In the course of any given year, I review a LOT of gear. In 2024 I did 108 total reviews, including 7 cameras and many dozens of lenses at all price points. At this stage of my career, I have reviewed hundreds of lenses and many dozens of cameras. We are, I believe, in a golden age of photography. 2024 saw a slight shift in the overall movement towards using phones for photography with more people considering a “real camera” instead. But what gear stood out from the crowd in my reviews? Find out by watching the 2024 DA Awards below! There’s also a summary of the awards in this article.

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If you just want a summary of what I covered in the video, you can can see the list of contestants in each category below along with the slide of the winner and a photo taken with each winner. Just to clarify: these are my top picks among the lenses I personally reviewed. I review Canon, Sony, and Fujifilm (APS-C and medium format), and Nikon, so there won’t be any M43 or Leica gear here…even though I’m sure there are several deserving products from those brands.

DA Awards 2024 – Top Camera

List of contestants:

• Sony a7CR
• Canon EOS R8
• Canon EOS R50
• Fuji X100VI
• Fujifilm GFX100S II
• Sony ZV-10 II
• Nikon Z8

You can see my review of the Nikon Z8 here…and here’s one photo I loved from it.

DA Awards 2024 – Top Zoom Lens

List of contestants:

• Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM II
• Canon RF 24-50mm IS STM
• Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM
• Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 II
• Sigma 24-45mm F1.8 ART
• Tamron 50-300mm VC VXD
• Tamron 70-300mm Z Mount
• Tamron 35-150mm Z Mount
• Tamron 50-400mm Z-Mount
• Sigma 18-50 and 10-18mm RF
• Sigma 28-105mm F2.8
• Tamron 28-300mm VC
• Sony 28-70mm F2

For the second year in a row, Sony wins with the top zoom lens. The Sony 28-70mm F2 GM was a winner to both me and my audience. Here’s one favorite photo from it.

DA Awards 2024 – Top Budget APS-C Prime Lens (Under $600)

List of contenders:

• Viltrox Pro AF 27mm F1.2 (Sony)
• Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7
• TTArtisan AF 56mm F1.8
• 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8
• Yongnuo AF 11mm F1.8
• Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2
• Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2
• Yongnuo 50mm F1.8 DA DSM Pro
• Yongnuo 33mm F1.4 Pro
• Viltrox AF 35mm F1.7
• AstrHori 25mm 2-5x Macro

Viltrox takes home a win in this category for the second year in a row. The 35mm F1.7 AIR isn’t as high end as last year’s winner, but it (along with the 56mm F1.7 AIR) are big winners for providing very good optical instruments at budget prices.

DA Awards 2024 – Top Budget Full Frame Prime Lens (Under $600)

Here’s the list of contenders:

• 7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8
• 7Artisans AF 85mm F1.8
• Nikkor 40mm F2
• Viltrox AF 40mm F2.5
• Nikkor 50mm F1.4
• TTArtisan AF 75mm F2
• Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5
• TTArtisan 75mm F1.5 Swirl
• Pergear 100mm F2.8 2x Macro
• Thypoch Simera 28mm F1.4
• Thypoch Simera 35mm F1.4
• Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4

The Nikkor Z 50mm F1.4 is a very solid lens at a shockingly affordable price of $499. In my review I concluded that it was “enough” in basically every category for most all photographers. Here’s a photo favorite from it.

DA Awards 2024 – Premium Full Frame Prime Lens

List of contenders:

• Laowa AF 10mm F2.8
• Sigma 500mm F5.6 Sport
• Sigma 15mm F1.4 Fisheye
• Sigma 50mm F1.2 ART
• Voigtlander Nokton 75mm F1.5
• Voigtlander Nokton 50mm F1.9
• Sony 85mm F1.4 GM II
• Fujinon GF 500mm F5.6
• Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro
• Viltrox LAB 135mm F1.8
• Laowa 55mm F2.8 T/S

I’ve been very eagerly awaiting Viltrox’s LAB series ever since it was announced, and the LAB 135mm F1.8 did not disappoint. It is feature rich, optically amazing, and sported a whole new autofocus system (Hyper-VCM) that allows it to have quick, accurate autofocus. It’s a treat.

DA Awards 2024 – Which Company Had the Best Year?

Sigma released a ton of interesting lenses this year, from intriguing zooms (24-70mm F2.8 II, 28-45mm F1.8, 28-105mm F2.8) to interesting primes (50mm 1.2, 15mm F1.4, 500mm F5.6), to being the first to move into the Canon RF (APS-C) space with both primes and zooms.

DA Awards 2024 – Which Lens Surprised Me the Most?

There’s nothing surprising about a 50mm F1.4 lens. But what is surprising is that a first party brand like Nikon would release a very good 50mm F1.4 for just $500. My conclusion was that this lens was “enough” for most people, and for Nikon to take the risk of undercutting more expensive options took a lot of bravery.

DA Awards 2024 – Most Disappoint Lens?

The sad thing about the Canon RF 35mm F1.4L VCM is that in many ways it is a very good lens, with great autofocus and amazing sharpness, but it also has a number of qualities that I consider inexecusable in a $1500 lens, like massive distortion and vignette along with some really questionable design choices. I wanted to love this lens, but ended up very disappointed by it…even though you can make some lovely images with it.

DA Awards 2024 – Reader’s Choice Awards

I polled my audience on YouTube over a series of weeks in three categories, and got around 1000 votes in each category. Here are the winners:

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So there you have it! Here’s hoping that 2025 brings up more amazing lenses, cameras, and gear!

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