Recently, I was having a discussion with a friend about which Nikon camera he should get. He asked me point-blank what I thought Nikon’s greatest camera is, and my gut reaction was to say the Z9 – after all, it has the most advanced specs of any Nikon camera today (with the possible exception of the Z8). But with some further thought, I realized that the answer wasn’t so simple. Who am I to ignore 7+ decades of Nikon’s history and reflexively say that their current flagship is their greatest camera? There are so many other cameras with claims to the throne. Film, DSLR, mirrorless, point-and-shoot, you name it… what a dilemma!
So, I’ll pose the question to you: What is Nikon’s greatest camera of all time?
Is it the Nikon Z9, their current flagship and most advanced camera? The Nikon Z8, which is very similar but in a smaller package and with some new firmware additions? The Nikon D850, a nearly perfect DSLR? Or, is “the greatest” something different entirely, like one of Nikon’s classic film cameras?
Well, it turns out that there have been roughly 128 Nikon cameras made over the past 76 years of Nikon’s existence. That’s the perfect number for a tournament-style bracket to pare these down to 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, and finally 1 – the greatest camera that Nikon has ever made. And so, I created exactly that sort of tournament so that our readers could vote on the greatest Nikon camera of all time.
After seven rounds of voting, I am excited to announce that we have a winner: it’s the Nikon Z8!
It didn’t have an easy road to get here. The Z8 not only defeated the Nikon F3 in the final round – with a convincing score of 204 to 94 – but also won head-to-head matchups against tough competitors like the Nikon Z6 III, Nikon Z9, and Nikon D850. But despite the fierce competition, was its place as the champion ever in doubt? After it beat the Nikon Z9 in Round 2 in a score of 186 to 100, it never really looked back.
This tournament also told us about more than just the Z8. With a little bit of math, I was able to use the vote totals from each round to calculate a rough top ten. (There’s not a perfect way to do it, but in short, it is based on the expected percentage of the votes that each camera would have received in the finals, calculated using the camera’s performance in prior rounds.)
Here’s that top ten list, going in order:
- Nikon Z8
- Nikon Z9
- Nikon F3
- Nikon D850
- Nikon D500
- Nikon F6
- Nikon F5
- Nikon FM2
- Nikon F4
- Nikon Z6 III
To me, this ranking is actually more interesting than seeing the Z8 win the tournament! It offers a good sense of how our readers see all of Nikon’s iconic bodies throughout the years. Also, it allows us to crown three separate champions: the Z8 for mirrorless, the D850 for DSLRs, and the F3 for film. Nikon has made some seriously excellent cameras since the humble Nikon I rangefinder first appeared in 1948, but these are ten of the biggest standouts.
And by the way, as I said when I first opened this tournament for voting, don’t be discouraged if your camera didn’t win or make the top ten (my go-to Z6 and Z7 didn’t)! Part of why Nikon has made so many cameras over the years is that no two photographers have exactly the same requirements. Even the bottom-scoring cameras in this tournament – mostly some old Coolpixes and entry-level film cameras – are capable of producing beautiful photos in the right hands. Let alone any of Nikon’s more modern SLR, DSLR, or mirrorless cameras.
In any case, thank you for participating and following along! I hope you enjoyed this tournament. And keep an eye out; with how much interest this gathered, I’m planning to run a similar poll for the greatest Nikon lenses before long.
The rest of this article is dedicated to background info and round-by-round commentary from when the tournament was open. I’m leaving it here for your future reference.
Background Information
In order to determine the greatest Nikon camera of all time – at least according to our readers – I created a set of polls with 128 Nikon cameras. This represents almost all of the cameras that Nikon has made over the years, although I had to exclude a few minor cameras, mostly various Coolpixes that didn’t stand a chance of winning the tournament. I then grouped these cameras roughly by type in order to make each round as interesting as possible. However, this did come with the compromise that some really good cameras got eliminated in an early round.
Below, for reference, are the four divisions that led to our final four cameras:
- The Punishers – Nikon Z cameras and FX DSLRs
- The Small but Mighty – Nikon DX DSLRs and more recent Nikon 1 cameras
- The Analog Hotshots – Iconic Nikon film cameras
- The Underdogs – Lesser-known cameras today, but they could surprise us
And then the final bracket in which those four winning cameras faced off:
Commentary from each round is below.
