Madrid, 10 June 2014
The winners of the Camera Grand Prix 2014, hosted by the Camera Journal Press Club of Japan (CJPC), received their awards in Tokyo on Friday, 30 May. Mr. Johan Elzenga, a member of the board of TIPA, attended the awards ceremony.
The Camera Journal Press Club of Japan was launched in 1963, whose members are the editorial staff of Japan’s 10 major camera/photographic journals. The CJPC has a collaborative agreement with TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) whereby they vote on each other’s awards. TIPA membership comprises 29 leading photo and imaging magazines from 16 countries on five continents.
2014 Camera Grand Prix Awards – Nikon Df
Nikon’s stunning retro-styled Df digital SLR scooped the top award in the premium camera category. The CJPC’s Camera GP executive committee remarked that, in this digital age when priority is given to making cameras more efficient and improving their specifications, the Df is extremely successful at proposing a return to a time when photography took a little longer and users enjoyed manual operation of these precision devices.
“While the longing for the ‘good old days’ and reversion to the past that the Df represents have been criticized, the camera has been well received because it proposes a shooting style that allows users to relax and concentrate on photography for a fresh new sense – one not often experienced in this modern age. What’s more, the superior operation and basic performance afforded by the ‘retro’ design, and the camera’s support for older Nikkor lenses speak not only to fans of conventional film cameras, but to a new class of users for whom this camera represents a gateway to digital cameras. Intentions behind development of the Df are clear and its contribution to photography is great, characteristics rarely seen with digital cameras released in recent years, making it suitable for selection as Camera of the Year.”
The Readers’ Award also went to the Nikon Df digital SLR camera.
Nikon Wins Premium Lens Award
Again, Nikon’s superb AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G lens scooped the premium award for the lens category. According to the Camera GP Japan 2014 executive committee, the AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G lens represents a modern version of the famous Noct Nikkor lenses by offering excellent rendering of distant light points as points at maximum aperture, and beautiful background blur characteristics in close-ups.
“Differences in rendering resulting from changes in aperture settings or shooting distance exhibited by this single lens are also appealing. It is an ambitious lens that makes mastering it enjoyable by daring to be unique at a time when size and balance are emphasised. This lens clearly reflects the intent and exacting nature of its developers.”
2014 Camera Press Club Award Camera Grand Prix
The Camera Journal Press Club Editors’ Awards went to the Olympus OM-D M-1, the Canon EOS 70D and the Ricoh Theta.