Brightin Star / Pergear 60mm 2x Macro Lens Review - Cheapest 2:1 Macro Lens!

[@MicaelWidell]

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[@MathieuStern]

Using this lens was definitely challenging and the way it is made is very mysterious

[@MicaelWidell]

Something I forgot to mention in the video is also that the focusing ring is inverted compared to what is common, took some getting used to!

[@rivieramacro5240]

@@MicaelWidell great review thank you ! Fabrication issues remind of the clones of the Laowa 15mm 1:1: much cheaper and not made as well. My copy's aperture markings are not aligned with the lens axis, meaning the mount has not been assembled properly. But other than that the IQ seems to be as good. Rumours were that either the design was reverse-engineered from Laowa or that the factory making the lenses for Laowa produced extra on their own. Who knows ?

[@MicaelWidell]

@@rivieramacro5240 would be super interesting to hear the truth about how these copies come about :)

[@rivieramacro5240]

@@MicaelWidell I doubt we'll ever know :-)

[@jpokeefe]

"It was the best of lenses. It was the worst of lenses." Sorry, couldn't resist. Thanks for the video.

[@DraculaNosferatu123]

The difference in light between these lenses an the Laowa would be a cheaper optical design that lose some light when focus to closer distances the f/ numer is the same but the t/ numer is bigger (less light). The f/ number only indicate the size of the aperture, the t/ indicates the transmission of light.

[@SinaFarhat]

Trevlig att se dig på Mathieu video! Intressant hur f skalan är fel beskriven! Det ger en trevlig falsk bild och förvirrar användaren speciellt om man som du har ett bättre 2x makro objektiv! Ha en fin helg!

[@JohnnySR]

Does the lens at 1:25 really say "MARCO2:1" on the front instead of Macro? 😅

[@johnkanzler6646]

OMG it does!!!

[@MicaelWidell]

lol didn't notice that :) that together with the aperture ring scale shows how much care and effort is put into these lenses

[@JohnnySR]

@@MicaelWidell Yes, I think the main focus with this lens was to get it as cheap as possible. I mean for beginners a budget 2:1 macro lens is great, but I will definitely stick with my Laowa 100mm lens - I absolutely love it ❤️.

[@ЮрийГабрилович]

Anybody knows how to set it up for canon eos r10 rf mount?

[@vbs8099]

Where can I get the diffuser you've got in this video ?

[@mixeddrinks8100]

The Laowa 65 is absolutely beast I say, I love that lens. Absolutely a joy to use, I think I got mine on sale for 300. Yes it cost more but it is smaller and so sharp. So very sharp.

[@gamgoom85]

Never saw it discounted, where could u find a discount on that lens ? Was it a store sale or online ?

[@mixeddrinks8100]

@@gamgoom85 last year, Adorama I believe.

[@gamgoom85]

@@mixeddrinks8100 thanks alot man for ur help , i will try to keep checking them for any price drop

[@ikpogs]

Please if you are not using at the moment can you sell that for me as used

[@bitShft]

What flash diffuser are you using?

[@BrooksWitta-w6b]

just bough this lens and im having problems. when its attached it dosent allow me to take a picture and the aperture on the LCD screen says 0 anyone know what's going on

[@MicaelWidell]

On many cameras you have to enable the setting “shoot without lens” to be able to use manual lenses

[@tonysallen]

Do you get the same brightness drop with infinity focus? The apature could be correct but as you zoom in the image circle gets larger so less light hits the sensor.

[@MicaelWidell]

Yeah it is darker even at longer focusing distances. But it is obvious it isn't about the magnification as I compared it to the Laowa at exactly the same magnification

[@erin758]

I don't understand the 2:1 magnification. Mounted on a full frame body, the 2:1 is still 2:1 while mounting this on micro four thirds gives 4:1 equivalent?

[@MicaelWidell]

The magnification is always the same, no matter the camera body or sensor size. But you are right in the fact that 2:1 magnification on MFT equals 4:1 magnification on full frame, when it comes to how big the insect appears in the photo. I know this is a bit counterintuitive, but this is how the term magnification is defined. Would be good with a word for how big the insect appears in the photo, as that is what we are mostly interested in. But I don't know what that word is, if it exists.

[@erin758]

@@MicaelWidell - thank you for answering. I already added this lens on my wish list and currently deciding between the aps-c version or the mft. I'll go with the mft version.

[@johnkanzler6646]

Very similar to my Oshiro 60mm f2.8 2x macro. Is that one still being manufactured? I think you can still purchase it online.

[@MicaelWidell]

Not sure. But I think they had to stop making it because it was a copy of the Laowa

[@VietAnhNguyen-jp1tg]

They don't make them anymore, they still sell them though (on eBay). Got a copy early this year. Honestly for a Laowa knock-off, it is incredible for the price. I tried the Laowa as well, the image quality is indistinguishable. And unlike the Pergear/Brightstar, its aperture blades form a perfectly round circle and the aperture label is correct :P. Best thing about it is that It costs me 140 USD (including shipping) to Vietnam

[@johnkanzler6646]

@@VietAnhNguyen-jp1tg yes for the price it was a steal (and apparently the design was too LOL)

[@VietAnhNguyen-jp1tg]

@@johnkanzler6646 Yes, couple it with a good m4/3 camera (and flash) and you have a 4x macro set that weight less than 1.5kg and cost less. It is like magic. I have a Nikon F mount version to adapt on my G85. Now, I can even use a focal reducer with it, or use a special tilt/shift (Nikon-m4/3) adapter to cheat for that extra bit of depth of field. And yes, I think they all have the same design, but the built quality of the knock-offs is quite questionable. I have not seen any issue yet on my copy, but I have heard many people complain about the oil spreading and the aperture blades cut into the glass (this apparently is a problem with the Laowa as well)

[@andrerocha6810]

Hi Micael, I'm searching for an affordable macro for my Sony a7r3, can I use it?

