PRONEWS AWARD 2025 Grand Prize
Value that cannot be measured in numbers: Identifying “irreplaceable entities” in mature markets
Now that we have announced the winners for each category of the PRONEWS AWARD 2025, we are finally ready to announce the results of the Grand Prize.
Before we do, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the current state of the video industry, as felt by the editorial team through this year’s AWARD.
In 2025, Numbers Don’t Mean Everything Anymore
When we look at the equipment of 2025 as a whole, one fact emerges: it is no longer possible to judge the quality of equipment by its numerical specifications alone.
High resolution, wide dynamic range, RAW recording, autofocus performance, and other features are now at a high level in all equipment. As a result of the overall improvement in the level of perfection of equipment, it has become more difficult than ever to make an evaluation.
Therefore, the editorial department focused on how indispensable the equipment is in the field. Rather than simply being a convenient tool, the criteria were that it must be a core piece of equipment for practical use.
In today’s production environment, where roles are subdivided, it is impossible to properly evaluate equipment without considering its practicality. We thoroughly considered the question of “Which equipment would be truly useful in the actual workplace?”, but the selection process was extremely difficult as all the products were extremely high-performance.
What became clear through this award is that video equipment has gone beyond the stage of “what it can do” and has entered a stage where it is being questioned “how smoothly it can enable the work process (workflow).”
The reason the selection was so difficult was not because the criteria were vague, but because all the equipment was mature enough that it was no longer easy to rank them.
At the end of it all, the editorial team came to one conclusion.
PRONEWS AWARD 2025 Grand Prize: Nikon ZR
We were not entirely unsure about the outcome of the 2025 PRONEWS AWARD, but ultimately we came to the conclusion that the Nikon ZR was the camera that should win the Grand Prize.
The reason our editorial team selected the Nikon ZR as the grand prize winner of the PRONEWS AWARD 2025 is that in the current market where many pieces of equipment are similar, this is the only model that offers a clear direction for where video equipment should go next.
As of 2025, the performance of video equipment has already reached maturity. High resolution, powerful image stabilization, and RAW recording are no longer special advantages, but rather are considered basic prerequisites. It is now extremely difficult to differentiate equipment based solely on numerical specifications.
Read our Review of the Nikon ZR Here!
What made the ZR stand out among them wasn’t simply its many functions, but the fact that it directly challenged the traditional boundary between cinema cameras and mirrorless cameras, which are primarily used for still images.
The ZR, which emerged after Nikon acquired RED, was the first product of this acquisition, and featured the Nikon-exclusive “R3D NE” format, which inherited the concepts of “R3D,” the cinema industry standard format. It’s particularly noteworthy that it achieved high-quality internal recording at a realistic and affordable price point.
This is not just a porting of specs and technology. The essential value of this unit is that it has made R3D, once a privileged format only available to a select few professionals, into an option that many more creators can consider at a practical level.
Of course, the ZR is not a perfect model in every respect. It’s true that there is still room for improvement in terms of operability and operation. However, what our editorial team highly praised wasn’t the high level of perfection itself, but its bold approach to reshaping the existing industry structure and hierarchy.
Rather than competing on performance as an extension of existing standards, this challenging approach of setting new standards has had a definite impact on the imaging industry in 2025.
While many potential models are striving to be “better options,” the ZR can be said to have revolutionized the “way of choosing.” By nullifying the need for side-by-side spec comparisons and making professional-grade video production possible at an affordable price, it is a major step towards expanding the future of video production.
In 2025, when it was difficult to evaluate equipment due to its overall high performance, the ZR showed an overwhelming presence worthy of the Grand Prize. This was not only due to the high level of perfection of the product, but also because it was the machine that most strongly inspired us to imagine what the future of video production will be like.
For the above reasons, the editorial team has selected Nikon’s “ZR” as the grand prize winner of the PRONEWS AWARD 2025.
