{"id":925341,"date":"2026-10-12T11:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T11:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/925341\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T11:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T11:14:11","slug":"smartphone-pips-nikon-z8-to-top-prize-in-americas-state-parks-photo-contest-who-needs-a-high-end-camera-to-win-awards-eh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/925341\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartphone pips Nikon Z8 to top prize in America\u2019s State Parks Photo Contest \u2013 who needs a high-end camera to win awards, eh?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love the whole debate around using a sophisticated mirrorless or DSLR camera versus a smartphone, and this contest-winning image is yet again proof that cameraphones can stand up to professional rigs.<\/p>\n

Taken by photographer Dianne Slotten in Catalina State Park, Arizona, on an iPhone 16 Pro<\/a>, the image went on to win the Grand Prize at the 2026 America\u2019s State Parks Photo Contest, which was a whopping $10,000 (approximately \u00a37,500\/AU$14,300). Not bad for a smartphone image\u2026<\/p>\n

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\"Hikers
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(Image credit: Dianne Slotten)<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Slotten\u2019s photo, which ReserveAmerica, the contest co-host, said<\/a> captured the \u201cmoody and mystical\u201d atmosphere of a drizzly November morning in the Sonoran Desert, pipped two other photographers who were both shooting with a Nikon Z8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sometimes called the \u201cbaby Z9,\u201d the Z8 features the same powerhouse 45.7MP CMOS sensor as the flagship Nikon Z9<\/a>, not to mention the solid autofocus made up of 493 phase-detect and contrast-detect points, respectively.<\/p>\n

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\"Wooden
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(Image credit: Chris Dahl)<\/p>\n

Chris Dahl’s gear <\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

The two Z8 photographers, great artists in their own rights, were Chris Dahl and Angie Precure<\/a>. Dahl placed first in the \u201cShores & Waterways\u201d category for what the contest co-hosts called a \u201cquiet, deeply reflective composition\u201d of a waterway in Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina.<\/p>\n

While Precure won the \u201cPeaks & Plains\u201d category with a landscape shot of Steptoe Butte State Park Heritage Site, Washington, which depicted clouds during a \u201cdramatic transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

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\"Rolling
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(Image credit: Angie Precure)<\/p>\n

Angie Precure’s gear <\/p>\n

The America\u2019s State Parks Photo Contest is an annual national photography competition hosted by America\u2019s State Parks in partnership with the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) and ReserveAmerica\/Aspira.<\/p>\n

Visitors submit photos to showcase the natural beauty, wildlife, and outdoor recreation found across state parks in all 50 U.S. states. To see all of this year\u2019s contest-winning images and hear from the winners themselves, watch the winners video below\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Deals on the Winners’ Gear<\/p>\n

You might also like\u2026<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our pick of the best cameras for landscape photography<\/a> and the best cameras for wildlife photography<\/a> \u2013 great rigs for shooting in national parks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I love the whole debate around using a sophisticated mirrorless or DSLR camera versus a smartphone, and this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":925342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-925341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/925342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=925341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}