[@artemorbid]

Another awesome demonstration. Great way to do a review, congrats.

[@32martinmdr]

It can actually be mounted on full frame, at macro focusing it works fine!

[@theBaron001]

focal ratio is not synonymous with light transmission. It is simply the relationship between the focal length and the size of the lens opening (hence the term focal ratio). Two lenses can have the same focal ratio while having vastly different aperture sizes. The larger the aperture the more light comes in, but not all apertures are the same size at a given "f" number.

[@MicaelWidell]

Yes but now I compared this lens to other ones with the same focal length…

[@adamd2179]

Will this lens also work with extension tubes?

[@MicaelWidell]

Yes, apply 6 cm of extension tubes and you should get to 3x magnification

[@kornasteniker3939]

Thx for the review! Well done. I just was wondering why you didn't compare it to the old Laowa 60mm 2x Macro in therms of the dark aperture. Would've been my guess bc they are obviously more similar than the 65mm compared to the chinese Duo.

[@MicaelWidell]

The reason is I had the Brightin Star and pergear lenses only for Fuji X mount, and my Laowa 60mm is for Sony FE. So it was not possible to compare them on the same camera unfortunately.

[@kornasteniker3939]

@@MicaelWidell ah ok thats logical. Thx for the clarification 👍

[@d.a.5415]

I was waiting for this review - thank u. Very informative as always. Think i will consider buying this one as my next lense - since life decided to put some stones in my way again lately and i am on a tighter budget then i had planned for some time. So i probably have to put this over one of the Laowa lenses on my shoppinglist :-) I can deal with the apparture situation i guess :D

[@MicaelWidell]

I would also consider the Meike 85mm, check my video about it. It is a bit weird but at least the aperture scale is correct on that one :)

[@d.a.5415]

@@MicaelWidell thank u , ill check that one out too ! :)

[@harrygilliland5675]

Is this not the T stops on the lens

[@MicaelWidell]

doesn't matter if they are f or t stops - they still are very very wrong :)

[@XJarhead360]

The Pergear is not available until 9/11 if you preordered it.

[@MartR80]

👍🏼🤩 If you want experiment with macro on the budget… then buy and play with some cheap third party extension tubes and use your existing lenses. Especially when using m42 lenses you can stack quite some tube behind your glass. Just be careful with internal reflections when using longer tubes. 📸💡

[@LihyG]

I have read on pergear page that it can cover full frame with slight vignetting while focusing on infinity so it suggests that it should work properly on macro distances. Have you tried is on any full frame body?

[@MicaelWidell]

I did not try it on full frame. But my friend Mathieu Stern did and he said it works well on full frame with minimal vignetting. Not sure if that was only for macro or also infinity. Check his video.

[@peoplez129]

My 85mm lens with the Raynox macro filter gets something like 1.9:1 for $80, with zero effects on exposure, for far less size/weight, and probably equal or better sharpness.

[@sofievanherle4570]

Does the Brightin Star really say "MaRCo 2:1"?

[@lltysonll]

What macro lens is your go to currently?

[@MicaelWidell]

Laowa 60mm has been my favorite on full frame for the last 2-3 years! On APS-C the Laowa 65mm is my favorite.

[@kumingo]

@@MicaelWidell I actually have that lens solely because of your videos. I do like it and it’s my only macro at the moment. I gave up my Sony 90 and kept the 60mm.

[@wildmacrophotography7052]

Which camara body support??

[@MicaelWidell]

I talk about it in the beginning of the video

[@smooth111012]

Is this lens an auto focus

[@MicaelWidell]

No this is completely manual

[@tkermi]

That's so weird 😯. Thanks for the review.

[@MarylandDroneMedia]

That labeling thing is crazy they did that on purpose because they don’t really have a 2.8 lens.

[@4toes1nose]

Thank you

[@jezztech]

Main difference of course is the Brightin Star is a Marco lens and Pergear is a Macro lens Lol, btw i have the Pergear thoroughly delighted with it on My XT2 and Xel cameras, one VERY slight niggel is the oblong opening at the lens end is very slightly not level, but for the price its not worth quibeling ,the main thing is ( to my opinion) the image quality is fantastic, and it is without doubt a serious Macro tool. Its kind of weird that when shooting outdoors i have no issues with darkness and therefore no reason to question the aperture values, hmmm confused perhaps? , yes, but not overly worried.

[@MicaelWidell]

"Main difference of course is the Brightin Star is a Marco lens and Pergear is a Macro lens" 😂

[@jezztech]

@@MicaelWidell Hmm, you take fool of me?, Perhaps you don't understand.? Ok.

[@stefanweber2322]

Nice Video! As far as I know the "effective" aperture is higher at higher magnification, meaning that f/2.8 is for cerain maginfications (for example 1:3) correct, however, if you go to 2:1 magnification the effective aperture will rise (in your case approximately to f/16). Some Nikon cameras show the "real" aperture of a 2.8/105 lens as f/3.2 or f/4 at the respective magnification (even if the setting of the lens is f/2.8) and are in that sense "honest" ;)

[@MicaelWidell]

Yes of course I take that into account. However the effective aperture should be the same between the Laowa and Pergear/Brightin lens at the same aperture and magnification, and it clearly is not.

[@stefanweber2322]

@@MicaelWidell yes, you are right

[@KarloPhoto]

Pergear did at least spell "Macro" correctly, while Brightin Star spelled it "Marco". 😛

[@XJarhead360]

Probably the same company makes all three lenses.

[@fr7110yu]

😍😂✌❤

[@paolodalmasso7212]

...."Marco"...

[@archie_en]

Перегар как-то не эстетично звучит.