Brightin Star 28mm f/2.8 Pancake

Brightin Star 28mm f/2.8

The Brightin Star 28mm F2.8 Black Lacquer Ultra-Thin Pancake Lens is a modern third-party Leica M-mount wide-angle lens built around portability, vintage styling, and practical manual operation. Its 28mm focal length gives a natural wide field of view for street photography, environmental portraits, architecture, interiors, travel, and documentary photography, while the f/2.8 maximum aperture makes it more flexible than many ultra-thin body-cap-style lenses.

The lens is part of Brightin Star’s compact M-mount lens range and is commonly referred to as the Brightin Star XSlim-M 28mm F2.8, Brightin Star 28mm F2.8 Pancake, or Brightin Star 28mm F2.8 Micro-Pancake. It is made for Leica M mount, not LTM, and it is described by the manufacturer and major retailers as fully coupled for Leica M rangefinder focusing. The design uses a brass body with a glossy black lacquer finish, giving it a classic black-paint Leica-style appearance.

Optically, the lens is reported as a 6 elements in 5 groups design. Brightin Star and several retailers list 10 aperture blades, while at least one review source reported 9 rounded blades. Because the official and most repeated specification is 10 blades, 10 is the preferred specification, with the 9-blade report noted as a source discrepancy. The filter thread is listed in review and early news sources as 25.5 mm, while the overall diameter varies slightly by source, with 51.4 mm measured/reviewed and 52.6 mm listed by B&H.

For photographers searching for a small Leica M lens, 28mm pancake lens, full-frame Leica M wide-angle lens, manual focus street photography lens, or black lacquer brass M-mount lens, the Brightin Star 28mm F2.8 is positioned as a highly portable alternative to larger 28mm rangefinder lenses.

History

Brightin Star, also known in Chinese as 星曜光学, introduced the XSLIM-M 28mm F2.8 for Leica M-mount users in 2023. Early Chinese-language and Hong Kong coverage appeared in May 2023, reporting that the lens would have an initial launch period from 31 May 2023 to 20 June 2023. The early launch pricing was reported at 1,890 RMB, with a regular price of 1,980 RMB.

The lens followed a growing interest in ultra-compact M-mount pancake lenses and body-cap-style lenses for Leica rangefinder cameras. Unlike many very thin lenses with fixed or small apertures, the Brightin Star model offered a variable aperture from f/2.8 to f/16, a full-frame 28mm field of view, and Leica M rangefinder coupling. Reviews from 2023 onward highlighted its unusual combination of compact size, brass construction, black lacquer finish, and practical 0.7 m minimum focusing distance.

As of current retailer and manufacturer listings, the lens remains available as a Leica M-mount full-frame manual focus pancake lens, usually in black lacquer finish. No confirmed end-of-production date was found.

Notes on conflicting specifications

• Aperture blades: Brightin Star and multiple specification sources list 10 aperture blades. Dustin Abbott’s review mentions 9 rounded blades. The safest catalog value is 10 blades, with the 9-blade report kept as a discrepancy.
• Diameter: B&H lists 52.6 mm, while some reviews measured or reported 51.4 mm. For catalog use, list 52.6 mm official retail specification, with 51.4 mm as review-measured.
• Weight: B&H and several reviews list 125 g, while Phillip Reeve measured 113 g and a Hong Kong shop lists about 130 g. The safest main value is 125 g.
• Six bit coding: No reliable source found confirming 6-bit coding. It should be listed as not known / not specified.
• Mount: This lens is an M-mount lens. No reliable LTM version was found for this specific Brightin Star 28mm F2.8 Black Lacquer Ultra-Thin Pancake model.

Source list

1. Brightin Star official product page
   https://brightinstar.com/products/28mm-f2-8-black-lacquer-ultra-thin-biscuit-wide-angle-classic-humanistic-xingyao-lens-suitable-for-leica-m-mount

2. B&H Photo, Brightin Star 28mm f/2.8 Pancake Lens, Leica M-Mount, Black, MFR #6977732090514
   https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1944643-REG/brightin_star_6977732090514_mf_28mm_f_2_8_lens.html

3. Phillip Reeve, Review: Funleader x Brightin Star 28mm 2.8 XSlim Pro-M
   https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-funleader-x-brightin-star-28mm-2-8-xslim-pro-m/

4. Keith Wee, Brightin Star XSlim 28mm F2.8 review
   https://keithwee.com/2023/09/10/brightin-star-xslim-28mm-f2-8-review-a-true-pancake-lens-with-character-to-match/

5. Dustin Abbott, Brightin Star 28mm F2.8 Micro-Pancake Review
   https://dustinabbott.net/2023/12/brightin-star-28mm-f2-8-micro-pancake-review/

6. DCFever, 黃銅配 Black Paint！星曜 28mm F2.8 人手上漆
   https://www.dcfever.com/news/readnews.php?id=35326

7. ZOL China, 星曜 28mm F/2.8 Leica M mount specifications
   https://detail.zol.com.cn/1799/1798050/param.shtml

8. Amazon product listing, Brightin Star 28mm F2.8 Full Frame Manual Focus Lens for Leica-M Mount
   https://www.amazon.com/Brightin-Manual-Leica-M-Camera-Compatible/dp/B0C456NRQX