where there’s smoke there’s fire

This review of the Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 lens for F-mount ($72.50) and comparison with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G lens ($216.95) is written by www.shuttersinthenight.com:

Yongnuo, initially famous for their incredibly affordable flashes and off-camera triggers, caused quite a stir when it moved into lenses, for two reasons: (1) They came out at unheard-of price points, some below $100, and (2) they were, at least externally, blatant copies of existing Nikon and Canon designs.

Then again, #2 shouldn’t have been a huge surprise considering much of Yongnuo’s lighting equipment takes (ok, basically steals) exterior design from Canon and Nikon offerings.

Sketchy design aside, given how affordable Yongnuo’s lenses are, and that they’re mainly large-aperture primes, I thought it’d be valuable to find out how good they really are. If the image quality is comparable with pricier Nikon, Canon, Sigma, or Tamron lenses, nighttime photographers on a budget should be extremely interested: that means Yongnuo has made large-aperture primes—which are extremely effective for low-light photography—accessible to a much larger audience than before, including beginners and students.

To get a feel for Yongnuo’s lens savvy, I pitted the Yongnuo YN50mm F1.8, currently selling for $68.99, against the proven Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G, which sells for $219.95. Identical specs, but the Yongnuo is 1/3 the price, making it a trivial addition to your shopping cart (but one that’ll make a huge difference in low-light!) after spending several hundred on a Nikon DSLR and 18-55mm kit lens. But how much of a real-world image quality difference is there between the two? To find out, I shot a few nighttime comparison scenes:

(But before that, exactly how much of an external copy is the Yongnuo? You can actually fit the Nikon lens hood for Nikon’s 50mm on it, and it fits perfectly, snugly snapping on and off:)

Nikon hood on Yongnuo lens. The exterior plastics feel very similar too.

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