Round 6: Results and Commentary
There were just two battles today: The Nikon Z8 versus the Nikon D500, and the Nikon F3 versus the Nikon D90. These four cameras represented the winners of the four brackets that I created at the start of the tournament, which I called The Punishers, The Small but Mighty, The Analog Hotshots, and The Underdogs. As expected, the winners this round were the Nikon Z8 and the Nikon F3! And neither matchup was particularly close. The Z8 beat the D500 in a score of 225 to 70, and the F3 beat the D90 in a score of 196 to 81.
Now, we’re left with the final two. A best-in-class mirrorless workhorse versus one of the most iconic SLRs to grace the earth. 126 cameras have been eliminated, and just the Z8 and F3 remain. Twenty-four hours from now, one of them will walk away as the champion.
Round 5: Results and Commentary
And then there were four.
Division 1 – The Punishers
The most exciting matchup of this round was the Nikon D850 versus the Nikon Z8 – two of the most impressive cameras that Nikon has ever made, and a DSLR vs mirrorless battle for the ages. In the end, the Z8 won with a score of 202 to 92. That may seem like a blowout, but the D850 gave the Z8 its biggest fight since the Z9 (which went 186 to 100 in favor of the Z8).
Since the start of this tournament, it has seemed like the Nikon Z8 was the camera to beat. One of the remaining three cameras could still surprise it, but the ball is in the Z8’s court right now.
Division 2 – The Small but Mighty
In this division, the Nikon D500 coasted to victory over the Nikon D7500 with a score of 180 to 32. Much of this bracket has felt like a formality, with the D500 winning all of its matches with more than 80% of the vote. (Indeed, the D7500 is the camera that gave the D500 the toughest challenge.) Even if Nikon never really loved the high-end DX space, it seems like our readers did. Looks like there would be some serious appetite for, say, a Nikon Z90 if we ever saw one!
Division 3 – The Analog Hotshots
In our closest matchup of Round 5, the Nikon F3 beat the Nikon FM2 by a score of 96 to 71. This was a battle of two Nikon heavyweight film cameras, and it’s interesting to me that both cameras came out at around the same time (the F3 in 1980, the FM2 in 1982). Although the F3 was targeted a little more at pros and fast shooting – featuring aperture priority mode, TTL metering, and a heavy-duty build quality – the beautiful FM2 did have some nice features of its own. It’s the lighter of the two cameras, and it also allows operation without a battery if you find yourself in a pinch. Both are iconic Nikons, and I can see why this battle was so close.
Division 4 – The Underdogs
This division lived up to its name, with the winning Nikon D90 very much being an underdog against the Z9, D500, and F3! In this round, it beat the Nikon F-801 film camera (called the F8008 in the US market), probably not a surprise even though the F-801 was a solid SLR (and a fairly advanced one, featuring autofocus, automatic and semi-auto exposure modes, and 2D matrix metering. However, in a score of 115 to 53, the 12-megapixel Nikon D90 takes the Underdogs crown.
Now it’s a question of whether the D90 can survive against such impressive competition. My crystal ball says it’s unlikely…
Round 4: Results and Commentary
Welcome to the Elite Eight. We’ve eliminated 120 Nikon cameras, and now just two remain in each of our four brackets. It’s down to the Nikon Z8 versus the Nikon D850 in the Punishers bracket, the Nikon D7500 versus the Nikon D500 in the Small but Mighty bracket, the Nikon FM2 versus the Nikon F3 in the Analog Hotshots bracket, and – last and probably least – the Nikon D90 versus the Nikon F-801/N8008 in the Underdogs bracket.
The matchups in Round 4 went mostly as expected, so I’ll keep my commentary short today. But I would like to congratulate the Nikon Z6 III, D750, D5600, D2X, FM, F100, Coolpix A, and S4 rangefinder cameras for making it this far, even though all of them lost in Round 4.
