A Slippery Test – BS 10mm f5.6 Fisheye, The Oly E-PL9, a Bunker, and a Risky Climb!

Time flies when you’re having fun! Today, let’s revisit a previous article where I tested the Olympus E-PL9 with the Brightin Star 10mm f/5.6 fisheye.

The Olympus E-PL9 is a compact 4K camera with only 3-axis stabilization instead of 5, and you can tell the difference in the footage. But pair it with an ultra-wide-angle lens for action-style shots, and that slight natural movement actually adds to the dynamic feel. Perfect stabilization isn’t always necessary—sometimes, a little raw energy is exactly what you want.

The Lens: Small but Sturdy

Meet the Brightin Star 10mm f/5.6, a fixed-aperture fisheye pancake lens also sold under names like Pergear 10mm f/5.6. While looking up its specs, I also came across the Kamlan brand—are they the actual manufacturer? No idea. What I do know is that this little thing is solidly built. Small, but heavy enough to feel like quality.

I won’t do a full review here (you’ll find links below, including a detailed one from Sony Alpha Blog), but here are the basics: The lens is available for Full Frame, APS-C, and Micro 4/3 mounts.

Focus & Handling

I read in a review that if you set the focus scale to 1m, everything should be sharp from close-up to infinity. Well… close-up, yes. But for proper sharpness at a distance, I’d recommend testing on a building or trees using magnification or focus peaking. You’ll probably need to adjust slightly beyond 1m, which may vary depending on the lens or mount – For those interested, here are the hyperfocal settings for the three image formats calculated by chatgpt:

This pancake lens is seriously compact: 54mm in diameter, 37mm tall, and 120g. Despite its small size, it feels sturdy without being too heavy. Minimum focus distance? Around 20 cm. Set it to hyperfocal, and you can pretty much forget about focusing—just shoot. No adjustments needed. Put your camera on Auto ISO + P or A mode, and you’re good to go.

Being a 10mm fisheye makes it a much more versatile lens than a 7.5mm or even an 8mm fisheye, especially since the fisheye characteristics are much more subtle when the lens is held horizontally. This is particularly noticeable on Micro 4/3, as 10mm corresponds to a 20mm full-frame equivalent—just slightly wider than the classic 21mm wide-angle that was widely used in the good old days. A slight lens correction might be needed, though (in RawTherapee -> Distortion Correction)

With a fixed f/5.6, you won’t be too limited in most situations. Combined with its wide field of view and hyperfocal capability, this makes for a great action lens for photo and video, but it’s also an excellent street photography lens—discreet, compact, and perfect for shooting from the hip (or any other sneaky angle).

In fact, while writing this, I just realized that mounted on my Lumix G81, it might also be possible to film action while simply hanging from my neck with a strap while riding my bike. But those acrobatic stunts might be a topic for another article! 🙂

Extras & Price

Price? You can find the Brightin Star 10mm f/5.6 in black or silver for around €60 – €70, available at some camera stores and online (Amazon, AliExpress, etc.). A quick Google search should help you find the safest, best, and cheapest option in your region.

The company’s recommendation is to use the Canon EF 8-15mm lens profile in Photoshop for lens correction, I have tested that in RT myself and it doesn’t work (Adobe Camera Raw Lens Profiles) – Maybe in Adobe it will.

Conclusion

I’ve talked about this before—lens reviews are usually all about pixel sharpness, flare, and chromatic aberration, with graphs, tables, and 500% zoomed-in details. Well, if you’re comparing two expensive lenses, go ahead—that makes sense. But when it comes to manual and especially dirt-cheap lenses, I think that’s a bit over the top. Generally, such a cheap lens won’t be able to compete with one that costs 10 times more anyway.

So, I find it fairer to give a reasonably objective visual judgment. By that, I mean: when you look at a photo on your computer screen without zooming in, is it generally sharp—in the center and towards the edges? In this case, my answer is yes—maybe slightly less at the edges, but still okay. This is on my Micro 4/3 setup, though—results may vary on other formats.

It’s a very usable lens, but I think it really shines in situations where staying low-key is important, like street photography. It also works great as an action lens and can even serve as a budget fisheye or an ultra-wide in a pinch since it’s so small and easy to carry around.

My conclusion? A fantastic little lens for a very affordable price.

I shot the test video in mid-February during a trip to a bunker I had visited before. This time, I wanted to see if the E-PL9, lens, and Ulanzi M Rig combo could work as a lightweight ‘action cam’ setup while walking and tackling obstacles. The test involved crossing a dry stream, climbing a steep slope, and navigating moss-covered concrete stairs—slippery as hell! It was freezing, which made my movements stiff, but mostly, I was just trying not to take a tumble. 😆

Links :

• Brightin Star Factory site : https://brightinstar.com/products/10mm-f5-6-fisheye-manual-focus-prime-lens?srsltid=AfmBOopeuWIAt8rm_eNd-bkdb9dHofkc_NyqZ0yNFpQ6wjdcLxm2yTC3

• Photos on DPReview forum : https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4623167

• Review on MU-43 : https://www.mu-43.com/threads/brightin-star-10mm-f5-6-m4-3-lens.112827/

• Sony Alpha Blog – Full Review : https://sonyalpha.blog/2022/09/13/brightin-star-10mm-f5-6/

This article was written by Marc R.
While I primarily speak Dutch and have some knowledge of English and a little French, ChatGPT helps ensure my writing is grammatically correct. I often mix Dutch and English in my drafts, and ChatGPT steps in to translate and correct.