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Why I Think We All Need to Stop Caring About DXOScores and Lab Tests

Chris Gampat
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07/26/2017
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Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Zeiss 28mm f2.8 review sample images 19

Last Updated on 07/27/2017 by Chris Gampat

Before I get very deeply into this piece, this post isn’t a personal attack on DXOMark, DPReview, Imaging Resource, or any of the sites that do some sort of lab testing. They run a legitimate business that in some ways puts camera and lens testing into a format that is mathematically easier for lots of people to determine for themselves. But if you’re a photographer who has been working in this industry for a while and has developed a set of skills that allows you to create beautiful photos no matter what piece of gear you’re using, then it technically won’t matter if you’re using a Canon 5D Mk II or a Sony a9 as long as you can think creatively and capture or create a jaw dropping photo.

And with that statement I will begin my very pointed opinion.

Model: Asta Paredes
Lab tests involve a soulless, clinical process that tells us nothing about the photo except that which can only be measured by numbers. Sharpness? Sure. Color Depth? Absolutely. But what about bokeh? Who is to say whether you like the bokeh of the Canon 50mm f1.2 L or the Zeiss 55mm f1.4 more? It’s very subjective. Sure, the Zeiss may blow the Canon away in sharpness, but if you put the Zeiss in the hands of a newbie and the Canon in the hands of an experienced professional photographer who is in touch with their artistic side, then I’m sure we can all figure out who is going to be able to shoot a better photo.

And even then, who defines what better is? Years ago, I had this conversation with a friend who is a tech journalist and works at a larger brand, and to them it has nothing to do with art. Unfortunately, most of the world doesn’t understand art the way we understand science. Heck, our (meaning human beings) ancestors knocked down artistic statues but stole scientific research. Of course, they didn’t care about the art and beauty of the culture.

For the rest of us though, we can consider a lot of this to be very clinical. Oddly enough, though I fell out of love with Canon lenses years ago, I started to like them again recently because of the character they deliver. It isn’t clinical or doesn’t seem like it was specifically designed to satisfy DXOMark or other lab test organizations. The lenses seem like they were designed for photographers and less so for engineers. In fact, lots of vintage glass does too. Interestingly enough, Zeiss glass is my favorite because it tends to combine the best of both worlds. I can get absolutely beautiful lens flare that simply isn’t possible with Sigma glass or Sony glass. And in fact, I’ve been asking engineers for years to add more lens flare.

Model: Natalie Margiotta
Arguably, there are somethings in this life that are too valuable to put a number on. For example: happiness, love, allure, bonds. In a situation like this, I’d like to call it romance. We can’t put a number on that character, charm, etc of a lens. A great example are the Lomography and Lensbaby lenses. Are they the sharpest lenses on the market? No. Are they trying to be? No. They’re trying to be unique. And I think that uniqueness in an image beats a soulless photo any day of the week.

Bokeh canon dpreview dxomark image qualty imaging resource lenses sharpness sony zeiss
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.