Gear of the Year 2026 winners: cameras, lenses, accessories & more

Posted on Nov 4, 2026 by Lily Smith

We reveal the winners in the tenth annual Pro Moviemaker Gear of the Year Awards 2026.

Thousands of votes have been counted and the results are finally in. Meet the cameras, lenses, lights, audio equipment and filmmaking tools you have chosen as the Pro Moviemaker Gear of the Year 2026 winners.

Ten years ago, Pro Moviemaker launched its first Gear of the Year Awards with one simple idea: to let the people who actually use filmmaking equipment decide which products deserve recognition.

A decade later, that principle remains at the heart of the awards, and once again you have spoken. We’re delighted to reveal the winners, celebrating the equipment, technology, brands and services that have made the biggest impression on filmmakers and creators.

And what a selection it is. You’ll find some of the very latest equipment alongside perennial favourites in categories including cameras and lenses alongside lighting, microphones, support equipment, storage and software.

PTZ cameras, livestreaming and broadcast hardware, podcasting equipment, USB microphones and specialist creator cameras now sit alongside traditional production tools. Workflow hardware recognises the technology that helps filmmakers get their footage right and finish it efficiently, while our expanded lighting categories reflect the huge choice now available to productions of every scale.

The common factor is that these are products chosen by Pro Moviemaker readers, from solo creators and owner-operators to production companies and seasoned professionals. We’ve also made our own Editor’s Choice selections, highlighting exceptional products that are particularly impressive and worthy of being honoured.

Prize picks: The Canon EOS C50 (lead image) and Blackmagic Pyxis 6K (above) are both winners

Gear of the Year winners: Cameras

And we start with the flagship categories for cameras, where Canon wins big as the EOS R6 III is named best mirrorless and its C50 sibling is top of the pile for hybrid⁄crossovers. The Blackmagic Pyxis 6K takes the award for best cinema camera, and it has become even more attractive since the voting closed as the price has been dropped and its functionality hugely improved with a free firmware update.

As with all our winners, these are some of the best bits of kit you can buy. So read on to see the hardware, software and services you can trust.

Mirrorless

Winner: Canon EOS R6 III

Editor’s choice: OM System OM-5 Mark II

Content creator speciality camera

Winner: Insta360 X6

PTZ

Winner: Birddog XL Ultra

Editor’s choice: Atomos A-Eye 4K-20X

Gear of the Year winners: Lenses and podcasting/streaming

The boundaries between filmmaking, broadcasting and content creation have never been more blurred, and these Gear of the Year winners prove it.

Perhaps the biggest indication of where things are heading comes from Sigma, whose 28-105mm T3 AF Cine takes our zoom category. Combining a hugely useful focal range with a fast T3 aperture and autofocus in a cinema lens makes it a thoroughly modern proposition, particularly as smaller crews increasingly expect their kit to work across everything from traditional productions to fast-moving creator shoots.

Prime lovers haven’t been forgotten. The Zeiss Otus ML 35mm f⁄1.4 takes the honours, bringing the prestigious Otus name to mirrorless filmmakers, while our Editor’s Choice goes to the Samyang AF 35mm f⁄1.4 P FE Prima. And because even great glass needs a little help, the Vocas MB-260 Matte Box is our readers’ favourite lens accessory.

Away from lenses, the changing face of production becomes even clearer. Podcasting is now a serious part of the professional content landscape and the Rodecaster Video S takes our podcasting hardware award, reflecting the growing demand for compact tools that bring video and audio production together.

Meanwhile, Sony’s potent PXW- Z300 camcorder triumphs within the live streaming/broadcast hardware class – a category that itself reflects how rapidly traditional broadcast, streaming and content creation are converging.

It’s an eclectic collection, but it reflects that today’s filmmakers might be shooting through premium cine glass one day and producing a live stream or video podcast the next.

Podcasting hardware

Winner: Rodecaster Video S

Live streaming/broadcast hardware

Winner: Sony PXW-Z300

Zoom

Winner: Sigma 28-105mm T3 AF Cine

Prime

Winner: Zeiss Otus ML 35mm f/1.4

Editor’s choice: Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE Prima

Lens accessory

Winner: Vocas MB-260 Matte Box

Top gear: Winners include the app-controlled Datacolor meter

Gear of the Year winners: Accessories

Cameras and lenses tend to grab the glory, but every experienced filmmaker knows it’s often the less glamorous kit that keeps a production moving. And our latest collection of winners celebrates precisely those essentials.

First, you have to get expensive equipment safely to the shoot. The Peli 1535 Air Case takes the roller⁄hard case award, with the Panaro Max520 earning our Editor’s Choice, while filmmakers needing to carry a serious amount of equipment on their backs have once again put the enormous Lowepro Pro Trekker BP 650 AW II on top.

