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Creating photo books on American railroads are a good part of my workload, so telephoto lenses are what I often turn to for my train photography. Extremely heavy and often dangerous, locomotives and rolling stock require a wide berth for safety’s sake. Furthermore, in the wake of the September 11th attacks, security has tightened around railroad property, demanding more distance between the photographer and subject. 

Tamron’s new SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 lens ($1299) continues a trend that many camera and lens manufacturers have embraced in recent years. This new Tamron 15-30mm lens is fast, big, expensive and designed for photographers who expect optical excellence. As part of Tamron’s Di lens series, the SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 is available for Canon and Nikon full-frame DSLRs and APS-C cameras where it produces a 24-48mm equivalent focal length range.

It’s been a great couple of weeks for mirrorless camera introductions with the debuts of the Nikon Z 7 and Z 6 and the recently announced Canon R. To top things off, we got to spend some hands-on time with yet another new mirrorless camera, the 26MP Fujifilm X-T3, the successor to the X-T2.

While the main body of my work has been with lenses such as the 24mm fixed, wide angles, and mainly my trusty 16-35mm zoom, I have often found myself wanting a long zoom for the scenes that present themselves along the way. It’s not that I am unwilling or just plain lazy to get closer—a long zoom, like the recently released Tamron 100-400mm, simply changes the way I see and helps me explore other visual options.

All interchangeable lens cameras share common feature sets, with some offering higher sensitivity (ISO range), faster shutter speeds, or enhanced video capabilities. Aimed squarely at photo enthusiasts and advanced photographers who can appreciate and make use of its many creative imaging options, the Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 ($1,697, body only) stands out as a fast performer, with an astonishing framing rate and very fast autofocus acquisition time, plus many features and functions that will appeal to knowledgeable photographers who want to make use of cutting-edge processing and capture capabilities.

The Canon EOS Rebel SL2 is a small and lightweight entry-level DSLR: 4.82x3.65x2.75 inches in size and weighing in at 16 ounces without the lens (including the battery and memory card). The SL2 features a 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor and a vari-angle touchscreen three-inch LCD. It also sports Dual Pixel CMOS AF with phase detection and has a low-pass filter.

Another year has come and gone, which means it’s time for Shutterbug to once again pick our favorite cameras and lenses of the past 12 months. With so much great photo gear to choose from in 2017, it was a difficult task. The below list though is a good summation of the cameras and lenses Shutterbug’s editors and writers most enjoyed shooting with last year.