Nikon D500 DSLR
It’s been a while—seven years—since Nikon last introduced a pro-grade DX (Nikon-speak for APS-C- format) DSLR, but boy was it worth the wait. With 20.9MP, the D500 aced an Excellent image quality rating from ISO 50–3200 in our lab test. From the top-of-the-line Nikon D5 it inherits the 153-point autofocus system, 2.4-million-dot touchscreen, 180,000-pixel metering sensor, and 30 fps 4K video capture. The full ISO range goes from 50 to 1,638,400 (yes, that’s ISO 1.64 million), but the stratospheric ISOs will give you lots of noise. Sports and action shooters note: The D500 can crank along at 10 fps, up to 200 JPEGs, and one of the two card slots is for super-speedy QXD cards. Have a set of DX lenses? This may well be the upgrade body you’re waiting for.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
You say you want a revolution? Don’t look for it in the 5D Mark IV, which continues Canon’s tradition of making sensible, incremental improvements to the very popular 5D full-frame line. Sensor resolution goes up to 30.4MP from the 22.3MP of the 5D Mark III, for an Excellent-rated picture resolution of 3130 lines at lower ISOs in our lab test. The flip side is that it takes a hit in noise performance—it maintains a Low or better rating to only ISO 3200, as opposed to ISO 12,800 for its predecessor. Video capture also gets a bump up to 4K at 30 fps, up from 1080p HD with the Mark III. And with this Mark IV, we finally have a 5D with Wi-Fi.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 100–400mm f/4.5–5.6 R LM OIS WR
Just for reference, this focal length on Fujifilm’s APS-C ILCs works out to the equivalent angle of view of a 150–600mm lens on a full-frame camera, making it ideal for sports, action, faraway scenics, and wildlife. That it produces excellent sharpness, imperceptible distortion, and virtually no light falloff across all tested focal lengths doesn’t hurt either. Nor does the stellar performance of the Optical Image Stabilization, which averaged four stops of additional handholding ability for our testers. It’s big for its focal length but relatively light (“relative” being 3.13 pounds). So bring a monopod.
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM
Version II of Canon’s high-speed full-framer ups the ante with a new type of optics said to substantially reduce chromatic aberration—the optical nastiness that can produce color fringing and blurry edges. We tested it and found the claim to be true—fringing was practically non-existent. Same was true for optical distortion, which was rated imperceptible. And as for sharpness, it turned in excellent SQF numbers. It’s expensive, and relatively heavy, but it’s one “L” of a lens.
Sign up here with your email
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon