Introduction
A lot has happened in 2023 and a few of those things I want to highlight and talk about here.
2023 – Year in Review
All posts by BastianK
Review: Brightin Star 9mm 5.6
Introduction
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
Review: Mr. Ding Optics 50mm 1.1 Noxlux M
Introduction
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
Review: Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton
Introduction
The Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.2 Nokton is a lens, which I always found to hit a sweet spot: a very fast lens that is also sharp with very nice bokeh in a compact package at a still somewhat reasonable price.
This is why I did not expect Cosina to release this more complex Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.0 Nokton so shortly after.
Going by price and technology (grinding aspherical, floating elements) this is Cosina’s flagship fullframe lens, so let’s find out what it is capable of in this review.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
Sample Images
Comparison: Super Fast 50mm M-mount Lenses
Introduction
The M-mount seems to be more popular than ever, thanks to plenty of manufacturers – old and new – from Europe, Japan and China designing and releasing countless of new lenses every year for this bayonet.
Super fast 50mm lenses are especially popular here, so many manufacturers designed one as their “flagship” lens.
Thanks to a reader and very cooperative companies I managed to get 6 of these lenses on my table at the same time, so let’s see what each of them is good at – to help you figure out which one might work best for your needs.
Last Update March 2025: Transmission section updated