This Lens Is Flawed... But I LOVE IT!

This beautifuly crafted, retro-inspired 28mm pancake lens by Brightin Star is my new go-to for street photography - and for a number of good reasons. It's certainly one of the most interesting lenses I've used for a while and it pairs amazingly well with my Fujifilm X-Pro 2. Introducing, the Brightin Star 28mm f/2.8.
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⏳ TIME STAMPS ⏳
Intro - @0:00
Build Quality - @0:42
Weight - @1:23
Lens Mount - @1:42
Damn Is It Good Looking! - @2:22
Adaptors - @2:38
Focal Length = W - @2:58
Field Curvature - @3:35
Image Quality - @4:45
Handling - @5:29
Focusing - @6:36
Price - @6:48
Is It Worth It? - @8:07
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⚠ PLEASE NOTE ⚠
All of the opinions expressed in this video are my own based on my personal experience whilst using the equipment/software featured. Whilst some videos may include paid sponsorship, I never allow manufactuers to dictate what I can or can't say about their product(s). Their money helps to cover the cost of video production, it does NOT buy my opinion.
My videos are designed to be both informative and entertaining and are made to the best of my abilities. I am only human so I do occationally make mistakes, and whilst corrections are always welcomed in the comments, please be polite and courteous and refrain from being a total cockwomble. 👍
#brightinstar #streetphotography #streetphotographers

[@ravk9009]

This lens is blatant 1:1 copy of the MS optics 28mm f2.8 apoqualia , which btw are handmade in Japan by Mr Miyazaki . The orginal I believe went for around 850-1000usd too. And all of his lenses are well known to be soft and have heavy character. But at the same hand all of his lens are ridiculously small .

[@thedarkslide]

The corner softness on the full image circle is VERY noticeable.

[@niftyfiftyfilm4457]

how often do people crop into the corners tho ? :D

[@rasyadhiarrachman5209]

Now I want this lens

[@georgewood2566]

Buy me one first! 😉😉

[@TheVFXbyArt]

Folks, check out the voightlander 27mm ultra with a native fuji mount. It’s f2, better optics, also a manual focus lens, but with electronic contacts to communicate with the camera. Better IQ and handling.

[@MarcWynter]

Thanks for the review. Outlining the specific faults was informative. Does the field curvature issue improve when stopped down to say f/8?

[@TomCalton]

Good question, and definitely something I should have mentioned in the video! 🤦🏻 Yes, as you stop down the apeture the corner blur is reduced/less obvious to spot. Thanks for the comment!

[@MarcWynter]

Thanks! I guess while we’re at it… does it flare or ghost any at all? I tried the TTArtisan 28mm f/5.6 and build and IQ wise it was great EXCEPT it had a ridiculous clearing problem that would completely wash out parts of the image if you shot even remotely close towards a light source. If this doesn’t do that then it might be ok

[@donsoley746]

Looks amazing!

[@TomCalton]

It's a fun lens for sure!

[@TheBenchapman]

Bourne!!!!!! I always end up in Smiths rather than the Jubilee though 🍻👌

[@videobyredjade]

Thank you

[@mrN3w7]

Good looking lens and tempted... but not the price is selling for. Maybe around 150 mark I'd take the dive... but I'm not that "hip" to pay that much on just a nice looking lens that doesn't take good pictures. Those corners on full frame will be an issue for me. Cool looking lens though, don't get me wrong. Whoever gets it I really hope they really enjoy it for a long time!

[@afixlim]

Hello bro, I just found your channel. New sub and also on your Instagram, thanks for reviewing and sharing your experience 👍 keep up the good work.

[@Rooftopaccessorizer]

genuinely surprised nobody has compared this, and the fuji/voightlander 27mm lenses

[@julianmcintoshfilms]

Mate, I'm loving your videos! Subscribed! Quick question. If you had a budget of around $500, which camera and prime lens (35mm equiv.) combo would you get for street photography? I'm currently looking at Fujifilm cameras, but there are just so many similar options... XM1, XT1, XT20, etc. I love the vintage look and having manual dials and control of everything. Thanks!

