Brightin Star 28mm f/2.8 Pancake

The Brightin Star 28mm f/2.8 Pancake is a manual-focus wide angle for Leica M full-frame cameras. It arrived in 2026 and remains in production. Its role is everyday shooting: streets, travel, architecture and interiors, where a light lens keeps the carried kit small.

The main trade-offs are the fixed 28mm framing and manual-only focus. In exchange, the lens adds almost nothing to the camera's size or weight, which is the point of a pancake. It suits photographers who value a tiny kit and accept slower, more deliberate handling.

The lens weighs 4.4 oz (125 g) and measures only 0.39 in (9.9 mm) long, so it barely protrudes from the body. Its body is 2.02 in (51.4 mm) across. A screw-in filter attaches directly to the 25.5mm thread at the front, so any polariser or ND filter of that size fits without adapters.

At 28mm on full frame, this lens frames street scenes, buildings and modest rooms without the strong stretch of a wider focal length. It suits reportage-style pictures where the setting matters as much as the subject. The fixed focal length means you adjust composition by moving closer or stepping back, which keeps the kit simple.

The f/2.8 maximum aperture is moderate rather than fast. Daylight and bright interiors are comfortable, while dim evening streets may need a raised ISO. At 28mm, depth of field runs deep, so foreground and background often both stay sharp. That helps documentary scenes, though it limits the background blur that separates a subject.

Focus is set by hand on the manual ring; there is no autofocus. The close focus of 2.3 ft (70 cm) keeps small objects small in the frame. This makes it a lens for scenes and spaces rather than detail studies. Rooms, groups and street corners sit comfortably at that distance.

Ten aperture blades help the opening stay round when stopped down, which keeps out-of-focus highlights smooth in scenes with evening lamps or distant windows.

The lens has no image stabilization, so handheld work in low light rests on shutter speed, ISO and a steady hold. The short 28mm focal length makes small camera movements less visible than on a long lens, but the lens gives no help. A small tripod or a resting surface covers night scenes when light falls further.

There is no weather sealing, so cover the lens in rain or heavy dust. The front also lacks a fluorine coating, so this lens offers no help from that type of finish.

The design uses six elements in five groups, a simple layout that suits a pancake of this size. One element is made of low-dispersion glass. This glass helps reduce chromatic aberration, where different colours focus at different points. Coloured fringes can then appear along high-contrast edges, such as branches against a bright sky.