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tomhongkong

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Which lens review site do you use the most?

Before buying a new lens (and sometimes before thinking about switching systems) I spend a good deal of time looking at lens reviews.

The ones I usually look at are

Photozone.de (good reports, but limited number of lenses tested, and not cross platform comparable)

DXO (has its own way of doing things, giving sometimes inconsistent results, but tries through its methodology to arrive at cross system and body comparison)

Ephotozine (Good readable reports, sometimes a bit brief, and spoiled by sometimes showing sharpness in MTF? and sometime with subjective comments. Please use the same measurement for all lenses)

Imaging resource (Good readable reports. the sharpness graphics are easy to comprehend, but the blur unit used is arbitrary for each camera range so not cross comparable, I think)

LensTip (Excellent reports, but limited lens range)

Does anyone have any better suggestions for my reading, or any way of proper cross comparison?

tom
 
I rarely read lens reviews. I look at the photographs by people using a lens I'm interested in, then, rent, or purchase with a good return policy, to test for myself.

- Richard

--
http://www.rsjphoto.net
 
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tomhongkong said:
Which lens review site do you use the most?

Before buying a new lens (and sometimes before thinking about switching systems) I spend a good deal of time looking at lens reviews.

The ones I usually look at are

Photozone.de (good reports, but limited number of lenses tested, and not cross platform comparable)

DXO (has its own way of doing things, giving sometimes inconsistent results, but tries through its methodology to arrive at cross system and body comparison)

Ephotozine (Good readable reports, sometimes a bit brief, and spoiled by sometimes showing sharpness in MTF? and sometime with subjective comments. Please use the same measurement for all lenses)

Imaging resource (Good readable reports. the sharpness graphics are easy to comprehend, but the blur unit used is arbitrary for each camera range so not cross comparable, I think)

LensTip (Excellent reports, but limited lens range)

Does anyone have any better suggestions for my reading, or any way of proper cross comparison?

tom
Click to expand...
Look at them all. Also, remember that not every 'metric' is listed.

If you want a good scientific list of what's good for things like landscape or sports lenses, DXOMark is excellent. Very technical measurements.

However, if you want something like a portrait or street lens, these metrics may not be correct. These lenses sometimes require character and tonality measurements that are not listed on DxOMark.

My advice: read around and learn the principles of lens design. It will help you more than anything.
 
I Google the lens, click in the "images" link after the search results display, and go out and look at real world samples. Many of them will be posted on lens review sites.

Some will have considerable PP, which is annoying. Lens reviews and real world samples are better when SOOC.
 
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The Digital Picture has reviews of nearly every lens you can get. One of the drawbacks of his reviews is that he only tests 1 copy so if he received a bad one the review might be misleading. He also has great tools for comparing lenses.
 
Flickr has a multitude of groups designed for specific camera bodies and specific lenses. It is a valuable resource, where you can see thousands of images taken with a particular piece of gear.

Pbase has a camera finder feature that shows you photos taken with specific gear.

And as already mentioned, Google image search is your friend.

But I do like the lens review sites too. Sample photos tell you nothing about how reliably a lens operates and how it feels in the hand.
 
tomhongkong said:
Which lens review site do you use the most?

Before buying a new lens (and sometimes before thinking about switching systems) I spend a good deal of time looking at lens reviews.

The ones I usually look at are

Photozone.de (good reports, but limited number of lenses tested, and not cross platform comparable)

DXO (has its own way of doing things, giving sometimes inconsistent results, but tries through its methodology to arrive at cross system and body comparison)

Ephotozine (Good readable reports, sometimes a bit brief, and spoiled by sometimes showing sharpness in MTF? and sometime with subjective comments. Please use the same measurement for all lenses)

Imaging resource (Good readable reports. the sharpness graphics are easy to comprehend, but the blur unit used is arbitrary for each camera range so not cross comparable, I think)

LensTip (Excellent reports, but limited lens range)

Does anyone have any better suggestions for my reading, or any way of proper cross comparison?

tom
Click to expand...
I usually use the ones you named above as well, but try to look around at others too.

Here's some others you can peruse:

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olegkikin.com

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www.popphoto.com

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www.lensrentals.com

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www.dustylens.com

Photodo - Photographic lens specifications, guides, discussion and reviews

Photographic lens specifications, guides, discussion and reviews
www.photodo.com www.photodo.com


I also like this site for viewing sample images (real pics, not test charts and the like):

Photo Insight Toolkit · PixelPeeper

Recover Lightroom edits and camera settings from JPG files. Turn JPG files into Lightroom presets.
pixelpeeper.com
 
Thanks, everyone, for your comments. You have given me a few more sites to look at!

tom
 
Is it me or no one has suggested DPReview?

I like the lens hub and reviews, they often link to Lens Rental that I like too.

Now I don't have any budget for lens right now so I'm only doing this as a tourist...

I also like lesnumeriques.com but it is another language...
 
tomhongkong said:
Which lens review site do you use the most?

Before buying a new lens (and sometimes before thinking about switching systems) I spend a good deal of time looking at lens reviews.

The ones I usually look at are

Photozone.de (good reports, but limited number of lenses tested, and not cross platform comparable)

DXO (has its own way of doing things, giving sometimes inconsistent results, but tries through its methodology to arrive at cross system and body comparison)

Ephotozine (Good readable reports, sometimes a bit brief, and spoiled by sometimes showing sharpness in MTF? and sometime with subjective comments. Please use the same measurement for all lenses)

Imaging resource (Good readable reports. the sharpness graphics are easy to comprehend, but the blur unit used is arbitrary for each camera range so not cross comparable, I think)

LensTip (Excellent reports, but limited lens range)

Does anyone have any better suggestions for my reading, or any way of proper cross comparison?

tom
Click to expand...
As others have said, testing them yourself through renting or something is ideal.

Another option I like to use tho is to see photo albums of other users who have used the lens. Unlike relatively brief reviews, these humans live by the lenses that they've bought and have spend many hours optimizing their look using them. Thus, you may find that they can give a better idea of what the lens is capable of.
 
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