[@TomCalton]

Thanks! If dials are your thing, I'd look at one of the older X-T's, like the X-T1 or 2 if you can find one at a good price. Or the X-E2 or newer is also a nice option if you like range finder style cameras. I hope this helps!

[@julianmcintoshfilms]

@@TomCalton thank you, it does. I'm settling for an XT1 and the TTartisan 23mm f1.4

[@manuelcanepa8134]

thanks for the review! i think if your using a fuji and like the 40mm equivalent, you should give a try to the voigtlander ultron 27mm F2.

[@wjennekens]

The Voigtlander is especially awesome on the X-pro3, the electronic contacts enable parallax correction with the OVF 👍

[@manuelcanepa8134]

@@wjennekens yeah! i own that setup plus the 23mm and the 35mm. I think is the best thing that happened to the Xpro3, its weird that nobody its talking about that, because i feel thats the best way of having a rangefinder type camera on the fuji system.

[@wjennekens]

@@manuelcanepa8134 totally agree! I'm using the same set (although the Fujicron version of the 23mm and 35mm) with this body, and also bought the 16mm f2.8 for the occasional wide angle shot. Very compact setup.

[@mike_litoris.]

Is there any adapter available for Lumix L mount to Sony E mount?

[@LLikzy]

Let's be honest it's really gimmicky, there are some cheap primes in these prices ranges that just don't have these issues, and while yes the very very compact aspect is nice and the look is super cool, the aperture ring being 1mm wide is seriously a problem

[@TomCalton]

I take your point, but I think gimmicky is a tad harsh. If it was a gimmick they could have quite easily made the lens out of plastic/cheaper metals and kept the aestetics the same to ride off the retro-hype. But they didn't. It's very well crafted lens and despite its small size, captures great results. Like I said in the video, there are always compromises with every lens design, and the small apeture ring is one of them in this instance. Which is to be expected with a lens of this size. But I completely respect that this lens won't be for everyone!

[@LLikzy]

@@TomCalton I'm not saying it isn't well made it definitly is, also the M mount being adaptable on every other mount is rather smart I agree, I'm just saying it's taping into a market of photographer who already have their kit figured out and want to try some more out of the ordinary lenses. It's gimmicky for people looking for a solid all rounder lens to add to their kit is what I meant. You did a good job presenting pros and cons 😁

[@TomCalton]

You're right, this is not your typical all-rounder lens - it serves a specific purpose for a specific audience. So I completely get why you personally might not be interested. I just happen to be part of that audience 😅 Thanks for the comment!

[@pierredumas7331]

I always wondered if, for that lens or any other lens with weak corners, just changing the aspect ratio to 4:3 or 1:1 will crop most of the flaws !

[@cine-ish]

@@TomCalton it's literally a gimmick lens..

[@mikeyhomie]

How chopped off are the blurred corners on the Fuji apsc? I’m shooting a Ricoh gxr m mount and an epson rd1

[@TomCalton]

Like, completely chopped off. As in, gone. 👌🏻

[@alex_hofmann]

How much smaller is it compared to the Fuji XF27mm 2.8, if you consider the need of an adapter?

[@UP209D]

I believe it is not that much smaller, considering all metal + adapter, it is even much heavier than the pancake xf 27mm, and you lost AF also

[@pierrecrampagne6826]

Si on veut savoir la profondeur de champ et la netteté, prendre les deux chiffres ( 16 et le deuxième 16, vous aurez la netteté ).

[@ducklord3604]

Maybe one day I can afford this 😅

[@lupus7297]

Were the pictures taken in Stamford?

[@TomCalton]

Close. Bourne.

[@BobZOMG1984]

Im gonna slap this lens with techart adapter on my ZF & call it a day!

