The Best Of 2017

It’s been a relatively quiet year for new cameras and lenses, punctuated by some very impressive releases. Andy Westlake and Michael Topham look back on 2017 and reveal their favourite kit

- Andy Westlake & Michael Topham

You might think that a similar number of new camera models are released every year. But it’s not quite like that, thanks to the Photokina effect. For decades, the industry’s biggest trade show has been held in the September of even-numbered years, and the major camera companies have timed their big announcements around it. Consequently, 2017 hasn’t seen a huge number of new cameras; however, it has seen some extremely significant ones. From 2019 onwards, Photokina will become an annual show, so perhaps this is the last time we’ll see such a pattern.

In addition, in April 2016, Sony’s sensor plant in Kumamoto was hit by a huge earthquake that halted production completely. The resulting shortage severely disrupted releases well into 2017.