Vote - 2011 Camera Of The Year!

I have posted a poll for the community choice 2011 Camera of the Year. Please visit the poll and vote for the camera you think was the best of 2011:

2011 Camera Of The Year Poll >>

If you aren't familiar with the cameras listed, check out our 2011 camera of the year nomination discussion:

2011 Camera Of The Year Discussion >>

Thanks for voting and please feel free to share the poll. The more votes we have the more valid the results are.

I am going to wait until the last day to vote. My NEX7 is on the way, it has been shpped. I downloaded the manual. It looks awesome on paper and the top wheels, when in manual, adjust the shutter speeds and apeture. I think this may be the working mans Leica that everyone has been waiting on.
I will check out the color shift problem and post pictures...

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Originally Posted by Greg McCary

I am going to wait until the last day to vote. My NEX7 is on the way, it has been shpped. I downloaded the manual. It looks awesome on paper and the top wheels, when in manual, adjust the shutter speeds and apeture. I think this may be the working mans Leica that everyone has been waiting on.

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Can't wait to see what you think of the NEX-7, Greg! In my brief time with it at PhotoPlus, I found it was a very different experience than the Leica M9. It's much closer to a DSLR than a Leica rangefinder. And as much as I appreciate the M9, I think the NEX-7 is a much more practical camera.

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Can't wait to see what you think of the NEX-7, Greg! In my brief time with it at PhotoPlus, I found it was a very different experience than the Leica M9. It's much closer to a DSLR than a Leica rangefinder. And as much as I appreciate the M9, I think the NEX-7 is a much more practical camera.

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I agree John as much as I would like an M9 it's not a practical stand alone system. It is built for a specific type of photography.

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Originally Posted by Greg McCary

I am going to wait until the last day to vote. My NEX7 is on the way, it has been shpped. I downloaded the manual. It looks awesome on paper and the top wheels, when in manual, adjust the shutter speeds and apeture. I think this may be the working mans Leica that everyone has been waiting on.
I will check out the color shift problem and post pictures...

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Congratulations Greg! That's great news.....I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

Liz

Greg I'm also very curious on your opinion about the nex7, so far it is winning in the poll (with a current count of 5 votes)

The first vote was actually for the Nikon 1 system cameras. That surprised me since those cameras have had such a mixed reaction.

Geez John, look what your diplomacy has done, you put it up there and now more idiots voted for it (the Nikon). You know they voted based on the brand name, and not because of the merit of the innovation (that is exceedingly obvious). Ah geez.... I haven't voted yet, can I use my vote to cancel out the Nikon 1, instead of vote for something else?

*edit - I tried Nikon 1's 30 and 60fps modes. After I dug through the painful menu system to find it, and it turns out that its not REALLY 60FPS, but 12 frames at the rate of 60 FPS, then it just stops. Same with the 30 FPS mode. What a jip. Oh well, its not like they put it in their for anything more than advertising points, who's going to find out? Who cares? It says Nikon on the front, that'll be enough to appease the morons who buy that.

Charlie-
It's not diplomacy. Or, if I read between the lines - I'm not kissing Nikon's ass. I really am impressed with the Nikon 1 and think it brings something new to the compact system category and possibly even cameras in general. I absolutely believe it belongs on the list. And yes, people will vote by brand loyalty. They always have and they always will. That's just the way we are.

By the way, just to make things clear - this poll is for the community choice. I will choose my own camera of the year and that will be the official pick for the site. But I think it's useful and interesting to find out what the community thinks, too. The poll is sort of like a user review - you read the results differently. It *will* be more of a popularity contest. Most photographers don't get to use as many cameras as I do so there's no way they can be as informed. That said, knowing what's most popular is important, too.

I have no idea who was the first idiot to vote for the Nikon 1. Absolutely none.

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Originally Posted by Franglais

I have no idea who was the first idiot to vote for the Nikon 1. Absolutely none.

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Are you saying that you're the culprit? :D

I don't want to influence the vote by saying what I voted for but I will say that I was not the first to vote :)

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

People will vote by brand loyalty. They always have and they always will. That's just the way we are.

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What? No Canon on the list? I can't vote!

Seriously though, I can't say I really know anything about any of these cameras, other than Ashton Kutcher seems to be a fan of the Nikon 1... Maybe he was the 1st to vote.

I wasn't implying you were kissing Nikon's ass. I was implying that you were kissing popularity's ass :D. You know, diplomacy to the 4 idiots that voted for it. *edit - your diplomacy is well-founded, I don't actually fault you for putting the Nikon up, just wildly disappointed that people are silly and thoughtless enough to vote for it.

Well that's a relief anyway, I thought the poll dictated the winner.

