Brightin Star 35mm f/0.95 MFT

[JonSnih]

In recent thread I mentioned it is a pity we dont have a 35mm F1.2 Pro prime with feather bokeh. Well, I came across this review by R. Wong. It looks like the $180 MF lens is suprisingly good performer in terms of sharpness at max apertures. Yes, it flares and suffers from CA but if you know how to work with that, it might be a good performer. @bye you might be interested in it.

a 52mm filter, 370 grams, metal contruction
offical store - product page

Robin's review with plenty of good photographs:

 

[The Dragons Father]

This is going to be my first lens of 2024. Surprisingly sharp wide open and that's what you want from a 0.95 lens. What's the point of a lens that needs to be stopped down to f2 - f2.8 to be sharp (unless you want the softness, perhaps for portraiture etc.).

 

[BDR-529]

What's the point of a lens that needs to be stopped down to f2 - f2.8 to be sharp (unless you want the softness, perhaps for portraiture etc.).

It's actually worse than this because even F/2.8 typically improves IQ only at the very center of the image. I have bought one fast 35mm FF prime year ago so now I know what NOT to buy again.

Every online review where they actually use a standard test process (Christopher Frost & co.) has come to same conclusion with practically all cheap Chinese manual F/0.95 - F/1.2 primes.

So many corners were cut to achieve super fast aperture at this price point that no matter how much you step these down, IQ will never reach more than acceptable level in the corners and lens is prone to severe flaring etc.

The bottom line is that any good F/2.0 prime will deliver superior IQ from corner to corner compared to any given F/1.2 or faster lens when both are stepped down to F/2.8.

Average superfast prime must be typically stepped down to F/5.6 or even F/8 before corners get somewhat sharp and lens becomes usable for anything else than "only left nostril is in focus at the center of the image"-photos.

 

[The Dragons Father]

It's actually worse than this because even F/2.8 typically improves IQ only at the very center of the image. I have bought one fast 35mm FF prime year ago so now I know what NOT to buy again.

Every online review where they actually use a standard test process (Christopher Frost & co.) has come to same conclusion with practically all cheap Chinese manual F/0.95 - F/1.2 primes.

So many corners were cut to achieve super fast aperture at this price point that no matter how much you step these down, IQ will never reach more than acceptable level in the corners and lens is prone to severe flaring etc.

The bottom line is that any good F/2.0 prime will deliver superior IQ from corner to corner compared to any given F/1.2 or faster lens when both are stepped down to F/2.8.

Average superfast prime must be typically stepped down to F/5.6 or even F/8 before corners get somewhat sharp and lens becomes usable for anything else than "only left nostril is in focus at the center of the image"-photos.

Love Christopher Frost (& Dustin Abbott) they are my go to reviewers.

However, I'd suggest that no-one buys a f0.95 / f1.2-1.4 lens for the corners ! I have (or have had) a few of these fast lenses (the 7 Artisans f0.95 50mm APSC lens for Sony is sitting inches away) and unless you are buying a very expensive Sony/Canon f1.2, where stopping down even slightly will get you sharp corners, then one has to temper expectations in that regard (or even better use another lens).

Personally I'm not buying any of these fast lenses for the corners, in fact I prefer them softer there because these lenses are generally shot wide open, or just stopped down a little to ensure you get the DoF you require (and of course this is a combination of f-stop and distance so if shooting for example the lead singer of a band at 10m then you've got plenty of DoF, actually a full 1m using a 35mm on 4/3 even at f0.95, but that extra light is going to enable you to keep your ISO lower and shutter speed up), so what I'm looking for is sharp (enough) centres and a lovely bokeh (to taste).

This is what makes the Brightin Star so attractive. It's sharp in the centre at f0.95. Not many ultra fast lenses can say that unless they are the very best (and expensive) quality such as a Sony GM etc.

 

[meyerweb]

It's actually worse than this because even F/2.8 typically improves IQ only at the very center of the image. I have bought one fast 35mm FF prime year ago so now I know what NOT to buy again.

Every online review where they actually use a standard test process (Christopher Frost & co.) has come to same conclusion with practically all cheap Chinese manual F/0.95 - F/1.2 primes.

So many corners were cut to achieve super fast aperture at this price point that no matter how much you step these down, IQ will never reach more than acceptable level in the corners and lens is prone to severe flaring etc.

The bottom line is that any good F/2.0 prime will deliver superior IQ from corner to corner compared to any given F/1.2 or faster lens when both are stepped down to F/2.8.

