[mst]

PZ doesn't want to test the Zeiss Apo / manual focus / high end price items, I can understand that, but I notice in myself some doubts about the ratings. I feel like only a lens without any flaws deserves the highest rating.

Well, that's not quite true: show us an affordable way to buy/rent/loan the lenses, and we will test them for sure. However, so far, that simply hasn't happened, yet. I haven't come across a really afordable 2nd hand offer of any Otus lens for example (and I'd still have to think a lot about buying one, because from all I've seen so far they seem be very hard to sell).

With a few exceptions, we don't want to rely (or even ask for) loaners from the manufacturers. That means, we either have to buy the review units, or hope for loaners from the community. You can imagine, that not that many readers out there owning high-end fancy lenses are willing to give their "babies" (which they often need for their work) into unknown hands for a period of two or three weeks. It sometimes happens, yes (see the Noctilux for example), but that's really an exception.

-- Markus