All posts by BastianK

My name is Bastian and I am your expert here when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, super fast portrait lenses (ranging from a 50mm f/0.95 to a 200mm f/1.8) and I also have reviewed way too many 35mm lenses. Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though.

Review: Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM

Introduction

sony 14mm 1.8 gm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7
Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM on Sony A7rII

The Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM is obviously aimed at landscape astrophotographers – what else do you need a fast 14mm lens for anyway? But when this Sony lens came out in early 2021 I already had the Laowa 15mm 2.0, so I never personally bought it. After having reviewed the Viltrox FE 16mm 1.8 AF it was definitely time to have a closer look at it though, so here we are.

Sample Images

sony 14mm 1.8 gm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7
Sony A7III | Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM | f/1.8
sony 14mm 1.8 gm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7
Sony A7III | Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM | f/1.8
sony 14mm 1.8 gm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7
Sony A7III | Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM | f/2.8
sony 14mm 1.8 gm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7
Sony A7III | Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM | f/1.8
sony 14mm 1.8 gm fe review sharpness contrast bokeh astro milky way coma vignetting 42mp 63mp sony a7
Sony A7III | Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM | f/1.8

Continue reading Review: Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM

Review: Brightin Star 9mm 5.6

Introduction

brightin star 9mm 5.6 fullframe widest lens rectilinear contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9
Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 on Sony A7rII

This Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 and the 7Artisans 9mm 5.6 had been announced almost at the same time, so I already expected these lenses to be more or less identical. Interestingly only this Brightin Star lens features a 34 mm rear filter thread though, so I decided to have a closer look at this Brightin Star lens as well.

The optical and most of the mechanical construction of this Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 lens is identical to the 7Artisans 9mm 5.6, so I will reuse many parts of its review here.

Sample Images

brightin star 9mm 5.6 fullframe widest lens rectilinear contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9
Sony A7III | Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 | f/16 | ND1000 rear filter
brightin star 9mm 5.6 fullframe widest lens rectilinear contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9
Sony A7III | Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 | f/8.0
brightin star 9mm 5.6 fullframe widest lens rectilinear contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9
Sony A7III | Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 | f/5.6
brightin star 9mm 5.6 fullframe widest lens rectilinear contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9
Sony A7III | Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 | f/5.6
brightin star 9mm 5.6 fullframe widest lens rectilinear contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9
Sony A7III | Brightin Star 9mm 5.6 | f/8.0

Continue reading Review: Brightin Star 9mm 5.6

Lens & Accessory Winter Sale

Many of us here at the Phillipreeve team acquire too many lenses (and sometimes also accessories) and with some of the manufacturers it also isn’t easily possible to return the review samples after we reviewed them, therefore a bunch of stuff is for sale.
Update November 28th 2023: removed sold items

I will ship to all european countries and all prices are without shipping. If you live in Germany you can add 7€ for shipping, within EU should be around 16€.
Payment is possible via Paypal or Bank Transfer.

I will only ship insured with DHL. If you want to come to Stuttgart you can also check out the lens you are interested in in person and we have a little chat.

All the items come without warranty.

If you are interested, leave a comment with your Email address (it will not be visible to the public) and I will get back to you.

PS: I might also be interested in trading in some of these things for stuff on my Lenses I would like to review list, especially a Canon 50mm 0.95 for M-mount.


The following items are former review samples:


Zhong Yi 50mm 0.95 M

This is the sample I used for my Super Fast 50mm M-mount comparison.

This lens has only been used for the comparison and is in as-new condition. Comes with caps and retail packaging.

439€ + shipping

Continue reading Lens & Accessory Winter Sale

Review: Mr. Ding Optics 50mm 1.1 Noxlux M

Introduction

mr. ding optics studio 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh coma noxlux
Mr. Ding Noxlux 50mm 1.1 on Leica M10

The Syoptic 50mm 1.1 was one of the big surprises for me in 2022, as it was a very capable, fast 50mm lens with surprisingly appealing bokeh rendering and a very affordable price tag.
Unfortunately there were also some issues: almost unreachable filter thread, loose focus rings in the first production run and allegedly some issues with product support.
Now the “official” and improved version of this lens is available branded as Mr. Ding Studio 50mm 1.1 Noxlux. Let’s have a look together.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
Update 11/23: Information on the updated Mark II version added

This lens is in many aspects identical to the Syoptic 50mm 1.1, so I will reuse a few sections of my review of that lens.

This lens is also part of my Comparison of 6 Super Fast 50mm M-mount Lenses together with the Leica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux-M, the Zhong Yi 50mm 0.95 M, the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton, MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 ISM and Voigtänder VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton.

Sample Images

mr. ding optics studio 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh coma noxlux
Sony A7III | Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 | f/1.1 | LM-EA9
mr. ding optics studio 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh coma noxlux
Sony A7III | Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 | f/1.1 | LM-EA9
Sony A7III | Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 | f/1.1 | LM-EA9
mr. ding optics studio 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh coma noxlux
Sony A7III | Mr. Ding 50mm 1.1 | f/1.1 | LM-EA9

Continue reading Review: Mr. Ding Optics 50mm 1.1 Noxlux M