08-08-2011, 07:30 PM
Personally I look for wide open performance first in samples before looking at stop down samples. Is there any lens that does worse stopped down than wide open? Excluding diffraction limiting that is. Wide open will show you the worst case, and it can only get better from there. If you after a fast lens, you want to see how it performs with that fastness otherwise you can go slower to start with. And if you go slow, you're more likely to use it wide open anyway.
<a class="bbc_url" href="http://snowporing.deviantart.com/">dA</a> Canon 7D2, 7D, 5D2, 600D, 450D, 300D IR modified, 1D, EF-S 10-18, 15-85, EF 35/2, 85/1.8, 135/2, 70-300L, 100-400L, MP-E65, Zeiss 2/50, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300/2.8, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Olympus E-P1, Panasonic 20/1.7, Sony HX9V, Fuji X100.