[@dasIDS]

Would love it would it be about 23-25 mm

[@Flufficatfish]

This lens looks really cool, but for the price, i’d rather just get the 28mm 2.8 (industar 69) lens from the soviet union stock pile with the mount needed and call it a day… 😢

[@professionalpotato4764]

The common argument that crop sensors use the "best part" of the lens is kinda flawed. While it is somewhat true, the output will still be technically of a lower tier than a full frame that uses the entire lens, if you move the camera front/back accordingly for the same fov. That's just due to the way resolution (or sharpness) is calculated based on lp/mm. So if a lens resolves 50lp/mm for example, a FF having more height at 24mm vs APS-C at 18mm, will give more line pairs detected. So for the same fov, even if the APS-C uses the "sharpest part" of the imaging circle, it is unlikely to exceed the lp/mm values of a larger sensor. Imperceivable to the human eye with high quality modern lenses, but it becomes quite apparent with budget lenses. Secondly, the issue with the corners blurring out is due to Sony's sensor stack. Leica M lenses are all designed for film, and Leica digital M bodies have a sensor stack that is thin enough to behave like film. Sony has a very thick sensor stack glass of AA filters/UV filters/microlenses. This means that light from rangefinder lenses that could hit the film/sensor plane at any angle suddenly refracts within Sony's sensor stack especially at the edges. This is a well documented issue and no lens wider than 35mm can function properly on a Sony sensor to get the sharpest corners. And yes add field curvature to the mix and it worsens the blurring. Still a nice and fun lens though.

[@VANKLAB]

Great explanation.

[@kuroexmachina]

edge

[@SnackIsAName]

where you bleeding ?

[@TomCalton]

Wha?

[@woj3pl668]

only just started watching but just as a piece of criticism i think the closeup shots on your face are a little tight, its a little out of place and distracting

[@TomCalton]

Fair criticism, thanks for the feedback. I've recently switched to a new camera and I agree, the second angle is a little too tight now. I plan to fix this going forward.

[@iamfyrus]

But its overprice

[@UP209D]

It s so over priced, I would expect 7artisan will make something similar for a steal like they did with UFO one

[@Wistbacka]

Nice lens and review. I also like that you are trying something new, but the 21:9 aspect ratio just doesnt work for content like this. Becomes too cramped and narrow. When you have your face, the camera and the lens all in picture at once, it is just too claustrophobic. And just doesnt look balanced. 21:9 is filmic and great for that kind of thing. Not for this.

[@TomCalton]

I've had no end of comments saying that the shift to 21:9 was a great move. But, each to their own 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Wistbacka]

@@TomCalton Of course. Your channel. And your content/reviews are still the most important. I just felt it doesnt work.

[@TsvetanVR]

I truly love the vibe it gives out but 350 bucks for a few tiny bits of glass and brass? Nope, I'll pass. At least until I've got all the glorious high-end lenses and get bored of those levels of perfection.

[@TomCalton]

It's not going to be for everyone, but I love it

[@thompsonevergreen8006]

Absolute scam price

[@TomCalton]

What price would you consider reasonable?

[@ourhouseuk]

Please stop shaking your hand with the product. It’s very difficult for people with various limitations.

[@alex_fuji]

Who cares?

[@ourhouseuk]

@@alex_fuji people who get motion sickness, so I suppose it depends if the author wants a segment of people leaving almost immediately.

[@alex_fuji]

@@ourhouseuk if u leave nobody would notice, don’t think that you’re so special, let the author do what he does the way he wants to do his videos.

[@ourhouseuk]

@@alex_fuji fortunately enough, nobody really cares what you think. If the author prefers to alienate a portion of the audience, just keep shaking away. If the author wishes to be inclusive and maximise reach, they can make a decision to adjust. In the meantime, I’m glad you don’t have limitations and can spend your time nitpicking things that don’t relate to you, and weren’t addressed to you, in true internet fanboi form!