John, what do they bring, aside from phase detect points on a transparent filter on top of a tiny crappy sensor, to assist in moving the AF gear barely one way or another for its tiny focus range? Sort of easy to get fast continuous AF when you hit hyperfocal distance at 8 feet.

One inadvertent thing the Nikon 1 does for the CSC category is draw attention away from consumer DSLR and into the more layperson friendly category of CSC. But they did that with their name and with Ashton Kutcher, not with their technology.

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They always have and they always will. That's just the way we are.

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Not the way I am. I seriously cannot even pick one, the entire list sans the Nikon 1 has such good technological, innovative merit. The only thing I'm sure of is that the Nikon 1 aint it! lol...

oh boy, Just witnessed a surge in votes for the Nikon 1. I suspect foul play, someone has clearly compromised the integrity of the poll.

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Are you saying that you're the culprit? :D

I don't want to influence the vote by saying what I voted for but I will say that I was not the first to vote :)

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No comment.

I was going to vote for the Olympus E-P3 Pen but then I realised I'd never actually handled one. Big responsibility casting a vote just the same, weigh up the pros and cons..

But I only voted once.

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Big responsibility casting a vote just the same, weigh up the pros and cons..

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interesting. Care to share that list?

So, it takes 24 hours to hit 20 votes. and in the past 2 hours there was another 19 votes, all of which were for the Fuji and Nikon. What do you guys think the implications are?

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

So, it takes 24 hours to hit 20 votes. and in the past 2 hours there was another 19 votes, all of which were for the Fuji and Nikon. What do you guys think the implications are?

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You think Ashton Kutcher and his girlfriends found the site?

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

So, it takes 24 hours to hit 20 votes. and in the past 2 hours there was another 19 votes, all of which were for the Fuji and Nikon. What do you guys think the implications are?

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It was the local SLC pro dealer, Pictureline, linking to the poll from their Facebook page. I'm not sure about the Nikon 1, but the Fujifilm X100 has been a very big seller for them.

I wouldn't worry about the numbers right now. Statistically, the numbers don't mean much until we hit 100 :)

Well I certainly don't know who else would do such scheming trickery.

*edit - oh, I see PJ says it was the SLC pro dealer. So, the question then becomes, why are so many pictureline customers so misinformed as to vote for the Nikon? Maybe Picturelines Nikon dealership contract trumps customer relations and integrity and honesty...

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

Well I certainly don't know who else would do such scheming trickery.

*edit - oh, I see PJ says it was the SLC pro dealer. So, the question then becomes, why are so many pictureline customers so misinformed as to vote for the Nikon? Maybe Picturelines Nikon dealership contract trumps customer relations and integrity and honesty...

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Naw, the guys at Pictureline are legit. All they did was post a link to the poll. I think it's Nikon's marketing and brand-loyalty. Like him or not, like them or not, the Ashton Kutcher Nikon ad campaign has been pretty effective. Personally, I don't look to actors to help me decide what camera to buy :D

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

interesting. Care to share that list?

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I thought you would never ask.

NEX-7 = A technological triumph but when I tried it I didn't like it, funny tales about purple images on Leica lenses.. Not enough out there yet to be sure it's really a good, useful camera. Save till next year

E-PL3 = Respect the gradual improvement but I like to have a viewfinder. Never been able to try one. You want me to vote for that?

Fuji X100 = Like it a lot but a fixed focal length lens? Bit of an oddball

Nikon J1/V1 = At Christmas my brother-in-law showed me the results he got with his Nikon P100 Bridge camera. I have to say they are pretty good by any standards. Then he did a shot of me being devoured by a little dog, 20 images in quick succession and pick the best one, just like on the V1. It's what the punters are asking for, suppoted by some really new technology but I'm not enthusiastic about it at all

I bet Jennifer Aniston could make a EP-3 look sexy. I wonder how many Canon's Andre Agassi sold.

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Originally Posted by Greg McCary

I bet Jennifer Aniston could make a EP-3 look sexy. I wonder how many Canon's Andre Agassi sold.

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I think Agassi's mullet sold tons of Rebels for Canon. I hated that campaign, though. The "Image Is Everything" tagline just rubbed me the wrong way. As a photographer with a fine art background, talking about image just seems so shallow. I know it was catching and had a double meaning. But to me, *content* is everything.

As for the E-P3 - it *is* sexy! But it's not on TV. Not at all. But Olympus doesn't have the deep pockets that Nikon does. Especially not now.

Dear god, 80 votes now. At least the numbers look more appropriate this time.

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NEX-7 = A technological triumph but when I tried it I didn't like it, funny tales about purple images on Leica lenses.. Not enough out there yet to be sure it's really a good, useful camera. Save till next year

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Image samples at every ISO are available. Right, the magenta shift on older third party lens. I wonder how the Nikon does with that... wait, nobody has tried it yet. I wonder why that is? Its almost like people wouldn't waste their time trying alternate glass on the Nikon.

