Review of Brightin Star 85mm 1:1.8 BLK (Sony E, Nikon Z)

Navigation

1. In short
2. Main Specifications
3. Assembly
4. Focusing
5. Firmware Upgrade
6. Image quality
7. Sample Photos
8. My experience
9. Similar lenses
10. Price
11. Video review
12. Results
13. User Comments
14. Add your review or question on the lens

In this review I will refer to the Brightin Star 85mm 1:1.8 BLK lens as Brightin Star 85/1.8 for short.

It's important: This review shows the Brightin Star 85/1.8 version for Sony mirrorless cameras with bayonet mount Sony e-mount and with firmware version V02/1.01 2025-01-14. At the same time, there are modifications of this lens for mirrorless cameras of the systems Nikon Z.

In short

Brightin Star 85/1.8 – the first autofocus lens from BRIGHTIN STAR for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras with bayonet mount Sony E. Overall, this is the second autofocus lens from the company. BRIGHTIN STAR. The first was wonderful BRIGHTIN STAR 1:1.4 F=50MM BLK APS-C (for bayonets Sony E, Nikon Z, fujifilm x)

Brightin Star 85/1.8 is a short telephoto lens, usually this focal length is called 'classic portrait'. Internal automatic focusing, quiet and fast enough stepping motor of focusing. Excellent build quality. Eleven aperture blades with a control ring. Everything works without problems. Optically good, sharp in the center of the frame already at F/1.8 (without any reservations), practically without any serious optical and mechanical shortcomings.

Brightin Star 85/1.8 is one of the best inexpensive portrait solutions for Sony E и Nikon Z.

All AF 85s for Sony E:

Below is a list of all such autofocus lenses for full-frame cameras with a bayonet mount. Sony E (FE), aperture F<=2 and focal length 75-95 mm.

1. TTArtisan 75 / 2
2. Samyang 75 / 1.8
3. Samyang 85 / 1.4
4. Samyang 85 / 1.4 II
5. Tokina 85 / 1.8
6. Sigma 85 / 1.4 DG Art
7. Sigma 85 / 1.4 DG DN Art
8. Sony 85 / 1.4 FE GM
9. Sony 85/1.4 FE GM II
10. Sony 85 / 1.8 FE
11. Zeiss Sonnar Batis 85/1.8 Stabilizer
12. Viltrox 85/1.8 PFU
13. Viltrox 85/1.8II
14. Yongnuo 85/1.8 DSM
15. Yongnuo 85/1.8 DSM II
16. Astrhori 85/1.8
17. MEIKE 85/1.8 FF STM
18. MEIKE 85/1.8 STM PRO
19. MEIKE 85/1.4 FF STM
20. 7Artisans 85/1.8 STM
21. Brightin Star 85 / 1.8
22. Rollei 85/1.8

Main technical characteristics of Brightin Star 85mm 1:1.8 BLK:

Review Instance Name	On body: 85 Near the front lens: Brightin Star 85MM 1:1.8 BLK Ø62mm + serial number On the box: Brightin Star AF 85mm F1.8 High-Speed ​​Lens
Basic properties	Focus stepping motor Internal focus Electronic focus ring ED, HRI elements in the optical circuit USB-port for firmware update Rounded petals aperture Fn - programmable button AF/MF focus mode switch Aperture control ring Rubber seal on bayonet side BLK? Included hood Important: lens from a third-party manufacturer, which imposes some restrictions on its practical use
Front Filter Diameter	62 mm, metal thread for filters
Focal length	85 mm
Zoom ratio	1 X (this is a fixed lens, it does not have a zoom)
Designed by	for Sony NEX/ALPHA mirrorless cameras with E/EF mount and for Nikon Z mount mirrorless cameras
Number of aperture blades	11 rounded petals
Tags	bayonet mount mark hood attachment mark – 0.8M/2.62FT – ∞ + (focus ring rotation direction indicator) aperture value marks
Diaphragm	F / 1.8 to F / 16 There is a ring for aperture control, it rotates smoothly, has many intermediate values. There is a mode “A” for aperture control directly from the camera itself. To switch to the “A” mode, you need to apply additional force, which prevents accidental shifting between manual and automatic aperture control modes. There is a click when switching to the “A” position. There are marks for F/1.8, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16 and two additional intermediate values ​​between each pair of numbers. Intermediate values ​​between F/1.8 and F/2 set the value of F/2 (and this does not depend on the step exposure, installed in the chamber: 1/3 or 1/2).
MDF	0.8 meters
The weight	551 grams (lens, two protective caps, lens hood, Sony E version) 499 grams (lens only, Sony E version)
Optical design	10 elements in 7 groups. The scheme includes: 2 ED low dispersion elements 3 ultra-high refractive index elements special enlightenment on lens bonding
Lens hood	Bayonet type, model BLH62-01 Brightin Star. Has something like a ring with veins for a comfortable grip
Manufacturer country	Not indicated, but it is known that the lens is made in China
Period	Since May 2025 (this review was published on the day of the lens announcement)
Prices	View on AliExpress

