I always think we need more Pancake lenses, but except for the Samyang 24mm 2.8 and the recently reviewed TTArtisan 50mm 2.0 we didn’t get that many options in the Sony FE world yet. The latest addition is this Brightin Star 23mm 5.6. The first odd thing to notice: it is a fixed aperture lens, so it is always f/5.6 and cannot be stopped down further.
Can it still be a viable addition to your kit? Let’s find out…
It is an interesting time we live in. Just 5 years ago only few people knew a maximum aperture as fast as f/0.95 even exists let alone were able to afford a lens being that fast. Now we have such lenses with different focal lengths and at affordable price points. One of the most affordable ones is the Brightin Star 50mm 0.95 FE, so let us find out what this lens has in store for us and how it compares to some of the other super fast 50s.
So far TTArtisan mostly released fast yet compact M-mount lenses, the most famous probably being their 50mm 0.95. These lenses often emphasized speed and size over sharpness, but now we are getting something different: the TTArtisan 35mm 2.0 Apo-Aspherical. Going by the specs this is a direct competitor to the Voigtländer VM 35mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar, but does it also play in the same league? Let’s find out.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
In the SLR era the “Nifty Fifty” was the lens of choice for many: a compact, fast and at the same time affordable 50mm lens. For the Sony FE system the next best thing we got so far is the Sony FE 50mm 2.5 G, but it isn’t as fast and also not that affordable.
To my surprise TTArtisan is now the one trying to revive the Nifty Fifty and despite being a mirrorless design it is as small as the smallest SLR 50s. But did they succeed? Let’s find out in this review.
Continue reading Review: TTArtisan 50mm 2.0 – Return of the Nifty Fifty
The Laowa 12-24mm 5.6 is Laowa’s second ultra wide angle zoom, the first being the Laowa 10-18mm 4.5-5.6. The 10-18mm offers a very appealing focal length range in a compact package, but there were some optical compromises hard to overlook. This 12-24mm lens is supposed to yield better optical performance at the cost of a less extreme angle of view at the wide end. Is it the better lens at the end of the day? Let us find out in this review.
