The ultra-wide, ultra-bright lens is a mult-genre lens for fitting in the most light and the widest views – and Brighin Star has just launched a competitively priced option for Sony E-Mount shooters. The Brighin Star AF 12mm f/2.8 fits autofocus and a 122.5-degree view in a lens that’s expected to retail for under $700 / £500 / AU$950 / CA$925.
The lens, announced on May 22, is the brand's first ultra-wide lens to feature autofocus and was previously teased earlier this year. The wide-angle is designed for genres like landscapes, architecture, interiors, and astrophotography.
The 12mm focal length is notable, as it sits even wider than the widest Sony prime, the 14mm f/1.8 GM, but matches the 12-24mm f/2.8 GM on the wide end.
The Brightin Star AF 12mm f/2.8 doesn’t skip out on autofocus either, with a new STM motor. Brighton Star says that the lens offers “flagship-level autofocus” – but I think that’s a pretty tall order considering how quick some Sony E-Mount bodies are capable of shooting at.
Ultra-wide lenses are prone to heavier distortion, but the 12mm is built with aspherical elements to help keep the edges from rounding while also boosting sharpness. The lens is built to fight flare and distortion using 15 elements in 11 groups. That list includes HRI, ED, and ASPH lenses, along with an IMC coating.
On the lens’ exterior, the Brightin Star AF 12mm f/2.8 has an aperture ring, an auto-to-manual focus switch, and a customizable Fn button. A petal lens is built into the design. The lens is partially weather-sealed, but only at the rear to help avoid dust build-up on the camera sensor.
Those features come in a lens that sits at 499g / 17.6 oz and 96.6mm / 3.8 inches long.
The ultra-wide lens is a technically challenging lens to design, and the genre tends to sit at a high price point. Sony doesn’t have a direct comparison, but the 14mm f/1.8 sits at $1,698 / £1,199 and the 16mm f/1.8 G for $898 / £849 – though naturally, it’s expected for an f/1.8 to sit at a higher price point than an f/2.8.
The competition with the new Brightin Star AF 12mm f/2.8 intensifies among other third-party optics, however. There’s the Venus Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D at $849 / £599, the Sigma 14mm f/1.4 with its much brighter aperture at $1,839 / £1,499, the slightly narrower Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 STM at $580 / £449, to name a few options.
The Brightin Star AF 12mm f/2.8 is expected to retail for $659.99, with a $50 launch discount through May 31. International pricing has not yet been announced, but that converts to roughly £500 / AU$925 / CA$900.
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