In general, Brightin Star 85/1.8 is an alternative to the original Sony FE 85 / 1.8There are currently about 20 different ones on the market autofocus high-aperture lenses with a focal length of 85 mm for Sony E mount, which are aimed at portrait photography.

Assembly

The lens arrived for review completely new, in the factory box.

The box contained a warranty card, instructions in Chinese and English, a quality control certificate, a desiccant, bags, a hood, and the lens itself with the front and rear caps. The caps are made of thick plastic. The lens is secured in the box with a strong foam clamp. Unfortunately, the rear protective cap does not have the Brightin Star logo, but simply has the inscription “NEX”.

Brightin Star 85/1.8 has metal mount. All marks and inscriptions on the lens engraved (except those near the front lens). There is a rubber seal for the bayonet.

The focusing ring is wide and metallic. The lens feels very solid in the hands. There is a light-cutting hood on the rear lens side, preventing unnecessary flare and light scattering.

The Brightin Star 85/1.8 weighs almost 500 grams. The heavy weight does not interfere with the use of lightweight cameras Sony E.

The diaphragm consists of as many as 11 blades. It always produces a well-rounded opening.

The body has a bayonet mount mark and a quick-installation mark for the lens hood. The lens uses a plastic hood that must be fixed in special grooves located near the front lens of the lens. The hood is quite massive. The hood can be installed in the transport mode with the back side, but in this position, access to the focusing ring is completely lost. The hood is cylindrical, not petal-shaped.

The lens has a connector USB TYPE C for connection to a computer (see the corresponding section below in the text).

The lens barrel has programmable Fn button, which by default serves to stop autofocus. But on some cameras this button can be reprogrammed for different tasks. On some cameras, it may not work at all. For example, on my Sony a3500 it doesn't work, but on Sony a7 III it can be programmed for a very large and varied number of tasks (Menu -> Custom operation -> tab 8/9 -> Custom keys -> Focus lock button).

The design of the lens is strict.

Focusing

For focusing, the Brightin Star 85/1.8S uses stepper focus motor. Auto focus should work. with all Sony cameras with E/FE mount.

The focusing speed is high, quite comfortable for work. On camera Sony a3500 и Sony a7 I didn't have much focusing problems. After the lens has lost accurate focus, refocusing is performed quickly enough. On Sony a3500 the lens sometimes has trouble focusing, but this is more of a problem with the camera itself, which only has contrast focusing. On the Sony a7, the autofocus quality is much better than on Sony a3500 and I am completely satisfied. Face focusing works perfectly.

It's important: in difficult shooting conditions, as well as when shooting dynamic scenes, the focusing quality with Brightin Star 85/1.8 can be noticeably worse than with original similar lenses, such as Sony FE 85 / 1.8. Even in simple shooting conditions, the autofocus tenacity of the Brightin Star 85/1.8 will greatly depend on the camera used. Perhaps, over time, new firmware for the lens will correct this situation.

Auto focus silent... When shooting video using autofocus and the built-in microphone in the camera, there may still be a small level of noise from the built-in motor in the video.

Lens uses electronic focus ring. The focusing ring is metal, wide, in manual focusing mode it rotates approximately 360 degrees. When extreme positions are reached, the ring does not abut, but continues to rotate. Manual focus is enough conveniently. The focus ring rotates easily. I did not observe any delays (lag) when changing the direction of rotation. The electronic focus ring reacts more to the speed of its rotation than to a specific angle of rotation, which sometimes creates tactile inconvenience. Near the ring there is a marker “- 0.8M/2.62FT – ∞ +”, which is an indicator of the direction of rotation of the focus ring, which is sometimes very convenient (especially when lenses from different manufacturers have a different direction of rotation of the focus ring).

On the case there is a focus mode switch MF / AF.