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E-PL3 = Respect the gradual improvement but I like to have a viewfinder. Never been able to try one. You want me to vote for that?

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They have an articulating evf, and now they have a fixed evf as well. What do you mean?? Before the E-P3/E-PL3/E-PM1, the CSC categories CDAF was dirt slow, Olympus brought AF speed up and in a big way! The E-PM1 was the smallest CSC camera at its introduction, with a bigger image sensor than the J1 at a smaller size.

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Fuji X100 = Like it a lot but a fixed focal length lens? Bit of an oddball

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Its because its a fixed focal length lens that they were able to utilize such short backfocus and make the whole thing small. a fixed 50mm is a good range for a universal use. Lots of people stick with only 50mm lens, certainly more do that than could benefit from nikons AF advantage (at the sacrifice of dof control).

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Nikon J1/V1 = At Christmas my brother-in-law showed me the results he got with his Nikon P100 Bridge camera. I have to say they are pretty good by any standards. Then he did a shot of me being devoured by a little dog, 20 images in quick succession and pick the best one, just like on the V1. It's what the punters are asking for, suppoted by some really new technology but I'm not enthusiastic about it at all

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A) Sony has been doing 10 FPS for over a year now, and as I said earlier, Nikons 30 and 60fps are misleading in that they only shoot 12 frames. Further, if punters are asking for easier spray-n-pray, is that really whats good for photography? Don't bother with technique or approach, just hold the trigger and cross your fingers??? Absurdity, I don't care if its popular its bad technique.

I put up a facebook link to the poll too. Hopefully that will help in pushing Nikon to the bottom, where it belongs lol.

The entire photo market culture is diseased with this ignorant brandism that pervades the majority of consumers. People eat up whatever brand they think has the most clout, and the Nikon 1 is the epitomizing display of this brain-dead brandism. I have long found this situation repugnant, and Nikon just upped it a notch with this camera. The fact that the Nikon is fairing so well in this poll, and in its sales as well rubs salt into that sense of indignation.

John - sorry to be such a troll, just having fun.. I understand you are being entirely objective and non-disparaging, I respect that. I'm being unfair picking on you.

I voted XZ-1, I really think its heading for a comeback.

When does the poll end? My Nex7 still isn't here.
I haven't handled every camera on the list either. But before I bought the a77 I really done a lot of homework. I read reviews, looked at DXO marks and dug up as much info as I could. As far as third party glass on the NEX7 if I could afford three Leica lenses I would own an M9.lol
To be honest your better off using the glass designed for the job.
I think I have used my Voigtlander 28 on my NEX5n once.

Holy cow - who's manipulating the poll now? It's had about 100 votes so far this morning and the E-P3 has shot to the top.

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Originally Posted by Greg McCary

When does the poll end? My Nex7 still isn't here.

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No hurry, Greg. I'll probably let people continue to vote through the end of January. You don't have to handle or use a camera in 2011 for it to be a 2011 camera :)

For me, it's the J1.
Despite owning an XZ-1 and loving it.
Despite probably upgrading to the E-P3 from my E-P1.
Despite my most used camera for months being the iPhone 4.

The fast continuous AF in that small package, and its use of mainstream (sorry Sony) SLR lenses with adapter is a great combination.
Again they're pushing the competition as they did with high ISO low noise DSLR performance.

If I was buying a compact system now, instead of when the E-P1 was launched, I would probably choose the J1 and not micro 4/3.

But give it 6 months and we'll see Canon's response.

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Originally Posted by SmartWombat

If I was buying a compact system now, instead of when the E-P1 was launched, I would probably choose the J1 and not micro 4/3.

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Wow - that's a surprise! You'd choose the Nikon over the NEX-7 with the mirrorless adapter? And why the J1 and not the V1? Personally, if I was going to jump into the Nikon 1 system, I'd much rather spend the extra dough to have the EVF.

Wow... Just wow. Well, this poll just got destroyed. Now we just need a few more votes for the A77 and push that Nikon to the bottom lol.

OK seriously though John, how about making a forum member poll, instead of an anybody-vote one? Might be more legit. You aren't going to keep this poll up are you? The validity has been shot.

Whats with everybody's obsession with continuous AF? Its a unique style of technique for a specific type of photography, the type of photography that is certainly well into the minority. What good is it for portraits and landscapes? How many of the people that are buying this are actually doing so to use continuous AF? I bet the Continuous AF never even gets turned on on half of the Nikon 1's that are sold.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've used continuous AF in the past year, most of the time I stick with manual focus/aperture as well.

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Originally Posted by SmartWombat

Despite my most used camera for months being the iPhone 4.

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You know, I think you have pointed out the one camera that I maybe should have included in the poll and didn't - the iPhone 4s. With over 200 votes, though, I think it's too late to add it.