Division 1 – The Punishers
As expected, the Nikon Z8 beat the Nikon Z6 III, scoring over 80% of the vote. It was just as much of a blowout between the Nikon D850 and D750, with the D850 winning in a final score of 223 to 35. Neither of these matches ended up in a surprise, but now we’re down to perhaps the most exciting battle of the entire tournament: the Nikon Z8 versus the Nikon D850.
This will be one for the ages. Both cameras have huge followings, and both are revolutionary cameras. The D850 is arguably the best DSLR ever made, but the Nikon Z8 is arguably the best mirrorless camera ever made! I can’t even begin to predict which camera will win this match, but you have 24 hours to make your voice heard if you believe that one of them truly deserves the title of Nikon’s greatest camera of all time.
Division 2 – The Small but Mighty
The Nikon D7500 and D500 coast to victory against the D5600 and D2X, unsurprisingly. At this point, I’d certainly bet on the Nikon D500 as being the more likely camera to win in Round 5 – but anything could happen! The D7500 is a fantastic camera, especially for the price, and it has a big following of its own. Tune in this time tomorrow to see if it manages to upset the D500.
Division 3 – The Analog Hotshots
One of the most exciting matchups of Round 4 was the Nikon F3 versus the Nikon F100. Both of these are beloved film cameras, and even though I was rooting for the F100 (which was my first film camera), it’s clear that the iconic Nikon F3 is the one to beat. After all, it had already eliminated the technically more advanced F4 and F6 in previous rounds! Will the F3 take the crown, or will the beautiful and classic FM2 continue its own winning streak? Either way, I’m looking forward to crowning Nikon’s greatest analog camera of all time (barring a serious upset from the Underdogs bracket).
Division 4 – The Underdogs
My beloved Coolpix A lost this round against the Nikon D90, in what was a victory for the DSLR and a defeat for fixed-lens APS-C cameras. Still, perhaps the Coolpix A’s sticking power will convince Nikon to make something similar for the mirrorless age! Well, a man can dream.
As for the other head-to-head, the Nikon F-801/N8008 beat the Nikon S4 rangefinder, a rare and short-lived camera that Nikon produced only from 1958 to 1960. It was definitely a niche camera, and not so different from the S3 rangefinder, but it did harken to an exciting era in the history of photography. It’s also a beautiful camera indeed.
After that, we’re in for a final between the Nikon D90 and the Nikon F-801/N8008 – one of the first digital vs film showdowns of our tournament so far! The favorite is probably the Nikon D90, which has shown unexpected resilience in the Underdogs bracket, but I wouldn’t count out the N8008 just yet. (That said, I do think that whichever camera wins Round 5 will face a smackdown in Round 6 when it emerges from the Underdogs bracket and faces some more intense competition…)
Round 3: Results and Commentary
And now we’re down to 16 cameras, including a few that have had smooth runs so far (especially the D850 and D500, which have won all their matches easily). But there were also some heartbreakers this time. Here are the big stories of the day!
Division 1 – The Punishers
I think this was the most exciting bracket for the second day in a row! One of the marquee battles was the Nikon Z6 III vs the Nikon D6. Two very different cameras – but the love for the newer Z6 III was strong enough that it dethroned Nikon’s last DSLR flagship by a score of 144 to 97. At the time of its release, the Nikon D6 never really got the love it deserved because mirrorless was already in full swing. But I still think it has the best non subject recognition autofocus of any camera I’ve ever seen, and it is built like a tank. A worthy flagship that should provide top performance for decades without fail.
Another huge matchup was the Nikon D750 versus the D810. On paper, the D810 has the advantage thanks to its higher resolution sensor. But the D750’s widespread appeal and great value for the price meant that it was always the more widely adopted camera – and that shines through in our voting, where the D750 eked out a victory with a score of 125 to 117. In the next round, it’s time for the D750 to go against the favorite D850!
The other two matchups weren’t big surprises. The Nikon Z8 easily beat the Nikon Z5 II, and the Nikon D850 easily beat the Nikon D5. Nothing is stopping my opinion that there’s going to be a Z8 vs D850 clash soon – these look like the two to beat.
Still remaining:
- Nikon Z8
- Nikon Z6 III
- Nikon D850
- Nikon D750
Division 2 – The Small But Mighty
This bracket continues to give very lopsided results! The general theme has been that the more advanced camera wins by a mile each time. The D5600 beat the D3500, the D7500 beat the D5500, and the D500 beat the D300.
