DxO, the photography software company behind the DxO Optics Pro suite, has apparently been building a large database of lens and camera sensor and body scores based on various metrics important to photographers. For those unaware of what DxO’s Optics Pro software does, you can find some information here:
DxO Optics Pro software automatically improves image quality by taking into account the precise characteristics of your photographic equipment (camera body and lenses). Designed for serious amateurs as well as for professional photographers who are looking for the best image quality possible, DxO Optics Pro processes both JPEG and RAW image files.
DxO measures things such as vignetting, barrel distortion, color reproduction, light transmission, and more and applies corrections to neutralize those factors at processing time—making buildings square again, colors correct, and so on. Since they’ve been building and tracking this data for so long, it really only makes sense that they’d be able to offer photographers such an amazing photography equipment benchmark tool.
Even better, the values are discrete, and that lets you judge your favorite pairings. Thinking of buying a 5D Mark II and a 28-70 f/2.8 and wonder if that setup will be any good? Match those up and you’ll see it has a peak score of 56, quite excellent. Wondering if it’ll carry over well to your 1D Mark III, though? Check it paired with that camera, and you’ll see its rating drop to 31, mostly on the back of resolution issues—on a 1DMkIII, that lens can only resolve 44 line pairs per millimeter, while on the 5DMkII, it can resolve 60.
There are tons of options, as well. Want to see the best overall setup? That looks like the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 with the Canon 5D Mark II body. Best super-wide-angle setup? Tied—the Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8 with either the 1DS Mark II or 5D Mark II body. Nikon’s 17-35 with the D3X body is right behind. What about the best landscape lens in superwides? That’s a Nikon 17-35 f/2.8.
They’ve retrieved all of this data by a smattering of their own objective sets of RAW image tests with the respective pairings where they analyze the image output given a set of standard photographic subjects.
Initially covering about 540 cameras-lens combinations, with dozens to follow each month, DxOMark measurement database is the ultimate source of objective, independent metrics on camera image quality. In order to guarantee the accuracy and consistency of its database, DxO Labs, an industry leader in Image Quality Evaluation, performs all measurements in its own labs, never relying on any manufacturer data. DxO Labs uses state-of-the-art equipment and open measurement protocols compliant with international and industry standards….
These Scores are based either on photographic Use Cases such as Travel, Portrait, Landscape, etc., or key optical Metrics such as Resolution, Distortion, etc., allowing fair and objective comparisons of photographic equipment within the context of specific needs.
There are so many filters and options, it’s a veritable data goldmine. Head on over to DxOMark and check it out for yourself, photogs—it’s looking like a great resource.
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