Los Angeles, CA—The Lucie Technical Awards honor the large and small companies, as well as individuals, who have advanced the photographic industry in a given year. All inclusive, these awards encompass cameras, lenses, lighting as well as accessories, such as software and storage. Further, the Lucie Foundation revealed the winners of the 8th Lucie Technical Awards.
Moreover, the Lucie Technical Awards is a program of the Lucie Foundation, and a sister program of the Lucie Awards. The program also features the Chuck Westfall Technical Education Award. This distinguished honor is awarded to an influential voice in the photographic industry who displays an extraordinary commitment and love for the art and technology of photography. It is named in honor of Chuck Westfall. He was a longtime Canon employee who was known as the “teacher of technology” to journalists as well as the photo industry in general.
8th Lucie Technical Awards Winners
The winners of the 8th Lucie Technical Awards in each category follow, along with the other products that were nominated. In addition, there is a special category whose winner was nominated and chosen by the Lucie Technical Awards board.
Achievement of Innovation 2023: Sony Global Shutter Sensor
Camera of the Year 2023: Nikon Z 8
Best Cameras
Small Sensor Camera
Winner: Nikon Z 8
- Panasonic Lumix S5 IIX
- Nikon Z f
- Canon EOS R6 Mark II
Large Sensor Camera
Winner: Panasonic Lumix G9II
- Sony Alpha 6700
- Fujifilm XS20
- Canon EOS R8
Best Lenses
Wide-Angle Prime Lens
Winner: Sigma 14mm f/1.4 DG DN
- Sigma 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary
- Venus Optics Laowa Argus 28mm f/1.2
- Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM
Standard Prime Lens
Winner: Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S
- Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM
- Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph II
- smc Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4 Classic
Telephoto Prime Lens
Winner: Nikon Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena
- Canon RF 135mm f/1.8 L IS USM
- Nikon Nikkor Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S
- Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S
Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
Winner: Sony FE 16–35mm f/2.8 GM II
- Canon RF 10–20mm f/4 L IS STM
- Sigma 10–18mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary
- Tamron 17–50mm f/4 Di III VXD
Standard Zoom Lens
Winner: Tamron 35–150mm f/2–2.8 Di III VXD
- Sony FE 20–70mm f/4 G
- Tamron 17–50mm f/4 Di III VXD
- Samyang AF 35–150mm f/2–2.8
Telephoto Zoom Lens
Winner: Sony FE 70–200mm f/4 Macro G OSS II
- Nikon Nikkor Z 180–600mm f/5.6–6.3 VR
- Tamron 70–180mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD
- Tamron 35–150mm f/2–2.8 Di III VXD
Best Special Purpose Lens
Winner: Venus Optics Laowa Aurogon Microscope
- Sirui Saturn 35mm T2.9 1.6x Carbon Fiber Full-Frame Anamorphic
- AstrHori 28m f/13 2x Macro Probe
- AstrHori 18mm f/8 Probe
Best Camera Accessories
Day-Use Camera Bag
Winner: Think Tank PressPass 20
- Shimoda Designs Explore v2 30 Backpack Photo
- Think Tank PressPass 10
Adventure Camera Bag
Winner: Shimoda Designs Action X30 V2 Backpack
- Think Tank FirstLight Backpack
- Think Tank FirstLight 35L+ Backpack
Camera Accessory
Winner: Atomos Ninja V with Connect
- ProGrade Digital 512GB CFexpress 4.0 Type B Gold Card
- OWC Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card
- SanDisk Pro-Cinema CFexpress Type B Card
Best Software 
Photo-Editing Software
Winner: Adobe Photoshop
- DxO PhotoLab 7
- Luminar Neo
Video-Editing Software
Winner: Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio
- Adobe Premiere Pro 2024
- Adobe Final Cut Pro X 2023
Best Lighting
Constant Light Source
Winner: SmallRig RC 60B Bicolor LED Monolight
- iFootage Anglerfish SL1 130DNA
- Kelvin Epos 300
Strobe Light Source
Winner: Paul C. Buff Celestial Flash Unit
- Elinchrom Three Off-Camera Flash Kit
- Broncolor Satos 1600 Power Pack
Chuck Westfall Technical Education Award
The recipient of this year’s Chuck Westfall Technical Education Award is Veronica Cotter. She has been the Education Development and Sales Manager, Western USA, for Hahnemühle USA for more than 10 years. Furthermore, Cotter works with photo specialty dealers, fine art print studios, professional photographers, educators, students, and a diverse group of photo enthusiasts.
In addition, her work with the Society of Photographic Education and Industry Advisory Boards was instrumental in building new connections between the photo industry and education. For years, she has also immersed herself in the process of identifying and utilizing community resources to benefit a wider range of emerging artists and programs.
Her goal is to encourage inspiration and enthusiasm for visual storytelling as well as personal projects. Furthermore, Cotter considers the essence of her job the people she meets and the work they share. She has also participated in portfolio reviews, both in person and virtually, to help photographers realize the potential of their projects.
