"Cameras, Camcorders, Pictures, HDR, Gadgets, Films, Movies, Landscapes"

Even though the M9 technology is now over 3 years old, DxOmark tested for the first time the sensor inside the Leica M-E camera.

Via Philippe Gassmann

"This new Sigma 12-24mm EX DG HSM II wide-angle zoom for full-frame cameras is a somewhat improved version of the previous lens, the solidly-built Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG Canon.
Let’s start off by taking a look at how these two lenses compare when mounted on a Canon 5D Mark II body:

Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM II Canon vs Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG Canon

The most striking improvement for the EX DG HSM II is with respect to chromatic aberration, thanks to the use of FLD (“F” low dispersion) glass, specially formulated to simulate the transmission properties of fluorite glass (i.e., lower refractive index and dispersion as compared to other optical glass). There is marked suppression of chromatic aberration at 12mm, particularly in the image center, and at 24mm, chromatic aberrations completely disappear.
Vignetting, transmission, and resolution for the HSM II also show improvement over the earlier EX DG lens, but nowhere near as dramatic:

For vignetting, there is a net improvement at the 12mm focal length (e.g., f/4.5-5.6), and an overall improvement at all focal lengths from f/8 onwards. Transmission results remain low for both lenses, with a scarcely-worth-mentioning improvement of only 0.2 stop for the HSM II. For resolution, the HSM II generally better in the center and worse on the edges (for example, at 17mm, f/5).

One surprise, however, is that the HSM II scores worse for distortion than its predecessor. For both lenses, distortion is visible at 12mm, but negligible at higher focal lengths.
Although the EX DG HSM II’s DxOMark overall score (11) beats the EX DG’s score (10), obviously the improvements are not so significant as to induce EX DG owners to run out and replace their old lens with the newer model. For photographers looking for a wide-angle zoom and trying to decide between the HSM II and the EX DG, it is not clear that the improvements to the newer model are worth the more than 50% markup in price over the previous version."

Via Philippe Gassmann

"New results are available on dxomark.com for the Tamron SP 17-50mm F/2.8 Di II XR VC LD Aspherical IF lens (Nikon and Canon mounts). This new review, along with our recent review of the Sigma 17-50mm, completes a set of measurements for trans-standard luminous lenses."

Via Philippe Gassmann

"Since we tested the Sony SLT A77 we were very curious to see how the soon-to-be released Sony NEX 7 would compare. And today we have the answer: as we expected, the absence of mirror give the NEX7 some advantages. Let's see it in details..."

Via Philippe Gassmann

"When we received the IQ 180 Digital Back from Phase One, we expected a lot from this huge 80 MPixels sensor. And, indeed, the sensor is the best we ever tested with an overall score of 91: the best score ever and the first one over 90 points on DxOMark scale! Let’s check the details...."

Via Philippe Gassmann