I’m back with another Yongnuo (YN) review. I was interested in covering their most recent lens on the strength of what I’ve seen from the 11mm F1.8 WL Pro I’ reviewed on Sony and the 50mm F1.8 DSM Pro that I reviewed on Fuji. 33mm is a very important focal length on APS-C, giving you roughly 50mm (49.5mm) full frame equivalent angle of view once you add in the 1.5x APS-C crop. Add a fast maximum aperture of F1.4, a host of features, and a good optical performance, and you’ve got an interesting lens. The Yonguo 33mm F1.4S DA SAM WL Pro can be had for well under $300, and it arguably adds a lot more features and versatility than any other lens that it competes with. Should this be your new “normal lens” for your Sony E (tested here), Nikon Z, or Fuji X-mount camera? You can find out my full thoughts by watching the video review below, reading the text review, or enjoying the photos in the galleries below.
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 a7RVcamera.
As noted, this is a fast “normal” lens. Normal lenses are so called because they cover an angle of view similar to what your eye sees, thus the kinds of images you can get look “normal” or easily relatable, which is why the 50mm focal length is so popular.
The YN 33mm (as we’ll call it for brevity) 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.
The 11mm F1.8 was the first of a new series of lenses from Yongnuo that they call the “Commander Series”, and this 33mm will be joined by a 23mm and 56mm F1.4 lens.
If you don’t speak Yongnuo, let me break down what those letters mean in the 33mm F1.4S DA DSM WL Pro 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
Pro = upscale build, additional features
The YN 33mm has a lot going for it, including a great focal length, great functionality, and fairly strong image quality.
There are also a few weaknesses along with many strengths, which you can discover in the reviews…or just enjoy the photos.
Keywords: Yongnuo, YN, 33mm, F1.4, Yongnuo 33mm F1.4, DSM, WL, F1.4, Pro, APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Wireless, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I’m back with another Yongnuo (YN) review. I was interested in covering their most recent lens on the strength of what I’ve seen from the 11mm F1.8 WL Pro I’ reviewed on Sony and the 50mm F1.8 DSM Pro that I reviewed on Fuji. 33mm is a very important focal length on APS-C, giving you roughly 50mm (49.5mm) full frame equivalent angle of view once you add in the 1.5x APS-C crop. Add a fast maximum aperture of F1.4, a host of features, and a good optical performance, and you’ve got an interesting lens. The Yonguo 33mm F1.4S DA SAM WL Pro can be had for well under $300, and it arguably adds a lot more features and versatility than any other lens that it competes with. Should this be your new “normal lens” for your Sony E (tested here), Nikon Z, or Fuji X-mount camera? You can find out my full thoughts by watching the video review below…or reading on.
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 a7RVcamera.
As noted, this is a fast “normal” lens. Normal lenses are so called because they cover an angle of view similar to what your eye sees, thus the kinds of images you can get look “normal” or easily relatable, which is why the 50mm focal length is so popular.
The YN 33mm (as we’ll call it for brevity) 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.
The 11mm F1.8 was the first of a new series of lenses from Yongnuo that they call the “Commander Series”, and this 33mm will be joined by a 23mm and 56mm F1.4 lens.
If you don’t speak Yongnuo, let me break down what those letters mean in the 33mm F1.4S DA DSM WL Pro 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
Pro = upscale build, additional features
The YN 33mm has a lot going for it, including a great focal length, great functionality, and fairly strong image quality.
There are also a few weaknesses along with many strengths, and we will break down it all in our review.
Build and Handling
The 33mm focal length has been a fairly popular one over the past few years, with a variety of releases from first party brands (Fuji) and third party brands like Viltrox, Tokina, and Meike. The YN 33mm shows well in this class, however, with the lowest price and more features. This does come at the cost of some weight, however, as the Yongnuo is the heaviest lens at 370g (13oz), though the Fuji lens is a close second at 360g. The Viltrox and Tokina lenses seem to essentially be twins, and have identical dimensions and weight (270g).
The extra weight is due to have a little extra girth and length. The YN 33 is 69mm in diameter (2.7″) x 87mm (3.4″) in length, which is over 13mm longer than the Fuji 33mm lens. The front filter threads are a common 58mm size.
You’ll note the “Wi-Fi” radio signal logo next to the lens designation. Yongnuo continues to be the only company I know of utilizing this, though I have seen Bluetooth in a few Viltrox lenses.
That extra length is at least well used. The other three lenses I’ve been mentioning have an aperture ring (as does this lens), but the Yongnuo adds several other features, including the ability declick the aperture, a custom/function button, and a two mode-custom switch that allows you tweak the behavior of the ring.
As noted, this is a very feature rich little lens. We have a function/focus hold button on the left side of the barrel. That function can be assigned from within the camera.
There’s also a custom switch that allows for a few different functions. In one mode, it serves a an AF | MF switch, with mode I being AF while mode II will switch to MF.