During auto focus focus ring remains stationary, however, it can be freely rotated without affecting focus in any way (if the normal AF mode 'Autofocus' is enabled in the camera menu, not 'MF' or 'DMF'). During manual focusing, the focus distance scale appears on the display of some cameras.

The lens has internal focusing, the front and rear lenses remain stationary during focusing. It is possible to use various filters without any problems.

The closest focusing distance is 80 cm, while the maximum magnification for close-up photography is 1: 7.7, which is the usual value for such a lens.

Brightin Star 85/1.8 has strong 'Focus Breathing' effect (changing the angle of view during focusing). When focusing towards the MDF, the angle of view decreases. When quickly refocusing from infinity to MDF and back, for example, during video recording, on the display or in EVI there is a characteristic beating / breathing of the picture.

Focus shift (shift-focus) was not noticed during operation and testing.

Firmware Upgrade

On the bayonet side, the Brightin Star 85/1.8 has a USB port that can be used to update the software (firmware/microprogram) of the lens.

The connection uses a common USB TYPE C port (many mobile phones use this one). There is no cable in the package. The latest firmware for the lens has not been released yet.

The firmware update will most likely improve the compatibility of the lens with new cameras, improve the autofocus performance, and eliminate some other disadvantages.

Important: To update the lens firmware (software):

1. Turn off the camera, detach the lens
2. Connect the lens to the computer using a USB cable. The lens should be detected as a '8518E-DFU' drive.
3. Find the file 'README.txt' on this drive and check the current firmware version (it is possible that the firmware version does not require updating)
4. It should be download the firmware file from the official website and copy it to the '8518E-DFU' drive (file with the '.dat' extension, which should be downloaded from the official Brightin Star website). Wait until the copying is complete
5. After copying is complete, the '8518E-DFU' drive will automatically turn off and reconnect after about 5 seconds, after which you can check the current firmware version
6. Disconnect cable
7. Attach the lens to the camera
8. Turn on the camera

Image quality

Optically this is a very successful lens.

Resolution

• good resolution at an open aperture in the center of the frame, not bad at the periphery of the image. There are no noticeable drops in sharpness at F/1.8 even in the far corners of the frame
• good resolution in the corners of the frame at closed apertures in the region of F/2.8-F/8
• most likely, the lens was designed so that it creates the best sharpness at medium and long focusing distances. At especially close focusing distances (in the MDF area), sharpness deteriorates

Distortion

• distortion moderate, pincushion
• the nature of distortion is unified, easily corrected in the editor
• it is difficult to notice distortion in the pictures

Vignetting

• vignetting is most pronounced on F / 1.8 and focusing on infinity
• vignetting decreases with focus towards MDF
• vignetting almost disappears at values ​​after f / 4

Aberration

• the lens creates a small amount of chromatic aberrations, both longitudinal and transverse
• fringing (coloring of contrasting out-of-focus areas in green and purple) completely disappears at F/2.8

Rest

• the star ray effect is not very pronounced
• the lens is weak in backlight, you can get glare that spoils the picture (this is the only significant difference from a very similar optical design 7Artisans AF 85mm f/1.8)
• the blurry disks closer to the edges turn into “lemons”

 

Sample Photos

Camera used Sony a7 (24 MP Full Frame Exmor HD CMOS sensor). All photos in this review are shown without processing, according to the principles ZEROJPEG.

• Original photos in RAW format (Sony '.ARW' 12-bit compressed, Sony a7) can download / watch this link (Google Drive, 90+ photos).
• Photos in JPEG format ('.JPG' with Sony a7) can download / watch this link (Google Drive, 90+ photos).

My experience

Brightin Star 85/1.8 is almost perfect. Only working in backlight spoils the impression. I bet that the optical properties of Brightin Star 85/1.8, primarily the resolving power, are no worse than those of the original Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm 1: 1.8 S and even more so Sony FE 1.8/85 (SEL85F18).

Now all autofocus 85-ki for mirrorless cameras from Chinese manufacturers deserve due attention. From the simplest and cheapest MEIKE 85mm 1:1.8 Auto Focus Lens FF STM to Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4 AF FF.

All autofocus 85s

Choosing a good 85mm portrait lens is very important for a large number of photographers. I pay a lot of attention to this issue, therefore I have prepared this list of all such autofocus lenses for full frame cameras with F <= 2 and a focal length of about 85 mm.

