Camera
Year in review: Our favorite stories of 2023
This year, DPReview published reviews and stories on some of the greatest cameras and lenses we have ever seen. It’s never easy for our team to select winners for the annual DPReview Awards, but the competition felt exceptionally close in 2023, with our debates stretching late into the night.
We also published reviews and breakdowns of smartphones, software, drones, instant cameras, accessories, bags, gadgets and more. Throughout the year, we sprinkled a series of how-tos and explainer articles to get the most out of your gear. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a full-timer making your income from photography and video, we strive to be a resource to help propel your learning. If we can make it easier for everyone to enter the wonderful world of cameras, then we’re only helping more people discover the thing we love.
During our, let’s call it “the semester abroad touring the River Styx phase,” we tried to say all the things we never said. We thought DPReview was closing and we’d all have to part ways, so it was our now-or-never moment, and we leaned in.
We started publishing those “one day if I have time” passion projects. We got nostalgic looking back on 25 years of DPReview and the history of digital cameras. And we tried to have fun with things we hadn’t tried before.
Between writing and research, we read thousands and thousands of your comments; some made us think, and others, well, we love you anyway. But seriously, thank you for spending 2023 with us. The end of the year is often a time to take stock; we’re no different and have been looking back.
There are several stories this year we’re very proud of; please enjoy this collection of some of our favorite articles from this year.
Part I: Looking back
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DPReview by the numbers
It’s been a long road since DPReview launched in 1998. Take a walk down memory lane as we look over some of the key stats that defined us
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Most significant cameras of the DPReview era
In the first part of a 3-part series, we looked back at the landmarks we’ve seen in camera development and called out some of the most noteworthy. This was a fun one to work on and sparked many internal and external debates.
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Tech timeline: Milestones in sensor development
Digital sensors are at the heart of digital photography, but their development sometimes gets obscured by the marketing claims made along the way. We went back to the early days of CCDs to better understand the milestones of the past and what’s really going on today.
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Ode to my first DSLR, the Canon EOS D2000
You never forget your first love, but even more, your first love-hate relationship with a camera. Born the same year as DPReview, this trip into camera history was filled with melancholy and a little wonder at how far we’ve come.
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A history of the test scene
Is there anything more iconic at DPReview than our studio scene? It’s hard to imagine DPReview without it. We wanted to revisit how we landed on our current version while digging up old versions. Among the surprises, apparently we had a fresh flower budget in the early days.
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April Fools at DPReview – a look back
April Fools Day pranks and internet media go together like butter and toast. We dug into the archives and reached out to former staff to look back at some of our favorite gags.
Part II: Digging deeper
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The state of the camera industry, according to the people who make cameras
The camera industry has been on a roller coaster ride for years, with sales spiking and dipping as new tech arrives and casual users shift to mobile photography. We wanted to know, straight from the source, what the future holds for cameras. So we bent the ear of company executives.
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Go inside Sigma’s factory to see how lenses are made
If you’ve ever bought a new lens, you know the joy of removing a beautiful, pristine optic from its box and attaching it to your camera for the first time. But have you ever wondered what it takes to design and build that lens? We went behind the scenes at Sigma’s factory in Aizu, Japan, to find out.
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New sensors aren’t bringing better image quality but cameras are still getting better
The DPReview forums are a bastion of experts and newcomers coming together to learn, share and grow skills. From time to time, while reading forum threads, we come across an interesting question that sparks internal debate. That was the case when we noticed a chat about sensor development, whether it had plateaued years ago, and what it meant for camera IQ.
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Finer Points: Web rot is erasing our images and videos
The Internet is burning away our photos, videos and older websites daily. At nearly 40 years old, the Internet had lost much of its early history to changing technology and corporate and user desires. We look at how to save your work before it disappears.
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Intro to Colorimetry: Color measurement basics and how colorimeters work
Color accuracy is critical for modern creative work, but many creatives have no idea what a colorimeter is actually doing when you put it on your display. We go over the basics of colorimetry so you can understand how we measure and plot color, and how colorimeters use this science to confirm your display’s color accuracy.
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Interview: a camera-store-eye view of the camera industry
In the middle ground between camera manufacturers and consumers are the retailers. Last Spring, we dropped in on a Seattle camera store to ask photography’s frontline workers about the state of the industry.
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More than a number: a closer look at dynamic range
Dynamic range figures are widely quoted and sometimes discussed as if they are a measure of image quality. Not so fast there! In reality, dynamic range is an aspect of image quality but one that doesn’t come close to telling the whole picture. Taking on a bit of a mythbuster approach, we break down what dynamic range is and why putting a number on it isn’t a particularly good way to understand camera performance.