200 fake votes. Or, did some Olympus club of 100 something people find the poll?

Well the NEX7 is here. I only got to play with it a few minutes. But I can tell you I won't put it over the a77. The a77 will focus in almost dark compared to anything I have ever owned even with a slower Tamron lens. The NEX 7 although may focus faster than the NEX5n. It can't touch the a77.
I think it's the a77 hands down. I have seen images with the EP-3 and if it handles like the others in the EP series I would put it third. The NEX 7 should win second due to the built in finder and superior IQ. Plus the NEX 7 is a breeze to shoot in manual. A dial for aperture and one for shutter speed, just like it should be.
If the N1 can beat the a77 in focus speed and FPS I would love to see it. The a77 sounds like a sewing machine. Plus the shutter is very quite. For a full time LV camera 12FPS is pretty impressive.
Olympus got slammed for years for their small sensor and high noise levels. I can't really believe Nikon is putting out a smaller sensor with the noise levels at were it's at. I would like to see it compared to the XZ-1.
John if you put up the Iphone4, my wife has one, you better put up the HTC Thunderbolt. My Thunderbolt takes better pictures than an Iphone4, just sayin'..

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6...cac100dd_b.jpg
NEX7 by Cosmonaut's, on Flickr

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

Whats with everybody's obsession with continuous AF? Its a unique style of technique for a specific type of photography, the type of photography that is certainly well into the minority.

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Well, my obsession with it is that it makes a huge difference for the kind of photography that I do. And I know it's one of toughest bits of technology to improve. So when someone does a good job of it, I take notice.

Thanks for posting that Greg. I don't think anyone was really trying to make the claim that the Nikon 1 does better continuous AF than a modern Pro APS body, but rather that it was faster than its CSC and consumer DSLR competition. I remember when they claimed "as fast as pro SLR", but that had an asterisk by its statement with an explanation of comparing it to "comparable, 3.5-5.6 lens" on those pro bodies. I'm sure a 2.8 SSM or high speed AF gear on the A77 would surpass the Nik 1's continuous ability. I recall John stating that the J1 couldn't keep up with his 7D, but was close.

John - I understand that you have a use for it, and the kind of shooting you do continuous AF is useful. But most people rely primarily, or even singularly on single-shot AF for their technique. What I'm saying is that its benefit is for a niche audience, not the consensus. You are part of that niche, but most people are not. As such, people who are NOT part of that niche are doing themselves a disservice getting a camera that is inferior for everything except that niche.

Charlie you are right. With most it's as much as looking cool as anything else. With that said most people never look at what I am using. To me it's getting the job done.
I remember when Dennis Rodman played people would throw him tee shirts after the game with their logo on it. Knowing if he wore it after the game they would sell enough of them to make a small fortune.

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

John - I understand that you have a use for it, and the kind of shooting you do continuous AF is useful. But most people rely primarily, or even singularly on single-shot AF for their technique. What I'm saying is that its benefit is for a niche audience, not the consensus. You are part of that niche, but most people are not. As such, people who are NOT part of that niche are doing themselves a disservice getting a camera that is inferior for everything except that niche.

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I totally agree with you. I would recommend the Nikon 1 to a lot of my skier and mountain biker friends for a backpack camera. But as I said in my review, if image quality is your top priority, then there are much better cameras to be had.

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Holy cow - who's manipulating the poll now? It's had about 100 votes so far this morning and the E-P3 has shot to the top.

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Maybe they all saw that National Geographic voted it Compact Camera of the Year! :D

Liz

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

Thanks for posting that Greg. I don't think anyone was really trying to make the claim that the Nikon 1 does better continuous AF than a modern Pro APS body, but rather that it was faster than its CSC and consumer DSLR competition. I remember when they claimed "as fast as pro SLR", but that had an asterisk by its statement with an explanation of comparing it to "comparable, 3.5-5.6 lens" on those pro bodies. I'm sure a 2.8 SSM or high speed AF gear on the A77 would surpass the Nik 1's continuous ability. I recall John stating that the J1 couldn't keep up with his 7D, but was close.

John - I understand that you have a use for it, and the kind of shooting you do continuous AF is useful. But most people rely primarily, or even singularly on single-shot AF for their technique. What I'm saying is that its benefit is for a niche audience, not the consensus. You are part of that niche, but most people are not. As such, people who are NOT part of that niche are doing themselves a disservice getting a camera that is inferior for everything except that niche.

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How about video? All these cameras do video but if Grandma wants to follow the little one around the parlour and keep him in focus then there's nothing better than the Nikon 1 series on the list (I can't see her using a f2.8 SSM on an A77). Image quality is not so important for video.

Nikon have designed these things to do good video - witness the power zoom lens option. Give the punters what they want.