The real problem with Lloyd's reviews are that they are for the 'Lens At Hand'. Tell me what good that does for you or me? I could point out numerous cases at point like the Leica Summicron F2 Asph that was skewed.... that's an eight grand lens!! How would you like to have that one sent to you. Or his more recent Fuji GFX 110mm lens that obviously should have never left QC. He subsequently placed the second copy on his highly recommended list. Those are just two examples of the many lenses the he and countless others test that only account for the 'Lens At Hand'. I have found that his and all other lens tests are worthless to me as I will never have that particular lens but instead another that I should learn to test. My advice is to have a testing routine that makes sense to you and use it to test any lens you intend to purchase.
Victor
Thats throwing the" baby out with the bath water “. You reject all lens tests because they are not the specific lens you would be using ? Of course when you see a result (like the Fuji ) that makes no sense .....you look for other reviews and hope Lloyd tests again with another copy .
Of course there is sample variation ...but you take any Leica M lens and I could tell you a lot about how that lens renders an image .
There are few if any real dogs in the best lens kits ..Leica,Zeiss,Nikon are the ones I am most familiar with . Yet they can produce very different aesthetics based on glass type ,coatings ,design decisions etc. :banghead:
Let me provide an example ..not specific to Lloyd . When I put together a Nikon kit to shoot in Florida about 10 years ago ...I knew it would be different requirements . I needed strong prime telephotos to shoot surfing,polo,auto racing ,wildlife etc . So I looked into the Nikon telephotos ....based on test results ..and subjective reputation ..it was obvious that the 400/2.8 was the pick of litter ...2nd up was the 600/4 . The 500 although well respected was a notch below the 400 and lacked the reach of the 600 . Nobody was using the 200-400/4 or even the 300/2.8 with the 1.4x and 2x convertors . First observation should be “well I don t shoot much like that ?” But I do. .
Test reports helped me zero in on kit that I could use NOW ....
If you follow the testing done at Lens Rentals you will find numerous tests ...specifically addressing sample variation . In almost every case you would find a cluster of results that match the design specification and a few ugly ducklings . I don t have the time or the inclination to test the hell out of my gear ..unless I feel its just not performing .
My points are simple ...use all the information you can find to select the right gear upfront : of course test or use the gear as you intend to make use of it . Requirements differ ..appreciate that not all photographers value the same aspects of image quality .