Is DxO useful or even valid?

That's probably the explanation for a large part of the disparity between my visual result and the DxOmark score, but if you download my raw files from this post and this post , you'll find that some of the shadows are as dark as shadows can be.  For example, the black lenses on the top left retain zero shadow detail in the pushed Sony files, yet they retain some in the Olympus.

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