The only unusual matchup today was the Nikon 1 V3 versus the Nikon D2X. I actually expected the Nikon 1 camera to win, given that it is much newer and, apart from the sensor size, more advanced than the the D2X (a 12 megapixel camera with 11 AF points and 5 FPS shooting). But the larger DX sensor – and much larger flagship body – won the day, with the D2X getting 127 votes compared to just 33 for the V1. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict the Nikon D500 will wallop it in the next round.
Still remaining:
- Nikon D5600
- Nikon D7500
- Nikon D500
- Nikon D2X
Division 3 – The Analog Hotshots
The battles today weren’t very close, but some of the losses were still heartbreaking. The Nikon FM2 knocked out the beloved Nikon FE2, despite the latter’s addition of aperture-priority mode. (It seems that the fully mechanical FM2, which doesn’t need batteries and can shoot in extreme -40 degree temperatures, could not be shaken by its opponent.) However, the more modern Nikon F100 did beat the FM3A by a score of 98 to 51, proving that electronics aren’t always a bad thing in the Analog Hotshots bracket.
The other two matchups weren’t so close. As expected, the Nikon F3 beat the Nikon F2, winning over 80% of the vote. And the Nikon FM knocked out the last of the Nikon rangefinders in this bracket, the SP. Although rangefinder fans can still take solace that the Nikon S4 remains in the running in the Underdogs bracket.
Still remaining:
- Nikon FM
- Nikon FM2
- Nikon F100
- Nikon F3
Division 4 – The Underdogs
This bracket lives up to its name, with the remaining four cameras definitely being a lot lower on the list of Nikon’s iconic cameras. To me, the most exciting matchup this time was between the Nikon 1 J3 and the Nikon Coolpix A. I never realized that there was so much love for Nikon’s fixed-lens, DX-sensor Coolpix A! It won this battle by a score of 75 to 38.
As for the other matchups, none of them were particularly exciting or close. The D90 beat the D70, the S4 rangefinder beat the S3, and the N8008 beat the N6006. If any of these cameras ends up winning the whole thing, I’d be extremely surprised.
Still remaining:
- Nikon D90
- Nikon Coolpix A
- Nikon S4 rangefinder
- Nikon F-801 / N8008
Round 2: Results and Commentary
This was a big round, cutting our contenders down to just 32 from an initial 128 cameras! Here’s how the day went down.
Division 1 – The Punishers
This division really lived up to its name today… largely because (due to a design mistake by my past self) the Z8 and Z9 ended up facing off head-to-head even though this was just Round 2! Well, they were probably destined to meet at some point, so let’s just think of it as an early Christmas present.
And which camera won that exciting matchup? Drumroll please… by 186 to 100 votes, it was the Z8!
Even though the Z9 is Nikon’s flagship and the more advanced camera in various ways, the Z8 nearly matches the Z9’s features and even adds some of its own (like the high-resolution pixel shift mode). Not a lot of photographers need the specialized connectivity features, integrated grip, dual CFExpress cards, or various other features of the Z9. But almost everyone can appreciate the Z8’s smaller size and lower price – not to mention Nikon’s apparent willingness to add new firmware features a little more often to the Z8.
That said, I think the Z9 would have coasted easily for several more rounds if it weren’t for the Z8 getting in its way. The Z9 is a remarkable camera, a worthy flagship, and arguably the camera that set Nikon on the path they’re traveling today.
Other interesting matchups? The Z5 II versus the Zf was particularly exciting, and in the end, the Z5 II won by just five votes (136 to 131). As our Z5 II vs Zf comparison shows, it’s a seriously close matchup between these cameras! There are a few differences here and there (slightly better video features on the Z5 II, slightly longer battery life and a faster mechanical shutter on the Zf) but the real differences are price and form factor. The Zf is a beautiful retro-themed camera and a joy to use, but is it worth an extra $300 over the Z5 II? It was a divisive question, but the majority said no.
