The Lytro stands as one of the most innovative cameras to come along in years, and we're very interested to see how this technology develops in years to come. While we aren't as impressed with the Lytro's traditional image quality, the ability to capture an entire scene and change the focal point after the fact is unlike anything else on the market. With so many new and interesting models hitting the market in 2012, Lytro's light field camera stands apart as truly innovative. The D4 is an impressive machine that any pro shooting Nikon should be proud to own, but it falls just behind the 1D X in our overall scoring. We should reserve special mention for the D4's backlit control labels and uncompressed HDMI video output.

The Nikon D4 also graced our labs this year, and we found that it offered performance that exceeded the 1D X in some areas, falling behind in others. While it's certainly too big, too expensive, and simply too much for most people, the Canon 1D X is, hands-down, the best camera from 2012. Despite the delay, the 1D X bested all comers in our lab tests, producing the highest overall score of the year. With some fantastic mid-range bodies also seeing the light of day, the Canon 1D X had stiff competition for our top spot once it finally was released to the public.

While there were only a couple high-end cameras brought to market in 2011, this year saw the eventual release of some incredible full-frame models from each of the major players.

Best camera 2015 under 250