BRIGHTIN STAR 35mm f0.95. A good value ultra-fast lens, amazingly sharp wide open (for its speed)!

My review of the ultra-fast Brightin Star 35mm f0.95 APS-C lens, with time links to each section:
00:00 Introduction
01:30 User experience and specs
03:56 Wide-open performance, close up
06:50 Flare and fringing
07:29 Wide-open performance at longer distances
08:13 Portraits
09:05 Stopped-down performance
10:41 Conclusions

[@siras2]

I know this is meant to be a retro lens but, even so, managing to capture an image of a Dodo is something of an achievement!.

[@terrylyn]

It's so fast it can capture the Big Bang.

[@nahlene1973]

This lens has a Leica-ish design and a Contax Yashica-ish box, delivering a Nikkor-ish look for a Mitakon-ish price. Sweet.

[@southpolesurfer6936]

Ish?? That looks like a direct bait and switch box for contax-Yashica Lenses

[@MysterDaftGame]

@@southpolesurfer6936 My vintage Planar 50mm 1.7 came ina box with the exact same design and text font !

[@memonk11]

​@@southpolesurfer6936First thing I thought too.

[@user-gl1lr9dh4h]

yea right on

[@zenden6564]

😂😂

[@jel88]

This is one reason that I started using more of these types of lenses instead of vintage lenses.

[@CharlesFBI]

Just commenting to say I really enjoy your channel. Straight to the point without long intros or filler cinematics, well presented and informative, with a small dash of humor. It's getting exceedingly difficult to find photography channels nowadays that aren't just copies of each other who all do the same thing, often at the cost of interesting content. Your channel has loads of interesting material (I found it by searching for the Minolta 58mm 1.2 and stumbling upon your radioactive lenses video which was very interesting) especially for those of us who've been bitten by the vintage lens bug. I hope you keep making videos!

[@Simonsutak]

Thank you so much for your kind words, they are much appreciated.

[@palmo34]

brilliant review! love the format you do your videos, especially the examples

[@classic.cameras]

The best manual focus Chinese lens reviews are done by Vintage Lens reviewers. Simon is THEE Guy to do this lens almost bar none. So Chinese lens makes, keep sending him lenses as he is your guy.

[@carlosenriquez2092]

I've heard of this lens before and I'm happy to have stumbled upon your video.

[@Lanternamagika]

Best review ever! Thank you!

[@dummatube]

Great shots!

[@ivansusic562]

Excellent review, tnx! I think this lens is excellent choice for crop, and better compact solution - no additional adapter needed.

[@dlyon9673]

Thank you for this interesting and informative review. Checking out Brightin Star's offerings, I see that they have a full frame version of a 50mm f0.95 lens as well and hope that you get a chance to review that also!

[@optiled]

Love the review. I ordered this before watching your video and was having 2nd thoughts. Now im looking fwd to it.

[@Simonsutak]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@Mr.K.82]

great video, answered many of my questions. thank you. got yourself a new subscriber.

[@bloomingpics]

Thank You for your review. Sold me and I received a copy today. Happy Holiday

[@Simonsutak]

Happy Holiday! Hope you're enjoying this lens; if it's anything like my copy it's pretty impressive!

[@bloomingpics]

The copy I got is great. Looking forward to your next video.

[@zemmik]

very good explanation, thank you for that

[@rh9909]

5:16 Tasty shot! and 5:20 this shot really shows how narrow the focus depth is in an easy-to-understand way.

[@depotmsa2362]

i loved the line you said about the dodo lol , nice work man the lens looks like a double gauss design i love the bokegh and have to get one to play with , It reminds me of the look that tt artisan 90 mm 1.25 and the mr.ding 50 mm 1.1 v2 with is smooth separation crappy flaring and nice pop

[@retrothing]

I’ve got a couple f0.95 lenses and all my cameras are crop sensor. I’m more of a video person, so I mostly was interested in those shallow depth of field interview shots. Since so many cameras have dual ISO, the ability to see in the dark isn’t quite as important to me. I value this review a lot - not only because you’re my favorite reviewer (so thorough and yet somehow soothing!), but you’re so practical with exploring the real world uses of lenses. It sounds like this lens is a solid performer - I don’t think that any of mine are particularly sharp wide open. I’m starting to rethink what’s possible. Thank you! With your outdoor wide open shots, we’re you using any ND?

[@steverobinson9801]

Very informative video. I hadn't heard of this brand before but it is a very impressive lens. I'd like to try it but as a dedicated Pentax shooter I'm left out. I'm leery about lens adapters but I might give one a try.

[@chilecayenne]

Thank you for another fine, fun and informative video!! I just WISH they'd put this lens (or even a 28mm) out in FF with this type speed.

[@hfvhf987]

WOW, that does look very impressive, especially for the price.