Nikon (F, Z mounts)

1. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.8 AF Nikkor [December 1987]
2. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.8D AF Nikkor [March 1994, Thailand/Japan]
3. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.4D AF Nikkor [November 1995]
4. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.4GN AF-S Nikkor SWM IF Nano Crystal Coat [August 2010]
5. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.8G AF-S IF SWM Nikkor [January 2012]
6. Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm 1: 1.8 S [July 2019]
7. Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm 1: 1.2 S [January 2023]

Canon (EF, RF mounts)

1. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1:1.2 L USM [September 1989
2. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 USM [July 1992]
3. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1:1.2 L II USM [March 2006]
4. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1:1.4 L IS USM [November 2017]
5. Canon lens RF 85mm F1.2L USM [May 2019]
6. Canon lens RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS (DEFOCUS SMOOTHING) [October 2019]

Sony / Sony Zeiss ZA / Minolta (E / FE, A mount)

1. Sony FE 1.4/85 GM (SEL85F18GM) [February 2016]
2. Sony FE 1.8/85 (SEL85F18) [February 2017]
3. Sony FE 1.4/85 GM II [August 2024]
4. Sony SAL85F14Z / Carl Zeiss Planar 1,4 / 85 ZA T* [June 2006]
5. Minolta AF 85mm 1:1.4 (22) (AF lens 85) / Minolta Maxxum / Dynax / G / G+D / G+RS / G+D+LE and other versions of the same lens, A mount [1987]

Sigma (different mounts)

1. Sigma EX 85mm 1: 1.4 DG HSM (two sub-versions with different body finishes, for Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sony A, February 2010)
2. Sigma 85mm 1: 1.4 DG | A [Art] (for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sigma SA, Sony E, Leica L, September 2016)
3. Sigma 85mm 1: 1.4 DG DN | A [Art] (for Sony E, Leica L, August 2020)

Viltrox (different mounts)

1. Viltrox PFU RBMH 85mm F1.8 STM (Sony E/FE + Fujifilm X, 2018)
2. Viltrox AF 85/1.8 STM ED IF (Nikon Z, Canon RF, December 2020)
3. Viltrox AF 85/1.8 II STM ED IF (Sony E/FE + Fujifilm X, July 2020, light version XNUMX)
4. Viltrox AF 85/1.4 VCM ASPH ED IF Full Frame (85mm 1:1.4) PRO (Sony FE, June 2025)

Pentax (K mount)

1. SMC Pentax-FA* 1:1.4 85mm IF AUTO FOCUS PENTAX 85 [1992]
2. HD PENTAX-D FA * 85mm 1: 1.4 ED SDM AW [May 2020]

Panasonic (L mount)

1. Panasonic LUMIX S 1: 1.8 / 85mm [November 2020]

Zeiss (various mounts)

1. Zeiss Sonnar 1.8 / 85 T * (Batis 1.8 / 85) [April 2015, built-in stabilizer, Sony E/FE mount, 11/8]
2. Carl Zeiss Planar 1,4/85 ZA T* (Sony SAL85F14Z) ​​[June 2006, Sony A/Minolta A mount, 8/7]
3. Carl Zeiss Planar 1,4 / 85 T * [November 2002, Contax N mount, 10/9]

Samyang / Rokinon (different mounts)

1. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 EF (for Canon EF, scheme 9/7, June 2018)
2. Samyang AF 85/1.4F (for Nikon F, scheme 9/7, April 2019)
3. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 FE (for Sony E, scheme 11/8, March 2019)
4. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 RF  (for Canon RF, scheme 11/8, May 2020)
5. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 FE II (for Sony E, scheme 11/8, July 2022)

Yongnuo/YnLens (different mounts)

1. Yongnuo YN85mm F1.8 (YN85mm F1.8) [9/6, Canon EF, February 2017]
2. Yongnuo YN85mm F1.8 (YN85mm F1.8N) [9/6, Nikon F, May 2019]
3. Ynlens YN85mm F1.8S DF DSM (YN85mm F1.8S) [9/8, Sony E, August 2020]
4. Ynlens YN85mm F1.8R DF DSM (YN85mm F1.8R) [9/8, Canon RF, May 2021]
5. Ynlens YN85mm 1:1.8Z DF DSM (YN85mm F1.8Z) [9/8, Nikon Z, March 2022]
6. Yongnuo 85F1.8S DF DSM [9/8, Sony E, August 2022]

Meike (Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E, Nikon Z, FujiFilm X)