Those were the highlights from Round 2 of this bracket, but I also want to call attention to a beatdown: the Nikon D850 walloped the D4 by a total of 273 to 19. If I were a betting man, I’d predict that we’re due for a collision between the D850 and the Z8 in a few more rounds…
Still remaining:
- Nikon Z8
- Nikon Z5 II
- Nikon Z6 III
- Nikon D6
- Nikon D5
- Nikon D850
- Nikon D810
- Nikon D750
Division 2 – The Small but Mighty
Not a lot of surprises or close matchups in this division today. The Nikon D500 easily defeats the D300S, and it may be the camera to beat. The Nikon 1 king looks like the V3. And our readers rejected the high-speed D2HS in favor of the high-resolution (well, 12 megapixels) D2X. Will this bracket be a mere formality as we crown the D500 king, or will a different small but mighty camera surprise us? It remains to be seen.
Still remaining:
- Nikon D3500
- Nikon D5600
- Nikon D5500
- Nikon D7500
- Nikon D500
- Nikon D300
- Nikon D2X
- Nikon 1 V3
Division 3 – The Analog Hotshots
Sadly, some fan favorites had to say goodbye in Round 2. One that really hurts for me is that the first-ever Nikon camera, the Nikon I rangefinder, lost to the Nikon SP (admittedly, a technologically superior rangefinder). But the real battle was something else: the Nikon F3 versus the Nikon F6.
This one truly came down to the wire, with the F3 prevailing by a mere seven votes! Both of these cameras are iconic – the F3 for being the go-to professional SLR for countless photographers during the heyday of film, and the F6 for being Nikon’s final and most advanced film camera. This one was a battle for the ages, and I predict the F3 will go far.
As for the other matchups, the historic Nikon FM beat the specialized – but fascinating – underwater Nikon Nikonos cameras. Although I can’t say I’m totally surprised, I would like to salute the groundbreaking Nikonos as it sinks into a watery grave.
Still remaining:
- Nikon SP
- Nikon FM
- Nikon FM2
- Nikon FE2
- Nikon FM3A
- Nikon F100
- Nikon F2
- Nikon F3
Division 4 – The Underdogs
This bracket was exciting today, with a few upsets and a couple of unique matchups. (I doubt that many photographers have ever compared Nikon’s S3 film rangefinder against the Nikon 1 V2 before! But now you know that the rangefinder takes the cake.)
One of the biggest matchups in this bracket was the Coolpix P1100 versus the Coolpix A. For those not familiar with Nikon’s point-and-shoots, the P1100 and Coolpix A are pretty much opposites. The P1100 is about as big as a DSLR and features a massive 125x zoom (24-3000mm equivalent). But it has a small sensor, so the image quality can get rough in bad light. Meanwhile, the Coolpix A has a 16 megapixel DX-sized sensor, and it’s capable of pretty impressive image quality. It is also much smaller than the P1100 and easily fits in a pocket – I even bought one myself back in the day as a backup for traveling. However, the fixed 18.5mm f/2.8 lens (about a 28mm equivalent) requires a certain type of photographer to appreciate. In the end, image quality beat reach by a tight score of 58 to 55, so the Coolpix A moves to the next round!
Still remaining:
- Nikon D70
- Nikon D90
- Nikon Coolpix A
- Nikon 1 J4
- Nikon S3 rangefinder
- Nikon S4 rangefinder
- Nikon F-801/N8008
- Nikon F-601/N6006
Round 1: Results and Commentary
Today, we started off by ruthlessly eliminating 64 of Nikon’s cameras, including some of my personal favorites. But I won’t get ahead of myself. Let’s take a look at how each bracket turned out.
Division 1 – The Punishers
Still remaining after round one, we have the following cameras:
- Nikon Z9
- Nikon Z8
- Nikon Zf
- Nikon Z5 II
- Nikon Z6 III
- Nikon Z50 II
- Nikon Zfc
- Nikon D6
- Nikon D5
- Nikon D4S
- Nikon D4
- Nikon D850
- Nikon D810A
- Nikon D810
- Nikon D750
- Nikon D800E
Which ones will hold on for another round? It remains to be seen! (As a side note, thanks to some admittedly bad game design on my part, this next round has a crazy matchup between the Z8 and Z9… two cameras that I think could have contended for the overall throne of Nikon’s greatest camera! One of them will have to exit in round two, so make your voice heard if you have a strong preference between them.)