[@user-uf3ur6cj3u]

I purchased this lens thanks to one of my favourite channels, (Simon's of course). I just received this lens, and am amazed at how sharp it is wide open. It's well made and looks to be a fun lens! Here's a hint that may be useful: I got it much cheaper from Brightin Star direct - it took two weeks to get here, but it was worth the savings. Amazon was about $100. more. Free shipping as well to Canada.

[@NullStaticVoid]

I have a similar Kamlan 50mm f1.1 for X mount. At first I was very enthusiasitc about it. But over time it started to gather dust in my camera bag. It suffers from being too much in the middle on most features exccept for its outrageous max iris. I have autofocus Fuji lenses like the 56mm f1.2, 5mm and 18mm f2 that are very sharp, have perfect color and contrast and have the added bonus of autofocus! On the other end of the scale I have a bunch of Takumars, Yashicas, Meyer Optik Gorlitz and Helios which are very much not autofocus, and can be extremely fiddly to use. But have tons of character in the bokeh and the general image capture. A sharp new lens that is not electrically connected to the camera at all is kind of useless. I'd rather a Sigma lens that has AF AND has some character. I would say max aperture isn't as important. But I do own the 56mm f1.2. And it does take wonderful photos at 1.2. But it also blows all my other lenses out of the water at f2.8 and f5.6. It's would stil be a wonderful lens even if it didn't go so wide open. And with recent digital cameras esposures past ISO 3200 are pretty usable. I go as high as ISO 64000 with my Fujis all the time.

[@rodcummings3606]

Thanks Simon, excellent review as always - of yet another brand new lens. The title of the video got me excited. The thought of owning a 35mm f0.95 lens is very appealing. So well done to Brightin Star for developing such a lens and for reaching out to you to test their latest creation. Have to admit that once realising this is an APS-C lens, my enthusiasm diminished somewhat. However, the design of the lens looks good and the 12 rounded aperture blades are a real plus. Of course the star of the show is the extreme bubble Bokeh when used wide-open. I've had a close look at your images on Flickr from this lens and the center sharpness is really quite amazing. Intriguing that the lens almost covers full-frame. While I'm still very much a vintage lens enthusiast - this steady stream of innovative and frankly quite compelling offerings from what I assume are small Chinese companies are impossible to ignore any longer. They seem much more nimble and willing to take risks compared to the big players. Not to mention the price - which seems a bargain.

[@jankucera8505]

there is a 50mm version of this for full frame or are you looking for full frame 35mm?

[@richardweddle3408]

Your reviews are always well-organized, comprehensive and lucid. Very interesting lens. Do you know if this lens can be adapted to EF camera mount?

[@stanleyshyeoh]

Oh man ... that box brings back memories! ... i miss my contax zeiss lenses.

[@peterklein1845]

This lens is insane. The best f0.95 I have ever had. The price of 180€ is unbelievable.

[@chrisdado]

These super-fast APSC lenses are a conundrum for me. This lens for example is essentially the full-frame equivalent of 52mm F 1.4 (approx). I have the option of a speedbooster for my vintage fast 50's on APSC, sacrificing a little sharpness but gaining an extra stop of light for low-light shots while maintaining the DOF/composure characteristics of full-frame. So for me I think the deciding factor is still the value of the lenses rendering performance rather than it's 0.95 speed.

[@thecaveofthedead]

That's a remarkable result. It looks like this is the apsc fast 'fifty' to beat now. I hope they're able at some point to put this optical design into an autofocus lens too. And what a bonus that on full frame you're getting something like a 40mm f0.95 (or even wider if you're using a wider aspect ratio).

[@jankucera8505]

that would surely add a bit of weight and size in a lens wich is based on having it's lens elements as wide as possible

[@jawats]

Fantastic review. And the "first of all, it's extinct," hit just as I was thinking, "Well, first of all, it's extinct..."

[@user-gl1lr9dh4h]

good review 100% agree good to see your not in bed with Sony/ Nikon/cannon

[@seoulrydr]

i wish they'd made it full frame, then it would certainly be a no-brainer at this focal length. tyvm for the review.

[@philmtx3fr]

Good review. I got a tt artisan 50mm f 0.95 for full frame. It s interesting but a little expensive for playing. This one is far more affordable for apsc. Perhaps I will try one.

[@JasonLawrenceNoel]

Thank you!!!

[@trevorsneath4665]

I love the styling of the lens on the web page: Brightin Star 35mm F0.95 Night God Portrait Star Lens. And further down they call it: Eye of the Night and Fantasy Phantom. You have to love a lens like this.

