Brightin Star 50mm F/2 Tri-Sight Lets You Customize Your Bokeh

Brightin Star has officially announced the 50mm F/2 Tri-Sight, a new full-frame prime lens that lets photographers customize the way out-of-focus areas are rendered. The lens was first revealed at CP+ and is now available for Sony E, Leica L, Canon RF, and Nikon Z mounts.

The main feature is a three-mode switch that changes the lens’s bokeh characteristics by moving a floating lens group inside the optical design. Users can choose between Smooth, Prime, and Foam rendering modes.

Three Ways to Render Bokeh

The Smooth mode produces softer highlights and a gentler overall appearance. Brightin Star achieves this by intentionally undercorrecting spherical aberrations, resulting in blurrier out-of-focus areas.

Prime provides the sharper, more conventional rendering expected from a 50mm F/2 lens.

Foam takes the opposite approach, overcorrecting spherical aberrations to produce a dreamier look with more clearly defined circular points of light.

The lens also allows users to customize the shape of the bokeh using creative inserts positioned at the rear of the lens. Brightin Star includes triangle, star, four-leaf clover, and butterfly inserts with the lens.

A locking ring keeps the inserts securely in place, preventing them from falling out or potentially coming into contact with the camera’s image sensor.

Manual Focus and Video Features

The 50mm F/2 Tri-Sight uses a seven-element, six-group optical design. The optical characteristics change depending on the position of the three-mode switch, with the lens adjusting its rendering of spherical aberration and astigmatism between the different modes.

Brightin Star says the transition between soft-focus, sharp, and dreamlike rendering can be useful for vlogs, mood films, rainy-night scenes, and other atmospheric transitions.

The lens is manual focus only and features a de-clicked aperture ring for video work. A removable lever is also included for the three-mode switch, allowing users to make more precise adjustments.

Metal Construction and Protective Filter

The lens uses an all-alloy construction for added durability. The Nikon Z version measures 74mm in length and weighs approximately 454g.

A built-in retractable lens hood is included.

Brightin Star also offers an optional custom protective filter designed specifically for the Tri-Sight. It uses precision-ground ultra-thin optical glass and a frame designed around the lens’s optical system.

The recessed filter sits closer to the front element and has an outer rim thickness of just 0.7mm. Brightin Star says this design protects the extending lens mechanism while minimizing glare and internal reflections.

Pricing and Availability

The Brightin Star 50mm F/2 Tri-Sight is now available from the Brightin Star online store and B&H Photo for $399.99.

A launch discount brings the price down to $349.99. The lens and custom protective filter are available together for $434.99.