Re: New Brightin Star 28mm f/2.8 lens for Leica M-mount
My freakin lens finally showed up. How? I googled the name under my address sticker on the wrongly delivered package, found an email address, emailed this person. Now that is where I thought it would end because, ya know, crazy person asking 'hey were you expecting an iphone case but got a lens?'
The sweet lady actually emailed me back and said she had my lens! She coulda just kept it, sold it etc and I would have been none the wiser. As that lens was worth a lot more than the crummy $5 iphone case..
And she was 'local' - Santa Paula, California which is about an hour-ish drive. So last night I went and did the trade.
So how is this lens? Remarkably nicely made. This would be such a sweet piece if it didn't have all the writing on it. Really dense/heavy given the size - due to being milled from brass. The focus action on mine is surprisingly smooth, aperture is clickless but easy enough (if a tad fiddly) to change, with good weighting so it stays put.
The front lens element is barely recessed in the housing, so one would have to be very careful not to touch it, let it touch anything. Initial focus test shows it is dead on with my 10r using the RF. Took some quick test shots w my 10r, now mounted on a film M as I have a few shots that need shootin' to finish the roll so might as well use the BS lens. Will dev/post those later.
The repeat images are at 2.8 and then (I think) 11. First glance it has a very funky effect if you look deeply into the image, where the curvature makes things go in and out of focus, but when it is stopped down much less so. I'm actually really vibing with this lens - it is so different from my other 28s (and that is the point, isn't it?) and just fun to use.
And oh yeah, the Pentax Auto 110 filters and hood work perfectly! The last two images are taken with the 25.5 UV filter AND lens hood attached, to test for hard vignetting. At f16 at min and infinity. Only at one focus setting (I'm embarrassed to forget - I think it was infinity?) was there hard vignetting at f16. If you use just the filter, or just the hood - no hard vignetting at all. But it is so slight that at the moment I am using them together. When I dev the film I will see if I need to change my mind.
Aug 22, 2023 at 12:09 PM
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