[@powerlurker]

suprsingly sharpness @ wide open， gonna try it

[@KNURKonesur]

Really cool lens! That said, I don't like the bokeh. Got a TTartisan 35/0.95 recently and I'm super impressed with the more vintage double gauss-esque design and out of focus rendering. I'm very glad there's options for everyone nowadays :D

[@bk8pa323]

same here! and it’s much lighter than this and other competitors

[@MrFreakwent]

Because I've been using a Pentacon 29mm 2.8 , I've found I prefer it over 35mm lenses, and the close focus is fantastic.I wish lenses from new manufacturers like this fast one would produce more 28 or 29 mm with this wide aperture.

[@joystickmusic]

Good review! What brings a fast lens to the table? I photograph at night a lot with a m43 in infrared and a 35mm f1.4 lens on a speed booster. Since the max shutter time is 1 minute, a faster lens means lower ISO. To nail the focus, I put a little bike light where I want to focus. It is often the only dot I can see in the frame. With photographing people, a lens that fast means the difference between handheld and tripods.

[@gregfeeler6910]

I also shoot M43 and just got this lens three days ago. With not much time to play with it so far I can still say that this review is very descriptive. Nail the focus and you won't be unhappy with the sharpness at f0.95, and I'm a compulsive pixel peeper. It's going to dramatically improve my low light photography.

[@trinityharbour7054]

Love this idea.

[@hellopsp180]

WOW this lens is nice

[@dragonwizord92]

I just finished making a full lens list for the EOS M and now I have to add another

[@simmo303]

Astounding bargain!

[@cleontopoulos]

I'm new to this channel, and to the whole vintage lens thing. Already have a "Simon Says - watch list" on E-bay. Anyone else?

[@voltsantillan]

thank you for this in-depth review of the 35mm 0.95 lens from Brightin Star. I am from the Philippines po and I love your channel name as utak is Tagalog for brain so in essence thank you for allowing us to pick your brain on this review. I am planning of getting the lens as my first manual lens for my Sony APSC cam but I am torn between this lens and the Sony 50mm which has OSS. I mainly work with videos and my concern with this lens is the focus breathing when it comes to shooting videos. It also does not have Optical stabilization so I am inclined to getting the 50mm from Sony. Can you please make a review of this lens as it performs as a video lens? TIA

[@androoy.p]

Yay, I've been waiting for a reputable reviewer to look at this lens! I love how they shamelessly stole the box design from Zeiss, it would be nice if they took some inspiration from Zeiss ZM line in the lens body design too.

[@karl5173]

Or indeed, in the quality of the glassware itself.

[@davidatkinson1413]

Simon, what equivalent field of view do you think you get when you crop out the vignetting.

[@zenden6564]

Hi Simon, Excellent review. So, using it on a FF camera would give you say a ~40mm equivalent view with the darkened corners nipped off?

[@Simonsutak]

Yes, I haven’t an accurate mathematical figure for the amount lost due to the darkened corners, but a 40mm equivalent view sounds about right if you take a FF photo.

[@C.I...]

I love it! How would you approach using this on an EF/EF-S mount crop camera - I don't see EF-S listed as an option on the site.

[@StephenStrangways]

It won't work on them at all. It was optically designed to only work on mirrorless cameras, and is impossible to use on cameras with mirrors.

[@C.I...]

@@StephenStrangways My camera is mirrorless but has an EF mount - there's a load of space in front of the sensor!

[@StephenStrangways]

@@C.I... that load of space in front of the sensor, whether there is a mirror there or not, is why this lens cannot work on that camera. It was optically designed to only work much closer to the sensor.

[@timoteiafanasie4894]

Yep, looks like a very good lens for me.

[@barryallen381]

Noticing a few of these budget lenses seem to lack a stop for f11, going from the click at f8 to f16. I see the spacing is very tight, but is there a reason for this? I understand diffraction can be an issue stopped down, but it seems all the more reason you’d like to have use of f11 rather than f16. Help a noob out?

[@netmaster78]

Any info on some astro capability?

[@TheWingrider92]

not all sellers would include the plastic cap sadly, just a reminder for those how buy it online and expect a plastic cap when buying it

[@syedshaas]

I have a full frame Mirrorless and looking for a manual budget lens.

[@rayjoo9401]

Looking at the packaging, I was wondering when contax made this lens….

[@tulasnaps]

Hello was wondering what the filter size was. Doesn’t say on the Amazon link I’m looking at

[@Simonsutak]

52mm

[@PhotoRam405]

How tall is the lens?

[@giaimeginesu9889]

Contax zeiss box design?!? Anyone noticed?

[@cragsdalephoto]

Contax Zeiss style box, leica numbering on the lens and lens design of leica.

[@taigenetsudo4273]

The aperture marks are similar to the newer Zeiss M mount lenses too. At least someone with a bit of knowledge & taste designed this lens. The '35' at the front of the barrel is a cool original touch I think.