The manual focus ring has a nice feel to it overall, though the weight is on the lighter side. There is no obvious stepping, however, so focus moves fairly smoothly as I use the MF ring. You can program the custom switch to this function by turning the camera off, setting the position to II, and then holding the custom button down. Then power the camera back on, and you will feel a click in the lens.
To use the optional remote control, turn the camera off, set the switch position to I, and then hold down the function button while turning on the camera. Now position “I” will mean that wi-fi is turned on for remote communication while position “II” will mean that it is turned off. I would recommend keeping it in the off position when it is not in use. I haven’t noticed a battery drain issue, but you can essentially assure that this won’t be an issue by turning it off.
The YN 33mm also has a robust approach to aperture control. It has an aperture control ring with one third stop detents between F1.4 and F16 along with an automatic position that can be accessed past F16 (there is a firmer detent there to keep from accidental switches between the two). The feel of the clicks is good, with clear delineation of each position but without being rough.
There is also a declick option with a switch on the right side of the barrel. Click that switch and you can smoothly rack through the aperture, which is particularly useful for video work.
The aperture iris itself has 9 rounded blades to help ensure circular specular highlights when stopped down.
The lens barrel is made of metal, and it has a nice, anodized black satin finish. The lens design is very clean and modern.
A petal-shaped lens hood is included. While it isn’t anything particularly special, it is sturdier than some and bayonets into place with a reasonably precise feel.
There is a USB-C port for firmware updates covered by a small rubber gasket. Be careful when pulling it out, as it is small and wouldn’t be hard to lose. It’s also nearly impossible to pry out unless you have a small prying tool, like a very small flat screwdriver.
The USB-C port will allow for quick and easy firmware updates, which is a smart move by Yongnuo considering that they are a third party lens maker, so they may have to rely on firmware updates to maintain compatibility with cameras in the future. The lens does include a USB-C cable in the box in case you don’t have one.
There is a metal lens mount with a weather sealing gasket attached. Yongnuo also claims a fluorine coating on the front element to resist fingerprints and moisture.
A number of these lenses all share a rather poor minimum focus distance, with only the Fuji 33mm allowing for a closer 30mm distance. The Tokina and Viltrox are both 40cm, with the Yongnuo right under that. That will give maximum magnification figure of right over 0.10x, which is not very good.
The remote control has a small LCD screen and is primarily controlled through the main knob that can be clicked to switch through various functions and rotated to control those functions. There are two buttons for programming A and B focus pulls (just set the focus position, hold down the corresponding button for one second, and either “A” or B” where appropriate will light up. There’s a power switch on the side and also a custom button on the side that corresponds to the custom button on the lens. Clicking it will enable whatever function is programmed to that button on the lens.
Using the remote isn’t always intuitive, but if you’ll spend a few minutes with the included user manual it becomes easy enough to use. Range is up to 30 meters, which definitely gives you some flexibility for controlling off camera.
The fact that the Yongnuo is both the cheapest ($268 USD) and most feature rich lens in the bunch is pretty impressive, though it is also the biggest and heaviest. This is all relative, however, as the lens isn’t abnormally large or anything.
Autofocus and Video
Yongnuo has equipped the 33mm F1.4 with what they call a “digital stepping motor” (DSM). I’m not entirely sure how a digital stepping motor varies from a typical stepping motor, so I suspect this is mostly their own marketing language. My copy of the lens (prerelease) did need a firmware update to ensure full compatibility, but after the firmware update has functioned well. Focus speed is pretty good, and I’ve gotten good accuracy even in narrow depth of field situations.
There is almost no noise to be heard even if I put my ear next to the lens barrel. There is the slightest buzz from the motor, but so quiet as to be nearly undetectable. Focus speed is good, too, with near instant transitions from one focus point to another either indoors or out. This is one of the speedier STM motors that I’ve tested, which is great for a third party lens from a smaller brand.
I found that real world precision was good, whether I was shooting a human subject:
…or with a simple subject like these lingering red leaves late in November.
It’s worth noting with the shot above that I was testing the Megadap ETZ21 Pro adapter with my Nikon Z8 and using the Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM (one of my favorite lenses) on it. I was a little frustrated as the Megadap combo was being reluctant to focus on the foreground subject and kept sticking on the background even though, for the most part, autofocus was quite good. I also had the YN 33mm mounted on my a7RV, and so I took the same shot (the one above) right after that, and was amazed at how effortlessly the YN 33mm grabbed the right subject and focus properly on it.
I did a series of available light portraits, and was really pleased by how effectively the lens focused. I used a lot of foreground branches for natural frames, but autofocus was consistently good.
If we zoom into that last photo, for example, we can see that focus is accurate and that the lens produces very usable sharpness even at F1.4:
As with most third party lenses, if your goal is tracking fast action, you might want to go with a Sony lens (not that there are many in this focal range), but for most people in most situations, autofocus for stills was pretty great.
Video AF
On the video front I found mostly good results. Focus pulls were smooth with minimal steps. Focus breathing is definitely present, but it isn’t egregious.
