Originally posted by clackers
It would be interesting, Dave … the Milvus only scores 39 at DxOMark versus 45 for the Sigma Art.
On a Nikon D800E these premium 50mm f/1.4 lenses score 41 (Milvus) vs 46 (Sigma).
My eyes can not differentiate a mere 5-point difference in score on the
objective measures (e.g. sharpness, distortion, vig, chr. aberrrations) that DxOMark tests for.
Far more important to me are
subjective lens differences in the areas of color, bokeh, and micro-contrast. DxOMark does not measure these more subjective lens characteristics.
Yesterday I did extensive, head-to-head testing on two 135mm lenses (Samyang 135/2 in K mount, & adapted Leica R 135/2.8). While neither lens is rated by DxO, if they were, I am certain that the modern Samyang lens would be rated much higher than the older Leica lens. The Samyang lens is incredibly sharp, has little vignetting, and almost no CA or distortion. The Leica has more vig, more CA and is no where near as sharp.
Overall, I greatly preferred the more "artistic" rendering ("Leica Look") of the Leica over the more "technical" rendering of the Samyang lens. In fact, I so much more prefer the rendering of the lower rated Leica, that I intend to sell the more higher rated Samyang lens.
As far as on-line lens ratings go, I actually prefer the broader and more comprehensive rating system that
Lenscore.org uses to evaluate lenses, over the DxOMark lens rating system. Lenscore evaluates many lens characteristics (color, contrast, flare, star, bokeh) that DxO does not.
Lenscore rates the Sigma 50/1.4 1053, and the Zeiss Milvus 50/1.4 1054 (a virtual tie)!
Any of the popular lens rating systems (DxOMark, Lenscore, etc.) are a valid starting point in ones' lens evaluations. But for me, I prefer to make my final lens decisions based on real-world, head-to-head lens comparison tests that I make myself.
Last edited by Fenwoodian; 06-29-2018 at 10:09 AM.