For now, let’s look at a few of the most interesting results from Round 1:
Closest Matchup: The Nikon D800 and D800E traded places until the very end. Ultimately, the D800E won out by a mere four votes (276 to 272). It looks like the anti-aliasing debate never truly was settled.
Most Imbalanced Battle: There were some very lopsided matchups this time – with easy wins for the Nikon Z8, Nikon Z9, and Z50 II – but the most imbalanced battle was between the Nikon D850 and the D600. Okay, I didn’t expect this one to be close. But the poor D600 only got 20 votes to the D850’s 736. Apparently some grease in the wheels (or oil on the sensor) was never going to allow the D600 to reach the iconic D850.
Biggest Upset: The Nikon D750 beat the Nikon D780 in a nail-biter, 313 to 281! Both are excellent cameras, and the D780 is of course more advanced on paper, but I can see why it lost. Of the two, it was more of the incremental upgrade.
Saddest Defeats: It was probably inevitable that the Nikon D700 would lose to the D810, but it does break my heart a little. The Nikon D700 was revolutionary – it brought full-frame image quality to a wide market and still stands as one of the most enjoyable cameras Nikon has ever made. The D810 is obviously a more advanced camera, but it also didn’t have nearly the same cultural impact of the two. And this was always going to be a ruthless competition, so the D700 will have to bow out gracefully.
Division 2 – The Small but Mighty
Still remaining after round one, we have the following cameras:
- Nikon D3500
- Nikon D3400
- Nikon D3300
- Nikon D5600
- Nikon D5500
- Nikon D5300
- Nikon D7500
- Nikon D7200
- Nikon D500
- Nikon D300S
- Nikon D300
- Nikon D2XS
- Nikon D2X
- Nikon D2HS
- Nikon 1 J5
- Nikon 1 V3
Not a round with too many surprises! But we still learned a few interesting things, like these:
Closest Matchup: The matchup between the Nikon 1 J1 and the Nikon 1 AW1 was the closest, but it definitely wasn’t a close one. The J1 won with about 68% of the vote! A sad day for anyone who loved the ability to shoot with an underwater interchangeable lens camera (and could ignore the fact that the waterproofing was sometimes… less than perfect).
Most Imbalanced Battle: The Nikon D3500 smoked the D3000 with a score of 267 to 24. Not a surprise – obviously the D3500 is a better camera – but I guess there wasn’t much love for the first of the D3000 series.
Biggest Upset: None in this bracket! The newer, more advanced camera won every time in this division. Too bad… hopefully the next round will be spicier.
Saddest Defeats: The Nikon D1 wasn’t exactly set up for success in round one, going against the beloved Nikon D500. But it was still sad to see Nikon’s original DSLR be eliminated (with a score of 393 to 39 at that).
Division 3 – The Analog Hotshots
Here’s what’s left after round one:
- Nikon I
- Nikon SP
- Nikon Nikon’s
- Nikon FM
- Nikon FM2
- Nikon EL2
- Nikon FE2
- Nikon FA
- Nikon FM3A
- Nikon F65/N65
- Nikon F75/N75
- Nikon F100
- Nikon F90X/N90S
- Nikon F2
- Nikon F3
- Nikon F6
Wow! Already some wild results (including one huge disappointment, in my opinion). Here are a few of the highlights:
Closest Matchup: The Nikon F5 and F6 were locked in a pitched battle until the very end! Ultimately, the F6 prevailed by ONE VOTE! I’m glad we saw a little bit of love for Nikon’s most recent film camera, but it is a little sad that it came at the expense of the classic F5.
Most Imbalanced Battle: In an extremely lopsided matchup, the Nikon FM beat the Nikkorex cameras by a score of 163 to 1. Wow! I didn’t realize that in today’s world, so many people could agree on something so unanimously. Well, the FM is one of the most beloved mechanical, Swiss-watch-style cameras that Nikon has ever made, so maybe it’s no surprise. Could the FM go the distance, or was the Nikkorex just that unloved? Let’s find out in the next round.
