Brightin Star XSLIM-M 28mm f/2.8 M Mount Lens

[Huss]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

9 hours ago, DennisPT said:

For compactness and light weight (+/- cost effectiveness) and if I have to travel light, this will be my 3 lens kit: J12, BS-28 and 5cm Summar. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Nice!  Whenever I need a travel light kit, I just take one lens.  And it is interesting how it always is ok, no matter which one I pick in the focal length range you show.  You just work with what you have.  My Fuji Klasse W has a 28mm lens, and it's never been an issue (high end P&S camera w fixed lens).  My Rollei QZ35W has a 28-60 lens and 99% of the time I use it at 28mm.

I think the Brightin 28 would make a fantastic super compact one lens kit.

[Huss]

Still no signs of availability.  Brightin originally said - somewhat confusingly - release date was between 5/31 and 6/20

Edited June 20, 2023 by Huss

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Huss]

it's available on Aliexpress.  $327.41 w tax shipped to California.  Still no signs on their Amazon store site.

[cboy]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:47 PM, DennisPT said:

@BastianK The corner smear improves when I close down the aperture to f/11 and even better at f/16 but it may start affecting the overall performance. Like @Huss said, there are compromises between compactness, performance and price. I like this lens because of its compactness and I can live with the locking mechanism hiccup. Of course, this is my 2 cents. 

Can you explain more about the locking mechanism hiccup??

Also have you tried the TTartisan pancake 28mm? If so was wondering if you have have some comparison thoughts between the two

[BastianK]

I had contact to Brightin Star previously (they even sent me review samples of other lenses) but it seems they either
ditched the western world market completely or that one guy who handled the overseas communication and all their social media quit.

The latest posts on their Instagram and Facebook pages are from mid May and I also wasn't able to reach them via Whatsapp or Email as I used to do before.

[Greenhilltony]

On 6/22/2023 at 3:29 PM, BastianK said:

I had contact to Brightin Star previously (they even sent me review samples of other lenses) but it seems they either
ditched the western world market completely or that one guy who handled the overseas communication and all their social media quit.

The latest posts on their Instagram and Facebook pages are from mid May and I also wasn't able to reach them via Whatsapp or Email as I used to do before.

They are running an active account on a popular Chinese video site, bilibili.com. They’re posting videos recently since the launch of this lens. If you have difficulty finding them (their account name is pure Chinese), I may offer you the navigation.

[DennisPT]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

On 6/22/2023 at 3:29 PM, cboy said:

Can you explain more about the locking mechanism hiccup??

Also have you tried the TTartisan pancake 28mm? If so was wondering if you have have some comparison thoughts between the two

I meant when I press the lens release button on my M9P, the lens will unlock itself without me turning the lens body. Interesting enough, last night I borrowed an M10-P and lens stayed locked after I did the same maneuver.
For comparison with another pancake 28mm lens like the TTartisan, I didn’t have an opportunity as this is the only pancake lens I have. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by DennisPT
Typo

[Huss]

I ordered one.  Curiosity got the better of me!  We'll see how this turns out.

[Huss]

MS Optics just released a new 28mm 1.7 which has the same styling.  But it looks so much better because it has about half the amount of writing on it!

But... apparently the MS has awful focus shift which would not work for me as I am a film shooter.

Hoping the BS lens will not have that focus shift.

[agiknee]

The lens is now available through Funleader. They’re having a 10% off sale right now and it came out to $323 shipped to the US. No sales tax and free shipping. They’re quick about shipping, as I’ve ordered from them in the past. Can’t wait to get the little guy. I’ll post examples once I have them developed 

[Huss]

On 7/6/2023 at 6:52 AM, agiknee said:

The lens is now available through Funleader. They’re having a 10% off sale right now and it came out to $323 shipped to the US. No sales tax and free shipping. They’re quick about shipping, as I’ve ordered from them in the past. Can’t wait to get the little guy. I’ll post examples once I have them developed 

Interesting that Aliexpress charged me sales tax.  With sales tax charged - so hopefully no customs surprises - it was $4 more than Funleader's pre-tax sale price.

[BastianK]

A review sample of the 28mm 2.8 arrived yesterday.
The build quality does feel quite nice, definitely above the MS-Optics lenses but also much heavier.
But one issue from (most of) the MS-Optics lenses is also here: the lens does not cover the 6-bit reader,
which I find incredibly annoying.

80% of the frame have good image quality already at f/2.8, but field curvature is very wild.
Even at f/16 the corners are not even remotely in the same focal plane as the center,
so not a lens for landscape/architecture.

Focus shift is also there, especially between f/4.0 and f/5.6, but DoF should be wide enough for this not to be a real issue.

Sunstars are nice, flare resistance is way better than expected.

And the lens shipped with a magnet looking like the lens to put on your fridge.
This was new...

Edited July 7, 2023 by BastianK

[Huss]

4 minutes ago, BastianK said:

And the lens shipped with a magnet looking like the lens to put on your fridge.
This was new...

😆  what?  Well, I'll use that!

For me this lens will be about 'street' photography, so the edges won't matter.  But of course it would be nice if it didn't do that.

Will you have a chance to compare it to the MS 28? Even if it is 'only' the first version?

[Huss]

@BastianK how would you compare it to the TTA 28 5.6?  The next smallest 28 - but of course slower.  I also have that lens, and my BS 28 has not yet been delivered.

[DennisPT]

Took the lens with me to Japan.  No computer, just M10-P jpeg adjusted with iPhone. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[FrozenInTime]

https://petapixel.com/2023/07/07/this-new-28mm-f-2-8-lens-for-leica-rangefinders-is-comically-thin/

It is the author's comprehension of metric measurements that is comical here:

"Funleader’s latest lens is the Brightin Star XSLIM-M 28mm f/2.8 for Leica M-mount and it brings a distinctly vintage look to an optic that is just 0.99 millimeters thick."

 

[Huss]

A 'review'. To be honest, I think all the reviews that this site does are awful. It's almost as if they never use the gear. But it's the first English language review out there, so here you go:

https://www.thephoblographer.com/2023/07/05/funleader-x-brightin-star-28mm-review/

The pic samples are so awful - camera shake, out of focus, some pics look like he didn't even realize he pushed the shutter button.  And this dood gets stuff sent to him to review..

 

[BastianK]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb Huss:

@BastianK how would you compare it to the TTA 28 5.6?  The next smallest 28 - but of course slower.  I also have that lens, and my BS 28 has not yet been delivered.

I need to check my reviews of those again, if I remember right they definitely look better stopped down.

 

vor 6 Stunden schrieb Huss:

Will you have a chance to compare it to the MS 28? Even if it is 'only' the first version?

You will get an opinion from me how it performs compared to the first gen MS 28mm 2.0, yes.
That lens also had wild field curvature and the edges never looked actually decent, not even at f/16.

My favorite of the very compact lenses is still the MS-Optics 24mm 2.0.
I use it a lot because it actually is sharp across the whole frame stopped down,
so I often bringt it alongside a fast 35 or 50 as an only 50g heavy wide angle option.

I took a few pictures with the BS 28mm 2.8 today,
When it is not too hot to sit at the computer tomorrow I may share a few here.

[BastianK]

All at f/2.8 on Leica M10

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Huss]

1 hour ago, BastianK said:

All at f/2.8 on Leica M10

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Those look great!  Thanks for posting.  And goodness they are so much better than the garbage samples posted by thefauxblographer.

Looking forward to seeing more given that my lens is apparently being delivered on foot from China…