I’ve been familian with the brand Yongnuo for a long time, as I first purchased one of their flash triggers back in 2015. I was impressed by how well those triggers worked and by their value, and still have some today that work just fine. I’ve been peripherally aware that they did make lenses, though the earliest lens I remember was essentially a clone of Canon’s EF 50mm F1.8 “nifty fifty”. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of essentially just reverse engineering someone else’s technology, so I didn’t pay it (or subsequent lenses) much attention. But a lot can happen in ten years, and when Yongnuo reached out to me with the idea of reviewing their YN 11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL, I did a little research and discovered that 1) this was an original design and 2) there was some unique innovation in that design. I said “yes”, and after spending some time with this roughly $300 USD little wide angle prime, there are a lot of things I’m very positive here. You can find out my full thoughts by watching the video review below or by reading my text review here.

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Thanks to Yongnuo for sending me a review sample of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the APS-C mode (26MP) of my Sony a7RV camera.

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This is an APS-C design that I’ve tested in Sony E-mount. At the moment, that is the only mount available, though I did note on Yongnuo’s site that both Fuji X-mount and Nikon Z-mount versions are on the way. An 11mm lens with Sony’s 1.5x APS-C crop has a full frame equivalency of 16.5mm – a nicely wide angle of view that is useful for many, many things.

The YN 11mm is a very feature rich lens, as we’ll see, but one of those innovations requires purchasing an inexpensive (under $25) remote control unit that leverages a 2.4gz wireless module built into the lens. Far from just being a basic remote control unit, this remote control allows you to remotely control focus, do aperture racking, set up A-B focus pulls, and more basic functions like take photos, start video, and do whatever you have the function button programmed to do. It’s a very clever little device particularly for video functions as you can do some of these key movements without touching the lens and introducing vibration.

It appears like this is the first of a new series of lenses from Yongnuo that they call the “Commander Series”, and will be followed by popular trio of 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm F1.4 lenses.

If you don’t speak Yongnuo, let me break down what those letters mean in the 11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL lens designation. In many ways this follows the Fuji naming convention which puts a list of features right in the name.

• S = Sony, or Sony E-mount
• DA = APS-C
• DSM = Digital Stepping Motor
• WL = Wireless control

The YN 11mm has a lot going for it, including a great focal length, great functionality, and even good close focus abilities…and that wide maximum aperture will allow you to blur a background fairly well.

There are also a few weaknesses along with many strengths, and we will break down it all in our review.

Photos of the Yongnuo 11mm F1.8S

Photos Taken with the Yongnuo 11mm F1.8S

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the Yongnuo 11mm F1.8 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Sony a7RV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

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Purchase the Sony a6600 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase the Sony a6400 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

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