Biggest Upset: It’s both an upset and not an upset – the Nikon F3 beat the F4 in a bit of a drumming! Although the F4 is the more advanced camera, this isn’t too much of a surprise given that the F3 is so beloved. But will it be able to beat the F6 in round two? One way to find out!
Saddest Defeats: The original Nikon F lost to the Nikon F2. And although I understand that the F2 was an improvement, how could we lose the Nikon F so early?! It wasn’t just Nikon’s first SLR, it was the first practical commercial SLR from anyone, and it lost in the first round? Sigh…
Division 4 – The Underdogs
Finally, our remaining underdog cameras are:
- Nikon D50
- Nikon D70
- Nikon D90
- Nikon Coolpix P950
- Nikon Coolpix P1100
- Nikon Coolpix A
- Nikon 1 J2
- Nikon 1 J4
- Nikon 1 V2
- Nikon S3
- Nikon S4
- Nikon FG
- Nikon F-301/N2000
- Nikon F-801/N8008
- Nikon F-601/N6006
- Nikon F60/N60
It’s an interesting mix, and even though not all of these cameras can match the sticking power of the other divisions, there are still some iconic cameras in the mix. Some highlights include:
Closest Matchup: The Nikon EM and the Nikon FG were surprisingly close, with the FG prevailing in a score of 33 to 30. Both are consumer-oriented SLRs and not really Nikon’s most iconic bodies of all time. But the FG is indeed the more advanced of the two, adding a manual mode and a program mode (whereas the EM is aperture priority only). So I think y’all made a good choice.
Most Imbalanced Battle: In what I would describe as “not the most exciting matchup,” the Nikon F-601 beat the Nikon F-401 in a score of 41 to 5. (In the US market, these cameras were called the N6006 and N4004.) And it’s true that the N6006 was aimed at a more advanced audience, with better metering and autofocus, among various other improvements.
Biggest Upset: No major upsets in this division, but I was very surprised that the S4 and S3M rangefinders were so close! For context, the S3M is a half-frame version of the S3, while the S4 is an upgrade over the S3. Either y’all like half-frame cameras a lot more than I realized, or some people voted without really knowing what they were voting on!
Saddest Defeats: I’m a bit disappointed that the P950 and P1100 beat the P900 and P1000. Yes, they are newer and ostensibly better cameras. But both (especially the P1100) are about as incremental of an upgrade as you’ll ever see. Meanwhile, the P900 was a pretty revolutionary camera thanks to its 97x zoom, and so was the P1000 that took things all the way to 125x. The P900 and P1000 also had some serious cultural sticking power among Flat Earthers, for whatever that’s worth.
And that wraps it up for round one! What can we expect next, now that we’ve whittled things down to the top 64? Meet me back here this time tomorrow to find out.
This is an interesting and fun read Spencer, thank s for doing all the work! I’d be interested to see what happened if we ranked the top 10 in terms of value for the dollar, based on MSRP at the time of introduction and adjust for inflation. More work, of course, but my guess is the ranking would look very different.
Thank you for organizing this turnament. This was really interesting. In the end, the results are not overly surprising, and they may show that the readership of this website consists of many persons who may be a little bit older and are aware of the older Nikon bodies and their significance.
In a technological point of view, you are most probably right with this list …
but for me, if I talk about the best camera of all time from Nikon (say Digital, not film) … the following names come to mind instantly … Nikon D700, Nikon D3s, even the Nikon Df …
These cameras are so much joy to use … with extraordinary image rendering …
No video … of course.
It’s always very hard to have objectivity in this kind of contests. Basically there are 2 mais categories people will think about when deciding which one is the best (this excluding sentimental reasons): breakthrough models and cumulative quality models. Breakthrough models are revolutionary designs, cameras that, albeit having some problema made waycthe leap so that tech continued moving forward, to a better place, and Cumulative models are those that get all the best latest tech, making it superior to their peers.
I think it’s important to reflect on both, but ultimatelly the best model ever has to be on the cumulative side of things. Might not bring lots of new tech, but has all the best tech.
Also, as in most hobbies, the lines between considering the camera for what is: a tool (making the contest, which is the best tool, much easier to answer and also much more dull), and forgetting our personal feelings and how much fun did or do we have while using it.
