The Best and Worst Cameras & Lenses of the Year 2013

Photography Tips

Happy New Year, everyone! As 2013 comes to a close, we want to take a look back on some of the greatest photography product accomplishments, and some of biggest let downs, of the year.

Chris and Jordan from The Camera Store were nice enough to put together an End of the Year Holiday Special to do just that. So grab a glass of champagne (or wine, G&T, beer, whatever you fancy), pull up a cozy chair by the fire and join Chris and Jordan as they run down the best and worst photo and video products of the year:

Reviewing everything from design, customizable options, price, focusing capabilities, and compactibility, here are the best of 2013:

The Best Lenses

1. Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8

2. Canon 200-400mm f/4

3. Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art Addition

The Best Video Camera

1. Sony F5 and F55

2. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

3. Sony RX10

Camera of the Year

1. Sony a7, a7R Series

2. Pentax K-3

3. Panasonic Lumix GM1

Best Trends

• Nikon underwater cameras, like the AW110 and Nikon 1 AW1
• Metabones Speed Boosters
• Firmware updates, helping cameras focus better and helping the user to make a huge photographic difference

But, while there are so many great products out there, inspiring us and making us better photographers, there is also a lot of… well, garbage!

Cameras featuring low apertures, fixed lenses, limited ranges, outdated sensors, can not only produce less than stellar images, but are super frustrating to work with. So, here are a few cameras to steer clear of:

The Worst Cameras of 2013

• Leica X Vario

• Hasselblad  Stellar

• Hasselblad Lunar

Sorry, Hasselblad!

The Worst Video Camera

As far as video cameras go, Jordan’s least favorite is the JVC HMQ 30.

What do you think, are these cameras and lenses the future of photography? Tell us your favorites and not-so-favorites of 2013.