Part III: Bucket list
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Learning to shoot rodeo with the Canon EOS R3
One of the joys of working at DPReview is the chance to find creative ways to test new features. While testing the Canon EOS R3, Managing Editor Dale Baskin spent three days photographing bulls and broncos. He brought us this dispatch of his journey along with his analysis of the R3’s eye-controlled autofocus.
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One thing: What is your digital shoebox? Do you have a legacy plan for your photos?
Before the world went digital, people stored photos in shoeboxes, creating a photographic legacy for future generations. What is your digital shoebox, and what happens to your photos after you’re gone? (Okay, so technically, we published this at the end of 2022, but the theme of saving our work before it was too late hits home for how we felt in 2023.)
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A DPReview film festival
On the eve of the Oscar Awards, we wanted to do something different and curated our own film festival that celebrates our favorite star – photography! After posting our lineup, some of us made social media mini-reviews of each film as we watched them. Should we do it again with a new list this year and invite you all to watch with us? Let us know.
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Finer Points: What would you want to see in a hybrid camera? For me it’s shutter angle and 32-bit float audio
There are plenty of hybrid cameras on the market, but often a user needs to choose between photo- or video-centric models in terms of features. Video producer Jason Hendardy explains why he wants to see shutter angle and 32-bit float audio as added features in hybrid cameras.
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A distortion of the truth? Here’s why we’re not against software lens corrections
Another hot topic often misunderstood: Is it cheating to use software correction in lenses? The short answer: we don’t think so. The long answer: we break it down with examples in this article.
Part IV: Fun stuff
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Canon PowerShot Pro70 added to the studio scene database
This was the first camera ever reviewed at DPReview, way back in 1998. We had long thought it would be fun to revisit the camera with our modern studio scene and see how it stacked up. It so happened we had one handy and thought, well, it’s now for never, and went for it.
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DPReview March Madness
March in America is marked by bars and workplaces arguing over which college athletics team is the best at basketball. For DPReview, it was also an opportunity for a good old-fashioned camera fight. Over five rounds, thousands of votes were cast, and some very odd debates were had, all in good fun.
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Leica marks James Bond’s 60th* with a special edition D-Lux 7
In one of the most pun-tastic articles of the year, Senior Editor Shaminder Dulai decided to pay homage to his dad’s love of spy films and books and go over the top with as many 007 references as he could cram in. Did he miss any? Let us know.
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Film Friday: Xpan ‘Triptych Tokyo’ captures the chaos of city life
Inspiration is all around us, and even old ideas are new when you put your own spin on it. We don’t always get to go in-depth with creatives on their process and motivations. When we caught up with photographer Takashi Fukukawa we learned how his daughter’s frustration led to his inspiration.
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DPReview readers’ showcase: The cameras you imagined
We asked you to tell us about your dream camera, and hundreds of you cosplayed as Dr. Frankenstein to conjure all manner of plausible and implausible cameras. Thanks for the inspiration and the laughs. Who knew DPReview was full of such dreamers?
Part V: Onward!
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Behind the scenes: DPReview moves to a new studio
What’s that saying, when one door closes, another one opens? We take you along with us as we pack up thousands of items of gear, nervously document and disassemble our testing and studio equipment and say goodbye to our former home and hello to the future.
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Behind the scenes: Setting up DPReview’s studio test chart
If there’s one thing we know, our studio scene must be protected at all costs. After a few sweaty-palm tense days, we had our studio scene set up and back in operation and invited you behind the curtain to see how the proverbial sausage was made.
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Season’s Greetings and happy 25th anniversary from DPReview
We made it! It’s our 25th anniversary. The site officially launched on December 25, 1998, with the publication of the Canon Pro 70 review. We’ll be celebrating this anniversary throughout 2024. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks for sticking with us through a doozy of a year. Your enthusiasm and unwavering support are part of why we’re still around to celebrate the holidays with you. Thank you.
Camera
Pentax K-1 and K-1 II firmware updates include astrophotography features (depending on where you live)
Yesterday, Ricoh quietly released firmware 2.50 for its Pentax K-1 and K-1 II DSLRs. However, the features you can expect to gain from this update may depend on your geography.
Ricoh’s English-language firmware pages for the K-1 and K-1 II state that firmware 2.50 delivers “Improved stability for general performance.”
However, astute Pentax users noted that Ricoh’s Japanese-language firmware pages (translation) indicate that the update also includes a limited feature called “Astronomical Photo Assist,” a collection of three new features designed for astrophotography: Star AF, remote control focus fine adjustment, and astronomical image processing.
Star AF is intended to automate focusing on stars when using autofocus lenses. Rather than manually focusing on a bright star and changing your composition, it promises to let you compose your shot and let the camera focus.