1. MEIKE 85mm AF 1: 1.8 [review] (Canon EF / Canon EF-S, April 2018)
2. MEIKE 85mm AF 1: 1.8 [review] (Nikon F, Aug 2020)
3. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.8 Auto Focus Lens FF STM [review] (for Sony FE/E + Nikon Z, FujiFilm X, June 2022 + March 2023) +- copy under the name Vistilen
4. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.8 AF STM PRO (for Sony FE/E + Nikon Z, Leica L + FujiFilm X, fall 2024, spring 2025) +- copy under the name Vistilen
5. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.4 Auto Focus Lens FF STM (for Sony FE/E, Nikon Z + Leica L, September 2023, July 2024) +- copy under the name Vistilen

Tamron (different mounts)

1. Tamron SP 85mm F/1.8 Di VC USD Model F016 (for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A [without VC function], March 2016)

Tokina (Sony E / FE mount)

1. Tokina atx-m 85mm F1.8 FE (for Sony E, most likely a complete analog Viltrox PFU RBMH 85mm F1.8 STM, January 2020)

AstrHori (Sony E/FE mount)

1. AstrHori AF 85mm 1:1.8 [December 2022]

7Artisans (different bayonets)

1. 7Artisans 85mm F/1.8 AF STM [FE, Z, L, July 2024]

SIRUI (different bayonets):

1. Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4 AF FF [Sony E, Nikon Z, FujiFilm X, October 2024]

Brightin star

1. Brightin Star AF 85mm 1:1.8 BLK [Sony E, Nikon Z, May 2025]

Rollei

1. Rollei VAF 85mm F1.8 STM [Sony E, Nikon Z, June 2025]

Separately, you can still highlight non-classic 85s:

1. macro lens Canon Lens RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM [2020, RF]
2. longer LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-SL 1: 2/90 ASPH. (2018, Leica l)
3. less aperture Sony 85 / 2.8 SAM (SAL85f28) [2010, A]
4. shorter SMC PENTAX FA 1:1.8 77mm Limited (1997, K)
5. shorter HD Pentax-FA 1: 1.8 77mm Limited (2021, K)
6. shorter Samyang AF 75 / 1.8 FE (2020, E) + Samyang AF 75/1.8X (2023, X)
7. shorter TTArtisan AF 75/2 ED (2024, E, Z, L)
8. cropped Samsung Lens 1:1.4 85mm ED SSA i-Function [2011, NX]
9. cropped and longer FUJIFILM FUJINON LENS SUPER EBC XF 90mm 1: 2 R LM WR [2015, X]
10. cropped and shorter Viltrox AF 75/1.2 XF STM ED IF [2022, X, E, Z]
11. cropped and shorter Sirui 75/1.2 [2024, X, E, Z]
12. cropped, less aperture, macro lens Nikon DX AF-S Micro Nikkor 85mm 1: 3.5G ED VR SWM IF Micro 1: 1 [2009, F]
13. many 90/2.8 class macro lenses

Video review

Price

The price of Brightin Star 85/1.8 is about 300 dollars, which is a very attractive offer. View prices for Brightin Star 85/1.8 on Aliexpress can be found at this link.

Results

Brightin Star 85/1.8 is a lens with a very good price/quality ratio. It is great for portrait photography and can serve as a good alternative to other similar lenses. One of the best budget portrait lenses for mirrorless bayonets Sony E / FE и Nikon Z.

10 main advantages:

1. low cost (about 300 dollars)
2. excellent build quality, metal body, rubber bayonet seal
3. bayonet hood included
4. stepping motor focusing, quite fast and quiet, internal focusing, fixed focus ring during autofocus
5. AF/MF switch
6. Aperture control ring, 11 aperture blades
7. USB port for firmware upgrade
8. programmable FN button (its functions depend on the camera used)
9. complex optical design
10. good sharpness in the center of the frame already at F/1.8 (really not causing any questions), pleasant bokeh, slight drop in sharpness in the corners and edges of the frame

10 main disadvantages:

1. heavy weight (as much as 500 grams)
2. no built-in image stabilizer (for example, it has Batis 85 / 1.8)
3. there are no new firmware for the lens yet
4. there is no profile for this lens in popular RAW converters yet
5. the lens is only available for Sony E/FE and Nikon Z
6. poor compatibility with older cameras that only have contrast focusing
7. strong 'Focus Breathing' effect (changes in viewing angle during focusing)
8. the lens housing is not fully protected (good protection is available, for example, Batis 85 / 1.8)
9. problems when working with backlights and strong side light
10. small amount of chromatic aberration

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.