The Best Photo Gear of 2022, According to the TIPA Awards
The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) has announced the winners of its annual awards and in a surprising show of parity, every major manufacturer was honored in at least one camera category.
The TIPA World Awards 2022 aims to honor the best cameras and lenses across a range of skill levels and in previous years has been led by one or two camera manufacturers. Last year, Nikon and Sony led the pack and Canon only managed to nab a single low-end camera category. The previous year, Canon and Nikon won the most categories.
But this year, the 2022 Awards are more evenly distributed than those in the past, perhaps due in part to the addition of some new and rather specific categories. While the total number of categories did not change, comparing lists across years shows a significant difference. TIPA added a Micro Four Thirds and Rangefinder category, for example, which allowed OM-Digital and Leica to nab wins. It also added a distinction between 4K and 8K hybrid cameras and created the new “camera innovation” category, all three of which were won by different companies. To make room, the organization compressed the three previous APS-C categories into one and did away with the “advanced” tier of users, which already was difficult to separate from “expert” and “professional.”
Below are the winners in the camera category:
- Best MFT Camera – OM System OM-1
- Best APS-C Camera – Nikon Z fc
- Best Full Frame Expert Camera – Sony Alpha 7 IV
- Best Full Frame Professional Camera – Nikon Z9
- Best Camera Innovation – Canon EOS R3
- Best Rangefinder Camerea – Leica M11
- Best Professional 4K Hybrid Camera – Panasonic Lumix GH6
- Best Professional 8K Hybrid Camera – Canon EOS R5 C
- Best Professional Video Camera – Panasonic Lumix BS1H
- Best Medium Format Camera – Fujifilm GFX 50S II
- Best Vlogger Camera – Sony ZV-E10
TIPA doesn’t just award cameras, it also names the best lenses across a variety of categories. This year, Sigma, Sony, and Tamron took the most total wins, but overall there is a wide variety of manufacturers among the winners.
Below are the winners in the lens category:
- Best Manual Focus Lens – Laowa Argus FF II 35mm f/0.95
- Best APS-C Prime Lens – Tokina atx-m 56mm f/1.4
- Best APS-C Zoom Lens – Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary
- Best Full Frame Prime Wide Angle Lens – Sigma 20mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary
- Best Full Frame Prime Standard Lens – Voigtländer NOKTON 50mm f/1 Aspherical VM
- Best Full Frame Prime Telephoto Lens – Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
- Best Full Frame Wide Angle Zoom Lens – Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM
- Best Full Frame Standard Zoom Lens – Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II
- Best Full Frame Telephoto Zoom Lens – Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II
- Best Full Frame Ultra Telephoto Zoom Lens – Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD
- Best Macro Lens – Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
- Best Travel Zoom Lens – Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD
It’s hard to make definitive statements about these awards as the categories change every year. Some might argue the changes were made to award the most companies so that everyone can advertise a win, but a less cynical view might be that the industry is experiencing parity among competitors, which is healthy for the industry and consumers.
The full 2022 TIPA Awards winners can be perused on the organization’s website.
