A tradition of innovation
DXOMARK started out as the Image Quality Evaluation Team at DxO Labs, a company that had a broad mission: participate in the digital revolution of the camera by finding a way to correct lens and sensor flaws through digital processing and co-optimization. DXOMARK split off from DxO Labs in 2017, and is now a rapidly growing independent company focused on the testing and optimization of digital imaging devices in conjunction with industry leaders. More than 1 billion cameras and smartphones shipped have benefited from DXOMARK’s expertise. To learn more about our journey and the potential for you to be a part of it, explore our’ Why Join Us page.
The pursuit of excellence
Our camera teams are testing and tuning new smartphone and standalone cameras in coordination with camera and smartphone makers. The audio engineering team and lab focus on testing and optimizing the performance of audio components in smartphones and other devices. A new Display team is currently developing a lab and testing protocols for smartphone and tablet screens as well as screens and readouts in vehicles of all kinds.
Others work on Analyzer, the company’s complete system for testing digital imaging devices. Analyzer consists of hardware — equipment custom built by DXOMARK to measure and test aspects of image quality and performance — and the software needed to process the results. The Analyzer team is constantly updating its testing protocols and equipment as technology and consumer habits change.
“In order to be able to create something and improve it, you have to be able to measure its performance. Everything digital touches, it transforms. The complexity of the camera hardware (lens, sensor) and its miniaturization challenges can be transferred to the processing. This became our focus — making every camera the best it can be.”
Frédéric Guichard
CEO & CTO
OUR STORY
Timeline | Benchmarking
2022 – DXOMARK Label, Automotive, and Videoconferencing
Label
We introduced the DXOMARK Label, a yearly updated 3-tier (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) program, based on our scores and protocols, that rewards the best devices in all the areas we test.
We introduced the DXOMARK Label, a yearly updated 3-tier (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) program, based on our scores and protocols, that rewards the best devices in all the areas we test.
Automotive
We launched our offering of laboratory solutions dedicated to the automotive market compliant with IEEE P2020 Standards.
Videoconferencing
We developed our first videoconference testing protocol for computers, tablet and accessories, integrating holistically both audio and video into one scoring system.
2021 New Battery lab
We announced a new score for smartphone battery experience. The proprietary battery test protocol covers a wide range of common real-life usages of smartphones including social media, communication, and multimedia applications. DXOMARK’s Battery test protocol, evaluates the entire battery experience and quantifies 3 main areas: Autonomy (how long a charge lasts, for various intensity of use), Charging (how long it takes to recharge or how much short recharges increase battery life) and Efficiency (how much the phone consumes in charging or discharging)
2020 New Display lab
We set up a lab with state-of-the-art equipment that our new Display team uses to perform display tests and evaluations.
As screens dominate people’s lives, our display team has developed the protocols for identifying and measuring the display capabilities of various types of screens. Display engineers at DXOMARK have created benchmarks for digital displays on smartphones, tablets, computers, and on a wide range of other products, including the screens and readouts in vehicles of all sorts.
2019 Introduced Audio testing
DXOMARK began operating a new smartphone audio quality benchmark, DXOMARK Audio, in October. The company gathered a team of experienced sound engineers to build a state-of-the-art audio laboratory and to develop a robust testing protocol. From an end-user perspective, engineers evaluate the playback quality of speakers as well as the recording quality of microphones in smartphones. The team studied a broad range of standards from industry associations to identify representative use cases and relevant audio quality attributes. DXOMARK.com publishes reviews resulting from these in-house tests.
Learn moreSmartphone front camera testing and DXOMARK Selfie
While a third of smartphone users take selfies, most smartphone camera testing involves only the rear camera. In January 2019, DXOMARK.com launched DXOMARK Selfie, an image quality benchmark for smartphone front cameras. DXOMARK Selfie assesses such quality attributes as color sensitivity, noise, and Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), based on more than 1,500 images and more than two hours of video in various real-life and lab settings. We carefully designed the testing protocol to include common selfie use cases under various lighting conditions.
LEARN MORE2019 Introduced Night and Wide testing
2018 Improvements in autofocus testing
2018 New HDR testing
2017 Updated Smartphone Camera tests
2012 Launch of Smartphone Camera tests
2010 Launch of DXOMARK Lens
2008 Introduction of dxomark.com alongside DXOMARK Sensor
Timeline | Company
2018 dxomark.com celebrates 10 years and moves to new offices
Since its introduction in 2008, dxomark.com has established itself as the world’s top source of in-depth image quality reviews of smartphones, cameras, and lenses — trusted by industry leaders and millions of consumers. This reputation for accuracy and objectivity has led to industry leaders using DXOMARK scores during the rollout of new devices and in keynote talks. Top media outlets also rely on and quote DXOMARK scores when reporting on camera image quality.
To accommodate its planned expansion, DXOMARK moved to a new office and laboratory complex in Boulogne-Billancourt in metropolitan Paris. The complex includes five new labs, with space for more labs and for twice as many people as the previous office.
2017 DXOMARK becomes an independent company
In September 2017, DXOMARK Image Labs (now DXOMARK) spun off from DxO Labs (which continues to design and sell photography software and camera products). As an independent company, DXOMARK’s product lines currently include our flagship Analyzer hardware and software system for image quality testing, benchmarking, and tuning; our image quality testing business; and the dxomark.com website.
Timeline | Analyzer testing suite
100th lab installed
We installed our 100th Analyzer-equipped camera lab on June 9, 2016. This was also our first lab for a client in Malaysia.
2015 First Analyzer-equipped camera lab in Brazil
2014 First Analyzer-equipped camera lab in Finland.
2011 First Analyzer-equipped labs in China mainland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
2007 First Analyzer-equipped camera lab in Taiwan (China).
2006 First Analyzer-equipped camera lab in South Korea and the USA
2005 First Analyzer-equipped camera lab in Japan. It’s our first Analyzer lab installed outside of France
2003 Company founding and launch of Analyzer
DXOMARK began as the image quality evaluation (IQE) team of DxO Labs when it was founded in 2003. The IQE team introduced its first product that year, Analyzer (previously called DxO Analyzer) — the first comprehensive suite of hardware and software for camera testing and tuning, as well as for assessing distortion, sharpness, and vignetting, among other image quality attributes. Besides providing this solution to the industry, the team’s expertise helped photographers get the best out of their pictures with photo-editing software and contributed to the design of image processors (ISPs) for many leading smartphone brands during the decade that followed.