I’m really fascinated about photojournalism and because of that, I wanted to find out which digital cameras are most common among professional photojournalists.
Neither the Fuji X-T3 or the Sony A7 III is on the list – two of my favorite cameras.
But I think they’ll be on the list next year after the big boom in mirrorless cameras.
The most popular cameras among award-winning photojournalist
Start from the top, it’s really no surprise that among the winning photographers, most of them used the amazing Nikon D5. This camera is up there on my camera-wishlist – some day… Some day. I mean, just read the crazy positive reviews of the Nikon D5.
Top 8 DSLRs used photographers who won World Press Photo
1. Nikon D5
2. Nikon D810
3. Canon EOS 5D Mark III
4. Nikon D800E
Notable mentions:
5th place Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
6th Place Nikon D4s
7th Place Nikon D700
8th Place Canon EOS 5D Mark II
It’s interesting to see how many photojournalists swear to Nikon DSLR and Canon DSLRs. I mean, it’s not that shocking they are represented a lot – but 50% of the World Press Photo Winners shoots with a Nikon. Well done Nikon.
If you see the complete list, you will also find a couple of Fujifilm and Sony cameras. Personally, I use the Fujifilm x100f for documentary photography, street photography, and portraits. But I want to go more into photojournalism and that’s why I have my eyes on the sexy this sexy camera.
So what camera is the best for photojournalism?
To get the data, I look at the most popular cameras used by the winning photographers of the World Press Photo Award 2020 and this is the list of cameras of the most popular cameras.
It’s a tough one. And course, it depends on what your needs are, but for me, I’d pick a camera that
- Has amazing image quality and IQ – of course.
- Is lightweight.
- Can record Video in HD.
- Has fast autofocus and shutter.
But most importantly I’d go for a camera I feel comfortable with, and so should you. I tried my friend’s Nikon D6 and feel in love with it – but that doesn’t mean it’s the right camera for you. And what you will use it for matters a lot. If you are into war photography or photographing a place that is very dangerous, you might want to go with a small camera, compared to a heavy DSLR. If you plan to use your camera for a lot of travel, these cameras might be better for you.
That’s my take. I, myself want to dig a lot further into press photography, documentary photography, and photojournalism and while I think books are what makes you a better photographer, I also really love to daydream about my future cameras. When I began doing photography, I got myself the small Ricoh GR II and to this day, that keeps being the camera I carry around mostly because it’s pocketable. It takes great black and white portraits and the JPGs look awesome. If you want you can see some of my black and white photography and my candid street photography.
Alright, I hope you get a bit closer to finding the camera of your dreams. And if you are a photojournalist or you study photojournalism, I wish you all the best and stay safe.
In terms of lenses, these are my favorite from Fuji, if that’s what you are shooting on.
Learn more about getting press as a photographer and how to find hashtags for photojournalism.
Also, make sure to check out my list of photography gifts.