Marco Aries

I ’ve stumbled upon this lens many a time but, for one reason or another, never bought; until now. At this point I have tested a few lenses from this series, so I knew what to expect: a simple but reliable lens. Let’s take a closer look. The lens is made of metal and plastic, it weighs around 170g, it is 36 to 44mm long and it has an external diameter of 64mm, with a 49mm front thread. The iris has 6 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f1.7 to f22 with half steps. The focusing ring is rubberized, it turns 100 degrees and the minimum focusing distance is 45cm.  It uses the Minolta MD mount. Build quality is solid, the focusing ring has good resistance, maybe a little bit too stiff, while the aperture is just about perfect but it could use a more pronounced texture. Sharpness is good wide open, but lacking in the finer details and it falls off towards the edges along with some increased distortion and vignetting.  Stopping down to f8 it gets sharp all over the frame...

Quick disclaimer: Brightin Star did send me this item to showcase free of charge but they had no say on the final product and all the opinions in this video are my own. I have never owned a proper macro lens. I’ve played around with filters, extension tubes and vintage lenses that can focus closer than average, but never a dedicated macro lens. So when Brightin Star reached out asking if I wanted to showcase their new APS-C 60mm f2.8 2:1 macro lens I was more than happy to take the opportunity. It is made of metal, it weighs around 700g, it is 110mm long, with an external diameter of 72,8mm and a 67mm front thread. The iris has 9 blades, the aperture has soft clicks and it goes from f2.8 to f16 with half steps. The focusing ring is textured, it turns 160 degrees and the minimum focusing distance is 18.2cm. Focus happens internally and the front element doesn’t rotate. It has to be noted that the throw between 1 meter and infinity is only a couple degrees. It comes in all the mounts you...