked the Nikon D850:
Nikon’s D800-series DSLRs have always been good at one thing: Providing ultra-high resolution full-frame sensors. But the D850 takes this recipe and incorporates some exciting new ingredients. And unlike its predecessors, the D850 is not a one-trick pony; it has grown into a full multimedia machine, making it the best DSLR of this generation.
First, it nearly ten more megapixels than the D810, up to 45.7. The sensor is entirely new and backside-illuminated (BSI), just the second such sensor since Sony’s 42MP unit, the A7R Mark II. BSI sensors are more sensitive to light thanks to the circuitry being placed on the backside (hence the name) of the sensor, rather than the front, which is far more common. With a base ISO of 64, it promises a deep well capacity for impressive dynamic range. Anyone who was a fan of the D810 or D800 should feel right at home with the D850.
But that’s not all, because the D850 can also shoot continuously at up to 7 fps with a buffer than can hold 170 12-bit RAW files, or 51 in the higher-quality 14-bit mode. This is already impressive for such a high-resolution sensor, but users can get even more speed if they opt for the MB-D18 vertical battery grip and EN-EL18b battery (also used in the D5), which bumps performance up to 9 fps.
Nikon has also stepped up its video game with the D850, offering 4K recording from the full width of the sensor — the first for a full-frame DSLR.
All of that resolution, speed, and 4K video make for some pretty hefty storage requirements, which is why the Nikon D850 sports both SD and XQD card slots. SD is widely available, but XQD offers the best possible performance with theoretical transfer rates of up to 1,000 megabytes per second (current cards top out around 440MB per second).
