Photo: Richard Butler

Every December, as we approach the end of the year, DPReview editors engage in our annual ritual of picking our Gear of the Year: that one photography item we enjoyed using most during the past twelve months. When I think about how much gear comes through the DPReview offices annually, I’m surprised the decision is usually as easy as it is, but in most years, one product usually stands out for me.

Not so this year. It got complicated.

The candidates

Regular readers may know that I love fast, wide prime lenses, particularly for astrophotography. In the past, I’ve selected a fast, wide prime as my gear of the year at least four times. It’s not exactly a tradition, but it’s starting to feel close. I think there are even a couple of readers who placed bets over whether I would choose the new Sigma 15mm F1.4 DG DN Fisheye lens this year.

If you took that bet, you lost. Better luck next year (and maybe diversify your portfolio). I came close, though. That Sigma lens is a beauty, and I’d love to have it in my kit. But it didn’t quite make the cut for the top spot this time around.

"I’ve selected a fast, wide prime as my gear of the year at least four times. It’s not exactly a tradition, but it’s starting to feel close."

The next product I considered was a dark horse: The Panasonic DMC-LX7. In case you just did a double-take, that’s not a mistake. I almost picked a compact camera from 2012 as my favorite gear of 2024.

Unless your Wi-Fi went out in 2020 and you never bothered to fix it, you probably know that ‘vintage’ compact cameras – and I use the term ‘vintage’ loosely – have become all the rage among those who are too young to remember being frustrated by their image quality the first time around. (Those were the dark ages, kids.)

So, a few months ago, in a moment of nostalgia-inspired curiosity, I dug my LX7 out of storage and started using it just for fun. Thankfully, no bell bottoms or disco albums turned up alongside it, allowing me to put off confronting some earlier life choices.

Despite being released in 2012, the Panasonic LX7 almost snagged my 2024 Gear of the Year award. I rediscovered it earlier this year and have enjoyed its simple, point-and-shoot style.

And oh, the fun I had! I found myself carrying the LX7 around for much of this year, using it for snapshots and embracing it for the fun of point-and-shoot photography.

I’m sure I'll snap out of it eventually and go back to more meaningful pursuits like obsessing over megapixels or arguing about negligible differences in dynamic range, but if I were to choose my gear of the year based on the pure joy I got from a product, the LX7 would be the clear winner.

The product that ultimately made the cut for the top spot is the Canon EOS R5 II, a camera I didn’t get to use nearly as much as I’d hoped but used enough to be convinced.

The EOS R5 II

Photo: Richard Butler

The original EOS R5, introduced in 2020, never made my shortlist for gear of the year. It was a capable workhorse, but nothing about shooting it felt particularly special. In contrast, the R5 II added three features that, for me, made the difference.

Stacked sensor: I don’t need a stacked sensor for most of the shooting I do, and I rarely shoot at the highest burst rates offered by most new cameras. However, after a few years of shooting cameras with stacked sensors, I’ve come to appreciate the blackout-free shooting experience such cameras offer.

"It's a little luxury, like heated car seats for your eyeballs."

I can’t think of a single instance in which I’ve ever missed a shot due to viewfinder blackout, but I do notice the blackout. Call it a quality-of-life enhancement, if you will, but it’s becoming more important to me. It's a little luxury, like heated car seats for your eyeballs.

Eye-controlled AF: I’ve been a fan of Canon’s eye-controlled AF since the film days. A few years ago, I even wrote an article expressing my desire for Canon to bring it back with a more modern implementation; four years later, the EOS R3 delivered on that call to action. Thanks for listening, Canon ;)

Whether using eye-controlled AF or Canon's new Action Priority AF mode, the EOS R5 II's autofocus system is up to the task, even for sports. The pre-burst capture feature allowed me to get photos I would have missed. (Processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw.) Canon EOS R5 Mark II | F2.8 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000 Photo: Dale Baskin

I know eye-controlled AF doesn’t work for everyone, but when it does, it can be a transformative way of shooting. It pains me to know there are many people for whom eye-controlled AF still doesn’t work because it's such a natural way to interact with a camera.

Pre-burst capture: I’m an expert at shooting certain subjects but a rank amateur at others, and it’s this latter group where I find pre-capture helpful. This is particularly true when shooting sports, but I’ve also found it helpful for shooting birds or wildlife. It has allowed me to capture photos I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

"It pains me to know there are many people for whom eye-controlled AF still doesn’t work."

To be clear, I don’t want to give Canon too much credit here. The R5 isn’t the first camera with a blackout-free stacked sensor, and it’s far from the first to offer pre-capture. However, it’s the first camera to offer those features alongside eye-controlled autofocus, and, for me, that combination is what makes the camera so enjoyable to shoot with.

There are many more things the R5 II does better or faster than its predecessor, and some of those things will matter more to other people, but most won’t make a big difference to my photography work. The R5 II hits a nice sweet spot for me, and the fact that it does so in a body with excellent ergonomics that delivers outstanding image quality is icing on the cake.

Canon EOS R5 II sample gallery