[@marcbeebe]

My eyesight is shot so ... not for me. Trivia: if memory serves the first f 0.95 lens was made for the Canon Pellix, which used a prism to split between viewfinder and film plane and thus needed every bit of light that could be gathered. It was not a successful design.

[@davidroseman3287]

If you were to use the 100% magnification mode you’d have no problem with focus. The focus ring is also extremely smooth and precise on this lens.

[@LatentePhoto]

is from the age of noktor 50mm/f0.95 that i have the belief that they are always industrial Machine vision lenses converted to photography.

[@LatentePhoto]

wait i see the optical scheme on the productor site...it's just a full frame lens with a speed booster on the back...ok my....

[@FelanLP]

I bought it because most sources did say this lens is surprisingly sharp and that its quality would be more suited for a lense 2, 3 or 5 times its price. "Only chromatic bla bla, well, but besides that". ... Here is the catch. I already have the 7artisans 35mm f/0.95, bothlenses for MFT. And for some reason my 7 manages aboration better, has sharper image quality and so on. But Maybe that's just me imagining things. So I watched some review videos of both lenses back to back and ... the Brightin looks like crap ompared to the 7. But How? In all these "Brighten is the best budget sub f/1 lens" they all had very good quality example images. But seems like the Brighten is just show and not much else. The Brighten looks more expencive but the 7 IS more expencive. The Brightin is a good example of "by cheap, by twice".

[@TTLVID]

it's interesting to see that these cheap Chinese lenses do such a good job for such a low price. I'm not sure this lens would suit me though as I find 1.8 too bright for a lot of my photos, if you're doing low light photography often though it's probably a must have lens.

[@PetCactusA_HarmlessLittlePrick]

On a full frame camera, not in crop mode this is equal to 23mm @ f0.63?🤔

[@boonnamgoh8914]

No. The 35mm f0.95 specs is already based on full frame. It is when used on APSC (as designed for), then need to multiply using the crop factor applicable to the camera. For Nikon Z mirrorless, that is x1.5 to give 52.5mm and f1.425 For Canon, it is 1.6. As the crop factor may be different for different brands, hence they quote ff spec numbers even though lens meant for APSC use.

[@danj2235]

Doesnt have f/5.6 mark???

[@Simonsutak]

No - it goes from f4 straight to f8.

[@qingyunwang3802]

That’s the most Contax-y box I’ve ever seen😂

[@bibiqaz]

The lens produces fantastic images. The problem is that you don’t give the price for it nor where can it be bought. Very frustrating😢

[@Simonsutak]

I didn't have a link for this lens to buy. But you can find them on ebay - for example in the US they are $190.

[@ameng80]

why do we call a lens with large aperture "a fast lens" while it doesn't even move?

[@Simonsutak]

Ha! I’m sure you know it’s because of how fast the lens lets in light, to hit the film/sensor. The faster the light hits the film/sensor, the faster you need to set exposure times. Whoosh!

[@ameng80]

@@Simonsutaki think it's how many lights can hit the sensor because the larger the aperture the wider lens open the more lights can get through. fast is about the shutter not the lens. CMIIW

[@Simonsutak]

@@ameng80 Yes, you're right. Light travels at the same speed - its just that "fast" lenses let in more light. Curiously, its interesting to look at the optical design of this f0.95 lens. It doesn't have a particularly huge aperture. Someone has speculated it has a "speed or turbo booster" to get it to f0.95.

[@ameng80]

@@Simonsutakwow,, that's amazing and more confusing at the same time 😅thanks for the info 👍

[@CrunchyDiopter]

0:02 no way I’m believing that this lens can go faster than 223mph.

[@Simonsutak]

LOL Thank you for appreciating my joke!

[@madcat1007]

You sound like King Charles!!!

[@eddund6932]

Reprendre le packaging de Zeiss Contax n’ en fera pas un contax

[@marcp.1752]

I am a Contax/Yashica Shooter since 1990, and i must say, i really *dislike* that brightin star as brand is just cloning the Zeiss package box design hereby - it's very lame, and cheap, too.

[@mitjalunder]

2 bad its not full frame! ;)

[@philmtx3fr]

You have one 50 mm f 0.95 for full frame in this brand too. Perhaps Simon will test it on his A7iv…

[@cdl0]

Before buying this lens, you need to examine your conscience by asking yourself the reasons why it might be being sold at a price that is clearly too good to be true in comparison with the quality. I would not take the lens even if it were given to me.

[@boonnamgoh8914]

There are some isolated reports of inconsistent quality where verified buyers in e-commerce sites say their lens came with defects. However, if you are not one of the unlucky ones (hopefully rare cases), then the lens is actually very good. I bought one direct from the manufacturer's AliExpress channel and it performs as per the review. Now the question is how lasting will be the lens. Hope the metal construction and dense weight indicates a long lasting construction (vs those with plastic bodies).