And the top 10 is mostly that. Sure the Z9 was quite revolutionary for Nikon, but it was still a conclusion of the “lets create a mirrorless system that mirrors our DSLR system). It’s fair that the best Mirrorless are better than the best DSLR’s, I believe. Both are digital, but Mirrorless is a much better use of the digital prowess, while the DSLR’s were still pretty much rooted on the SLR days. And other than the Z9/Z8 and the Z6 III, it’s probably correct to say that no other Mirrorless was at a level above their DSLR counterparts (well, Z5 II and the Z f could be, but they’re not in the same league of the best of the best, Or are them??).
The D500 and the D850 are most probably objectively the best DSLR cameras, as they’re both professional cameras that came out later, with all the new tech. Maybe the D6 deserved a spot, but timming made it flop hard.
It’s funny to see so many SLR’s, although I believe it’s unfair with some DSLR counterparts, and it’s more about sentimental evaluation and the rise of people’s interest in film again, than in them being the best cameras. Are all of those objectively better than, say, the D5? If you had to chose between a F3 and say a D780 for a shoot how many would choose the oldie but goldie instead of the all the bells and whistles DSLR?
It’s always a cool exercise, this sort of contests 🙂 I had lots of fun following it, and even if the best camera is quite a personal matter, the results are all great cameras!
Thankcyou PL for this🙂🙂
I think there’s a difference between standout cameras, and cameras that moved the tech forward. Some overlap but they’re not the same thing.
The D800 on resolution was a quantum leap, as the D3 had been on high ISO and dynamic range, and the D1 had been on usability in a digital camera. The F3 stands out for being by far the longest running pro camera they’ve ever made, and the largest production run of any pro Nikon body, somewhere around or even above 800,000, and for extreme durability. The original Nikon F broke rangefinder cameras and ensured more than a half century of dominance for SLRs until mirrorless finally made its comeback with hybrid stills-video.
The Z8 and Z9 almost need to be considered as two different versions of the same camera (hence the Z8 mopping up the Z9 voters I should think), but their contribution surely is going to turn out to be the combination of extreme speed, truly silent use, even quieter than the best Leica M rangefinder, and the point that mirrorless ergonomics finally were on par with SLR in every respect, even the viewfinder.
This contest probably measured absolutes combined with recent personal experience more than it did biggest historical relative improvements in the tech.
I just realized the PL has never reviewed the Nikon Z8!
Wow!
I know, we definitely need to! Camera reviews have taken a backseat recently while I’ve prioritized lens reviews. Sadly there’s only so much time in a day to do the many, many things I’d like for Photography Life. But our team has been talking about returning to reviewing cameras as soon as we can. The Z8 will most likely be the first camera to be covered when the camera reviews are back.
Spencer
I find your articles worth to be read, and I thank you so much
But as I value most of them, to tell the truth this one is worthless reading
Please keep your track, and don’t start using shorcuts just only to be present
I am telling this with honestity, not to start an argument, or just to perform a critic, my intention is to make you improve
Thanks, and my apologies for telling what I feel after reading it, but as silicon valleys boys says “it is an opportunity to improve”
❤️ my Z8!
What a fun read! I wish I’d known about this contest – I’ve been busy recently, and haven’t had time to relax and surf my favourite sites. I would certainly have voted for the D850, but that might be only because it’s the one I’ve got. About 11 months after I bought the 850, the Z8 was released. I love taking photos but I could not justify the expenditure so soon after getting my 850, especially since it would’ve meant a whole new lens system.
One day when I’m old[er] and gray[er], I’ll switch systems. Until then, I don’t feel I’m missing anything: my cameras are far better photographic tools than my brain is (still … sighhh) and still give me so much pleasure. Long live the journey!
What fun this contest was. It brought back a lot of memories of the Nikons I’ve owned in the past. I’ve had the Z8 for over a year and it is perfect for anything I choose to photograph. Please do a full test.
I think perhaps you should have included the Nikon D3. The D3 was a game changer in Nikon’s first full frame, very high ISO performing camera. At the time nothing came close to it’s performance.
I think you missed it, the D3 was included in the Punishers bracket of the tournament.