Once the cameras roll, Atomos’ Ninja Raw takes the monitor⁄recorder crown, while capturing and storing those data- hungry files is handled by two familiar names. The Sandisk 128GB Extreme Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type B wins our memory card class, with the Lacie Rugged SSD Pro 5 4TB voted best external hard drive. The Sandisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD (V3) 2TB won Editor’s Choice.

Modern workflow goes well beyond shifting files around, and so Aputure’s Sidus Link Pro 2.3 takes our editing⁄workflow software title, demonstrating how software is becoming an ever more crucial part of controlling complex productions.

Getting things right before post- production even begins is the philosophy behind our workflow hardware winner, the Datacolor Lightcolor Meter, which provides filmmakers with accurate information about the light and colour they’re actually shooting under.

Finally, our Editor’s Choice goes to the Eizo Coloredge CG3100X, bringing accurate monitoring into the post-production workflow.

Roller/hard case

Winner: Peli 1535 Air Case

Editor’s choice: Panaro Max520

Backpack/holdall

Winner: Lowepro Pro Trekker BP 650 AW II

Monitor and/or recorder

Winner: Atomos Ninja Raw

Memory card

Winner: Sandisk 128GB Extreme Pro CFexpress 4.0 B

External hard drive

Winner: Lacie Rugged SSD Pro 5 4TB

Editor’s choice: Sandisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD (V3) 2TB

Editing/workflow software

Winner: Aputure Sidus Link Pro 2.3

Editing/workflow hardware

Winner: Datacolor Lightcolor Meter

Editor’s choice: Eizo Coloredge CG3100X

Gear of the Year winners: Support and lighting

Great filmmaking is all about control – whether that’s keeping the camera exactly where you want it or putting precisely the right light onto a scene.

Our support winners start with the Manfrotto One Hybrid, which takes the tripod and monopod crown with its clever approach to photo and video shooting. The innovative Peak Design Pro earns our Editor’s Choice, while filmmakers looking to put their cameras in motion voted the DJI RS 5 their favourite motion device.

Building a camera into a production- ready package is another essential skill, with the Vocas Lightweight Base Plate taking the rig award and the Shape FX6 Remote Extension Handle earning the Editor’s Choice.

Then it’s time to turn on the lights – and there’s serious firepower among this year’s winners, led by the Godox P1200R Hard P8 in light panels and full-colour Amaran Ray 660c in hard lights, with the Neewer HB80C taking Editor’s Choice.

Things get even more creative in specialist lighting, where the tightly controlled Astera Quikbeam takes top honours and the tiny Nanlux Evoke 5C earns our Editor’s Choice.

Aputure Quick Domes win lighting innovation, proving that sometimes it’s not the light itself but what you put in front of it that makes all the difference.

Tripod/monopod

Winner: Manfrotto One Hybrid

Editor’s choice: Peak Design Pro Tripod

Motion device

Winner: DJI RS 5

Rig

Winner: Vocas Lightweight Base Plate

Editor’s choice: Shape FX6 Remote Extension Handle

Light panel

Winner: Godox Knowled P1200R Hard P8

Hard light

Winner: Amaran Ray 660c

Editor’s choice: Neewer HB80C

Specialist lighting

Winner: Astera Quikbeam

Editor’s choice: Nanlux Evoke 5C

Lighting innovation

Winner: Aputure Quick Domes

Kit parade: the H6essential zooms in to scoop best recorder

Gear of the Year winners: Audio and special awards

Great pictures are only half the story. Our audio winners celebrate the tools that make sure productions sound every bit as good as they look – from an industry legend to the latest creator- friendly technology.

Few products deserve to be called an icon more than the Sennheiser MKH 416. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the shotgun mic remains a professional favourite and is our readers’ best XLR mic.

The Zoom H6essential takes the audio recorder⁄adapter crown, while Audio-Technica’s ATV-SG1 wins the DSLR microphone category and the Shure MV88 USB-C triumphs among USB mics. For cable-free recording, the Rode Wireless Go III wins wireless audio, with Sennheiser’s clever Profile Wireless earning Editor’s Choice.

Great filmmaking also depends on the companies behind the kit. CVP retains the new equipment retailer title, MPB wins for used equipment and Wex takes rental house of the year.

Innovation brings two very different products into the spotlight. The high- speed Pixboom Spark takes innovation of the year, while the brilliantly simple Sakk Camera Saddle earns Editor’s Choice.

And finally, there’s one of the biggest accolades of all. Nikon’s ZR takes launch of the year, marking its arrival as one of the products that made the biggest impact on Pro Moviemaker readers in 2026.