Yongnuo YN 35MM/F2.0(F mount) unboxing and preview

The prologue

Yongnuo has been traditionally known for its decent value third party flash units for Canon and Nikon systems. In the last few years,they have started branching out into lenses,firstly with a set of nifty fifties for the aforementioned systems. Last year they introduced their first 35MM/F2.0 lens for the EOS mount and just last month they introduced the equivalent for the Nikon F mount. Having been semi-following this for a while,when I was recently browsing for lenses on Ebay I noticed a seller had started to stock the Nikon mount YN 35MM/F2.0 in the UK so weighing up the options I made an impulse buy within minutes!! :p

The competitors

Well interestingly,Nikon do a cheaper 35MM lens in the case of the 35MMF/1.8 AFS. Sadly this is a APS-C lens and even though it has a good reputation for sharpness vignettes quite a bit on a full frame body like my D600! Currently around £130 to £140 brand new!

http://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96R...1.8G_front.png

The other competitor is the venerable Nikon 35MM/F2.0 AF-D which in its current form has existed since 1995 and even earlier in its non-D form but is a full frame lens. It is an old-skool screw type lens made for film SLRs.

http://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96R...f-2D_front.png

Can be had for around £140 to £150 in decent condition or a bit less well used but has a hit and miss reputation.

Nikon does do one other full frame 35MM lens,a full frame 35MM/F1.8 which is over £400!!

http://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96R...1-8G_front.png

However,the little Yongnuo,not only is full frame but also as an in-built lens motor for the princely sum of £76. Might explain my impulse purchase - that is not much money for a new lens!!

:)

The unboxing

Luckily the seller was actually located in the UK it appears so I got the lens in a few days in a non-descript package.

https://imageshack.com/i/plyR0qFfjhttps://imageshack.com/i/plmFaQm9j
https://imageshack.com/i/pnivPVhwjhttps://imageshack.com/i/pmsq3KNqj
https://imageshack.com/i/pmOZYWdOj

Its quite a small sturdy box - you don't get much apart from the caps,and some bumpf written in Chinese. There is also a warning to take off the plastic covering the elements - it seems something Yongnuo do and I am yet to hear of any other company shipping lenses with plastic stuck on lenses.

Pictures of the lens(and a marauding Moose it appears!)

It seems the Moose kind of got confused and try to tussle with the lens for supremacy of the windowsill but the lens won out(poor Moose).

https://imageshack.com/i/pl8uSJF6j

With the Moose now sulking in the background,I could get some better pictures of the lens! :p
https://imageshack.com/i/pmSTfxctjhttps://imageshack.com/i/poBXPmckj
https://imageshack.com/i/pmU56HrQjhttps://imageshack.com/i/pnkiEixSj
https://imageshack.com/i/po7GWgcoj
https://imageshack.com/i/plVCSPEnjhttps://imageshack.com/i/pmsTNF72jhttps://imageshack.com/i/pog0wmDUj

The coating on the lens is noticeably lighter than some of my older Nikon lenses.

The mechanics and operation

The lens is very light. The plastics quality is fairly reasonable considering the price and probably close to the cheaper Nikon lenses. The AF motor is not silent like more expensive lenses costing a few hundred quid but is quieter than the screw lenses I currently use. Focus is generally reasonably quick but I did see some slight hunting/chattering when I tried focussing the lens on my computer screen with the room lights switched off,but,it did focus.

The manual focus ring is surprising smooth,but interestingly enough attaching the lens to the D600 was not as smooth as any of the Nikon and Sigma lenses I have used(felt slightly rough).

Initial sample pictures

The weather was pretty meh today,so I did not have a chance to take any decent pictures with the lens. However,I have done a few quick preview images at various apertures.

F2.0

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/11...924/LHxkwr.jpg

F2.8

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/11...923/yLzDPf.jpg

F3.5

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/11...923/POQm9V.jpg

F4.0

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/11...923/LTSOU9.jpg

F4.5

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/11...922/56aAjf.jpg

F5.6

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/11...922/56aAjf.jpg

F8.0

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/11...921/bQHBDz.jpg

The camera I used was my D600 set on aperture priority and high quality jpegs.

Once the weather improves I will try and get some pictures.

meh weather is the perfect way to test a lens!