This lens inspired me to make a new video for my YouTube, all about the allure of chasing Leica level optics. I love fast primes and full bokeh, so I was super keen to have a look at the Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 lens. That is proper fast.
The physical presence of the lens is solid and hefty. It weighs much more than you expect for the size, over 750g in fact. That's a lot of glass jammed inside the metal casing. The focus ring is velvety smooth, and it's clear that Brightin Star are good at building manual focus lenses. It's their thing, so no surprise that this model feels and looks premium.
Looks don't matter as much as the optics. At F2 this lens is beautiful. Very sharp with nice bokeh. Pushed all the way to F0.95 it feels like a totally different lens. There's chromatic distortion everywhere and all that sharpness is gone. I look through my test shots and you struggle to see where the focus maximises before drifting out again. The sharpest bits just aren't sharp.
I confirmed with Brightin Star that the performance of my lens was characteristic of the design. That my images are what they would expect. It has been suggested to me that some people like this look, and that's why they want an F0.95 lens.
I have included a link to download the above hires samples, taken on my Lumix S9 with the Brightin Star lens:
https://ewenbell.com/uploads/50mmF095.zip
Brightin Star were kind enough to send me this lens for review. I feel bad that I cannot recommend it for use at F0.95. However, if you're looking for a beautiful bit of glass for manual focus at F2 on a full frame mirrorless camera, then the 50mm F0.95 II MF is a great option. It's a work of art in it's own right, I just wish they had stopped the aperture ring at F2 instead :)
– Ewen
Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 MF II
https://brightinstar.com/products/brightin-star-50mm-f0-95-ii-full-frame-lens-for-sony-e-nikon-z-canon-rf-l-mount
PS here's a link to my video about the F0.95, plus a few other treats that echoed the allure of Leica in recent weeks.
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