Established in 1984, the Camera Grand Prix is one of the photography industry's most prestigious awards, both in Japan and internationally. Now, the 2026 winners have been announced.
Organized by the Camera Journal Press Club, the awards recognize standout products released in Japan during the previous fiscal year, with seven prizes handed out this year. Alongside awards decided by editors and industry experts, the Readers' Awards highlight the camera gear that photographers themselves voted for.
The 2026 Readers' Award in the camera category went to the Canon EOS R6 Mark III, with users praising its performance, refined handling, and impressive price-to-performance ratio.
Readers' Award – Camera: Canon EOS R6 Mark III
The Camera Grand Prix 2026 published a selection of comments from voters explaining why the Canon EOS R6 Mark III earned the prestigious honor.
One theme quickly stood out: users across different genres and experience levels were impressed by the camera's balance of performance and value.
"This camera is just as good as the EOS R5 Mark II, but it's cheaper than the R5. Since it now uses CFexpress cards, I don't need anything more," wrote one user, while another added: "I was impressed by the overall high level of refinement, which is reminiscent of the DSLR, the EOS 5D Mark IV."
Another voter summed it up in one sentence: "This camera offers the best balance of image quality and price."
For some users, the R6 Mark III represents a philosophy that goes beyond specifications – one that "never betrays the photographer's intentions."
Is this the best photo-first Canon on the market?
The R6 Mark III also impressed us in our review. Available for $2,799 / £2,799, the mirrorless packs so much firepower that it feels close to a flagship model.
But the R6 Mark III faces fierce competition, with rivals including the Sony A7 V, Nikon Z6 III, and Panasonic Lumix S1 II – all excellent cameras in their own right.
However, all the clever features in the world don't matter much if AF (autofocus) can't keep up – and Canon's subject tracking stands out as one of the strongest in class, as our Canon expert and reviewer James Artaius highlighted.
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