DxOMarK changes the game of data-driven camera-gear evaluations

DXOMark has just dropped a nuclear bomb on the world of technical data-driven camera gear evaluations. They have just announced and launched a new feature - performance data for SLR lenses as mounted on different DSLRs and iLCs. Not just one set of data per lens, but many! This is a gift that keeps on giving for pixel-peepiential fans :)

A good way to get a feel of what they have just launched is to start with a lens, and what a better example than a lens that many Canon users have, the 50mm f1.8. When you visit the page, you will notice the pull-down menu with camera names. In this case, this lens was tested with 15 different EOS cameras. Each data set for each DSLR contains six pages of data, starting with the default "Overview", and then going to "Resolution", "Transmission", "Distortion", "Vignetting", and "Chromatic Aberration". You can see all the lenses they have tested so far.

If you are into ranking, you will be thrilled with their lens rankings. Is a Canon combo #1 or a Nikon combo? Spoiler alert: It's expen$ive! The Flash chart on the right side shows all the camera-lens combos - when you mouse over a data point, the left side of the page shows you which camera-lens combo that is, and where it stands. Another nice new feature! You can also filter all these data in many different ways - by mount, by focal length, by brand, etc, etc, etc. The data is available in the default "Graph View" but also in the less-busy "List View".

Another great benefit of this new feature is that you can compare up to three lenses side-by-side. This is HUGE if for example you are looking for lenses for a specific DSLR/iLC. You pull the lenses of interest, select the camera of interest, and show the side-by-side comparison. You can follow the tabs and traverse the five different evaluation categories for more detail, or stick with the Overview page if you are in a hurry. Here is an example using the Canon 7D and "18-50mm" lenses. Screenshot crop below...

It should go without saying, but I'll repeat it just in case, technical data-driven evaluations of camera-gear are only part of the whole picture. A number of other factors, some tangible, some intangible go into evaluating a camera and/or lens. This is one important part of the equation, but not the whole equation.

Further Reading
+ Stephen Shankland at CNet DeepTech discusses the new DxO offering
+ Alpha Numerique examines [NEW!]