DXOMark: Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4

[AlanF]

I know DXO scores are pretty arbitrary, but how is the zeiss 6 points higher than the 300/2.8 even though its worse in 4/5 of their "categories"

It's because they don't have a Wow! score, which is a measure of the crowd attraction of the lens. The 300mm f/2.8 wins hands down as it is far more conspicuous because of colour and length and width. DxO dropped the Wow! Score because it gave Canon a higher mark than Nikon for white lenses, and substituted the DR score.

 

[MLfan3]

get over it, getting too annoying about this issue.
the Otus is a great lens but as even DXO says , it is huge and impractical for most of handheld apps.
I tried it and it is amazing but so what?
if Canon or any one design a 50mm without AF , as big as the Otus , any Asian brand lens company can do it too.
but the fact is Westerns do not pay a lot of money for an Asian lens , I think Samyong or Sigma can do it too , but if they do and try to charge 4k for a 50mm , what will happen?
so while the Otus is a great lens in terms of pure optical , tripod based performance tests, it is not really a practical or that amazing in real life use.
imagine what most of Western buyers would react if Sigma or Samyong try to design something like that and charge 4k?
sadly, there are many many name worshippers , if it says Leica , Zeiss , Hassel Blad , then many people love it and willing to pay whatever the price asked regardless of its performance in real life.
the Pana Leica primes are actually designed by KM but they say Leica design in EU or US because of the above reason , but in Pana's original Japanese site it clearly says it is not Leica lenses just Leica baranded..............

 

[infared]

Though I don't like Zeiss

What's wrong with Zeiss?

I always group them with Leica who produces inferior cameras with over priced policy.
But I hope Canon should respond to this like Nikon with their 58mm (and lost unfortunately)

Can hardly call that a "response" from Nikon... :

 

[docsmith]

....
if Canon or any one design a 50mm without AF , as big as the Otus , any Asian brand lens company can do it too.
but the fact is Westerns do not pay a lot of money for an Asian lens , I think Samyong or Sigma can do it too , but if they do and try to charge 4k for a 50mm , what will happen?
so while the Otus is a great lens in terms of pure optical , tripod based performance tests, it is not really a practical or that amazing in real life use.
imagine what most of Western buyers would react if Sigma or Samyong try to design something like that and charge 4k?
sadly, there are many many name worshippers , if it says Leica , Zeiss , Hassel Blad , then many people love it and willing to pay whatever the price asked regardless of its performance in real life.
the Pana Leica primes are actually designed by KM but they say Leica design in EU or US because of the above reason , but in Pana's original Japanese site it clearly says it is not Leica lenses just Leica baranded..............

I don't like what you are insinuating and think you are completely incorrect. Zeiss has a history of excellent optics and people are willing to pay a little more for that history, sure. But I think location has next to nothing to do with it. Think about cars. It used to be that luxury cars were primarily from Germany (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc). Then Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti came along. Guess what, "westerners" are buying Lexus, Acuras and Infinitis. A lot of them. If Samyang, Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Tamron, etc, can build a lens as good as the Otus, and they think they can make money on that lens....then they should do it. People will buy it. Personally, competition in that high end market would be great.

And personally speaking, this westerner has spent a lot of money on "Asian" lenses, camera bodies, etc.

 

[mackguyver]

I know DXO scores are pretty arbitrary, but how is the zeiss 6 points higher than the 300/2.8 even though its worse in 4/5 of their "categories"

Exactly why I plan to pass on this lens and keep using my 300. Sure the perspective is slightly different and I have to stand just a little further back to get the same framing, but I get IS, AF, and an even sharper result

 

[traveller]

I know DXO scores are pretty arbitrary, but how is the zeiss 6 points higher than the 300/2.8 even though its worse in 4/5 of their "categories"

Because of the difference in speed of the two lenses. Dxo seem to load the 'transmission' score more heavily.

But is a 1.4 lens better than a 2.8 lens per se ?

Well, you see a Score, and you see a bunch of Measurements under it. Logically, you assume the Score represents some sort of summary or synthesis of those Measurememts. But, no...that's DxOMark's Biased Scores for you - BS.

The Lens Score is actually based on 'performance in 150 lux illumination' - the light level of a dimly lit warehouse. So, the Lens Score is determined mainly by the T-stop of the lens...and by the camera on which the lens is tested. Like I said...BS.

I find DXO Mark's measurements OK, as long as you're willing to look past the headlines and read the actual results (and not just the summary table). Like most journalism, it catches audience attention with simplistic headlines, not long lists of qualifications and caveats. There are complicating factors when you're trying to compare the resolution of a normal to a 300mm lens; Photozone comments:

"Some may be surprised that all these long tele lenses don't deliver a better performance than many wide-angle lenses. Please note that there's QUITE a bit more space between the test chart with super tele lenses so the longer the focal length the higher is the amount of air diffusion" [http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/173-canon-ef-400mm-f56-usm-l-lab-test-report--review?start=1]

although this is in relation to the 400mm f/5.6L on APS-C, the principle remains. If I were to criticize DXO Mark's comparison, it would be for making this sort of facile comparison at all. From a photographic point of view comparing a 55mm to a 300mm lens makes about as much sense as comparing a sports car to a tractor.

 

[Eldar]

I tried it and it is amazing but so what?

Exactly, it´s amazing! Apparently nothing for you, but definitely something for me. We are different and we do different things.
A Bugatti Veyron is an amazing car ... but only two seats, noisy as hell, too low to drive on dirt roads and no room for my fishing gear ... Who the hell would want such a car

 

[AlanF]

Zeiss is a very good company whose ethos for many decades has been to be the best in the world at what they do. Their latest Otus is for a niche market and will not be a huge mass market money spinner. It isn't fair to say that Westerners would not buy such a lens from an Asian company. We pay far more for the top Canon telephoto lenses. And I doubt whether Zeiss would even try and compete with those telephoto lenses because they know that it is one of the areas where Zeiss would be hard pressed to be the best in the world.