Average superfast prime must be typically stepped down to F/5.6 or even F/8 before corners get somewhat sharp and lens becomes usable for anything else than "only left nostril is in focus at the center of the image"-photos.

The only reason for buying a lens like the Brightin is to shoot wide open, or close to it, to get extremely shallow DOF. And for that, corner sharpness doesn't matter at all. Yes, if you want corner to corner sharpness there are much better, and more expensive, lenses. This is the most affordable way to get sharp portraits with shallow DOF and decent bokeh with m43.

I'm not, personally, one of those who thinks shallow DOF is the be-all and end-all, but a lot of people seem to think that's what photography is all about. And this lens should shut up FF zealots who say you can't get shallow DOF with m43.

 

[The Dragons Father]

The only reason for buying a lens like the Brightin is to shoot wide open, or close to it, to get extremely shallow DOF. And for that, corner sharpness doesn't matter at all. Yes, if you want corner to corner sharpness there are much better, and more expensive, lenses. This is the most affordable way to get sharp portraits with shallow DOF and decent bokeh with m43.

I'm not, personally, one of those who thinks shallow DOF is the be-all and end-all, but a lot of people seem to think that's what photography is all about. And this lens should shut up FF zealots who say you can't get shallow DOF with m43.

The Brightin Star 35mm has had some excellent reviews and it compares favourably to the TTArtisans' 0.95 lenses, especially wide open where it's supposed to be very sharp (though I also like a little glow at that aperture). I'm seriously considering giving that one a try (easy to find and cheaper for me, living in Shanghai). The Laowa Argus series of 0.95 lenses have also got stellar reviews, wide open being compared as being as sharp as the Leica and Noct but at 1/20 of the price. Though they are very heavy (500g and upwards for a M43 lens).

 

[Robin Smith]

I agree. To expect across the field apo-crispness from a 0.95 or 1.2 lens etc is to expect too much. Particularly at that price. As long as the central and mid field performance is pretty good then that is fine. Even if it was razor sharp across the board, most subjects would never be flat enough or aligned perfectly to the focal plane they would be in focus anyway. Shooting at infinity when everything is effectively at the same distance at f0.95 would be an odd aperture choice.

 

[The Dragons Father]

So I bought this lens last Friday and here are a few shots taken immediately afterwards, walking around the area of Shanghai close to the Photography mall (3 buildings of 5 floors each ; new, used and repairs) ! It's a very good lens for the money (1,200 rmb here, about £131 or US$166).

Ignore the EXIF apertures, as I hadn't registered the lens in the camera and even when I remembered to, since there are no electronic contacts, the the true aperture is still not shown.

This is wide open at f0.95, look at the faces on the stairs and text on the lift at the base, also compare to the next shot below at f2.0

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The image below was shot at f2.0, although 0.95 is sharp this is now super sharp.

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This was taken at f4.0 and handheld (4 secs).

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f0.95 - look at the text on the building (even at this aperture it's legible) and sunstars and compare to the final shot below.

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f2.0 - now look at the much sharper text and gorgeous sunstars !

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[JonSnih]

@The Dragons Father I think you're the first owner of the lens sharing photos. You can create a thread under "Native Lens Sample Image Showcase" dedicated to this prime. Maybe ask @barry how to move it over there.

 

[RAH]

Love Christopher Frost (& Dustin Abbott) they are my go to reviewers.
...
This is what makes the Brightin Star so attractive. It's sharp in the centre at f0.95. Not many ultra fast lenses can say that unless they are the very best (and expensive) quality such as a Sony GM etc.

But I just watched Christopher Frost's review of this lens and he hammered it pretty hard, including the center sharpness, which seemed to be pretty mediocre at 0.95. Did we watch the same review?

 

[barry]

@The Dragons Father I think you're the first owner of the lens sharing photos. You can create a thread under "Native Lens Sample Image Showcase" dedicated to this prime. Maybe ask @barry how to move it over there.

I copied that post to a new thread, at
https://www.mu-43.com/threads/brightin-star-35mm-f-0-95-mft.123147/

 

[The Dragons Father]

But I just watched Christopher Frost's review of this lens and he hammered it pretty hard, including the center sharpness, which seemed to be pretty mediocre at 0.95. Did we watch the same review?

I said I like them as reviewers not that he loved this lens (I don't remember what he said TBH). However there are plenty of reviews on YT that really like this lens (and agreed it's sharp from 0.95) - that said now I don't need any of them since I own it

And as my samples show it's plenty sharp even at 0.95 and just gets better being super sharp and having great sunstars even at f2. Not without its flaws (CA) but even that drops off by f2 (and can easily be removed in post anyway).