Remote control fine adjustment allows users to adjust focus without touching the lens and requires Pentax’s optional O-RC1 remote. Astronomical image processing will enable users to make in-camera adjustments to astrophotography images, including shading correction, fogging correction, background darkness, star brightness, celestial clarity, and fringe correction.
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| Astronomical image processing on the K-1 and K-1 II will enable users to make in-camera adjustments to astrophotography images, including shading correction, fogging correction, background darkness, star brightness, celestial clarity, and fringe correction. |
According to Ricoh, Astronomical Photo Assist is a premium feature that must be purchased and costs ￥11,000 for an activation key (about $70 at current exchange rates).
Although these astrophotography features appear to be Japan-only for now, a Ricoh representative tells us, “Ricoh Imaging Americas confirmed that the premium firmware features for the PENTAX K-1 and PENTAX K-1 Mark II will eventually be available to US customers.”
Firmware update 2.50 for both the K-1 and K-1 II is available for download from Ricoh’s website.
As part of our twenty fifth anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the most significant cameras launched and reviewed during that period. Today’s pick was launched seven years ago today* and yet we’re only quite recently stepping out of its shadow.
The Nikon D850 is likely to be remembered as the high watermark of DSLR technology. We may yet still see impressive developments from Ricoh in the future (we’d love to see a significantly upgraded Pentax K-1 III), but the D850 was perhaps the green flash as the sun set on the DSLR as the dominant technology in the market.
Click here to read our Nikon D850 review
Why do we think it was such a big deal? Because it got just about everything right. Its 45MP sensor brought dual conversion gain to high pixel count sensors, meaning excellent dynamic range at base ISO and lower noise at high ISOs. Its autofocus system was one of the best we’ve ever seen on a DSLR: easy to use and highly dependable, with a good level of coverage. And then there was a body and user interface honed by years of iterative refinement, that made it easy to get the most out of the camera.
None of this is meant as a slight towards the other late-period DSLRs but the likes of Canon’s EOS 5DS and 5DSR didn’t present quite such a complete package of AF tracking, daylight DR and low-light quality as the Nikon did. With its ability to shoot at up to 9fps (if you used the optional battery grip), the D850 started to chip away at the idea that high megapixel cameras were specialized landscape and studio tools that would struggle with movement or less-than-perfect lighting. And that’s without even considering its 4K video capabilities.
In the seven years since the D850 was launched, mirrorless cameras have eclipsed most areas in which DSLRs once held the advantage. For example, the Z8 can shoot faster, autofocus more with more accuracy and precision, across a wider area of the frame and do so while shooting at much faster rates.
But, even though it outshines the D850 in most regards, the Z8 is still based around what we believe is a (significant) evolution of the same sensor, and its reputation still looms large enough for Nikon to explicitly market the Z8 as its “true successor.”
Nikon D850 sample gallery
*Actually seven years ago yesterday: we had to delay this article for a day to focus on the publishing the Z6III studio scene: the latest cameras taking precedence over our anniversary content.
| Photo: Richard Butler |
We’ve just received a production Nikon Z6III and took it into our studio immediately to get a sense for how the sensor really performs.
Dynamic range tests have already been conducted, but these only give a limited insight into the image quality as a whole. As expected, our Exposure Latitude test – which mimics the effect of reducing exposure to capture a bright sunrise or sunset, then making use of the deep shadows – shows a difference if you use the very deepest shadows, just as the numerical DR tests imply.
Likewise, our ISO Invariance test shows there’s more of a benefit to be had from applying more amplification by raising the ISO setting to overcome the read noise, than there was in the Z6 II. This means there’s a bigger improvement when you move up to the higher gain step of the dual conversion gain sensor but, as with the Z6 II, little more to be gained beyond that.
These are pushing at the extreme of the sensor’s performance though. For most everyday photography, you don’t use the deepest shadows of the Raw files, so differences in read noise between sensors don’t play much of a role. In most of the tones of an image, sensor size plays a huge role, along with any (pretty rare) differences in light capturing efficiency.
As expected, the standard exposures look identical to those of the Z6 II. There are similar (or better) levels of detail at low ISO, in both JPEG and Raw. At higher ISO, the Z6III still looks essentially the same as the Z6II. Its fractionally higher level of read noise finally comes back to have an impact at very, very high ISO settings.
Overall, then, there is a read noise price to be paid for the camera’s faster sensor, in a way that slightly blunts the ultimate flexibility of the Raw files at low ISO and that results in fractionally more noise at ultra-high ISOs. But we suspect most people will more than happily pay this small price in return for a big boost in performance.
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