The YN 33mm did mostly fine with my “hand test” as well, where I alternately block the view to my face with my hand and then remove it. Focus transitioned nicely from my hand to my face, though there was a time or two when it didn’t move from my face to my hand.
Video footage generally looked good, though, and having fairly confident focus helps to keep details crisp when operating at large apertures. Here’s a freeze frame from one of my clips:
I also had fairly good results with video clips where I slowly moved the camera to force change from one subject to another at varying depths of field. Focus transitions were fairly well damped, and overall autofocus feels pretty capable.
Yongnuo 33mm F1.4 Image Quality Breakdown
The YN 33mm has an optical design of 11 elements in 9 groups. The majority of these are exotic elements, including high refractive elements and ultra low dispersion elements. A lot of fancy glass for an inexpensive lens!
The MTF chart shows a very consistent performance with a nearly flat performance across the frame. The F8 graph levels out some of the dips and rises, but only offers a few percentage points of improved performance. That speaks to a pretty great wide open performance.
The biggest practical negative I saw was some fringing in certain situations, but overall I was pretty impressed with the general optical performance.
Now, interestingly, in this particular image I felt like fringing was pretty well controlled, with minimal amounts of green fringing on a few of the textures. In other images, however, I saw much more pronounced LoCA, or Longitudinal Chromatic Aberrations that come before and after the plane of focus. Here, for example, you can see fringing in the lettering on the lens, on edges of the SLR, and then green fringing around the specular highlights.
That fringing was evident on my chart as well, so just be aware that this is probably the most significant optical issue with the YN 33mm.
Lateral chromatic aberrations (LaCA) were not at all an issue, with nice and clean transitions from black to white near the edges of the frame unmarred by fringing.
For those hoping to get some kind of stealth full frame lens, prepare to be disappointed. You can see that a lot of the full frame image circle is mechanically obscured by the lens.
This is an APS-C lens, period. It will still work fine in APS-C mode on Sony cameras for either stills or video, however. As is almost always the case, you would be better served by buying a full frame lens if you want full frame coverage.
There’s a bit more barrel distortion than I expected in a normal lens along with some vignette.
I used a +9 to correct the barrel distortion. It was fairly linear in correction, so even with a manual correction I could get a good result. The vignette is moderate, requiring a +57 to correct, or in the two stop range. Both of these are well within the range of easily correctable.
So how about resolution and contrast? My tests have been done on a 26MP APS-C mode of my Sony a7RV. Here’s the test chart:
Here are F1.4 crops at roughly 200% from across the frame (center, mid-frame, and lower right corner).
On a flat chart like this, the sharpness results are good but not exceptionally good at F1.4. I’m actually more impressed with real world results, which is good news for the real people who shoot real subjects.
In this real world shot, there is a tangle of dead branches that has coverage near the edge of the frame as well, and we can see that while contrast isn’t top notch, there is plenty of detail across the frame.
But field curvature shouldn’t be as much of an issue when shooting at infinity, and in real world results I noticed the corners being softer (as noted).
For portrait work I felt that there was plenty of sharpness. Even a fairly deep crop at F1.4 shows nice detail.
There’s a mild contrast boost at F1.8 that grows a bit further by F2:
There’s a more obvious bump from F2 to F2.8. where contrast and detail are obviously improved.
If we swap back to a real world subject, we can see at least part of the reason. The aberrations that produce fringing (and thus reduce contrast) are vastly reduced, allowing the native sharpness of the lens to shine a little more obviously.
There is a bit more to be gained at F4, and then another jump at F5.6. Now even the corners are looking pretty crisp.
Real world landscape shots from F4 to F8 will look nice, with good detail across the frame.
Sharpness peaks around F5.6, with F8 being very close to the same. Diffraction will start to soften the image after that, with a mild amount at F11 but a more obvious amount by F16:
Often the tradeoff for a bit of uncorrected fringing is softer bokeh. I wouldn’t consider the bokeh quality to be absolutely top shelf, but it is pretty nice overall.
Here’s another shot with a nice, soft rendering.
Here’s a shot where the subject is further, so nothing is completely blurred out, but it shows how you can still create some subject isolation at this distance.
Flare resistance is mostly good. I had good results where the sun was very brightly right out of frame.
You can see some ghosting in this landscape shot, as the sun hit the elements at obviously a more difficult angle for them.
My review period landed in a season in November when the sun was rather shy. A lot of grey days, so I didn’t get a lot of bright sun to contend with. I did take a quick peek at Christopher Frost’s review, however, and it seems like he had a fairly decent flare outcome, so I feel like what I did see was representative of the overall performance.
Yongnuo’s optical glass is fairly good but not top notch. Colors were mostly good, however, though not quite as special as what you’ll get from higher end lenses.
But it’s important to remember that this is a lens that costs under $270. I would say that the overall rendering is pretty great for the money. When compared to other lenses in this price class I think the optics are competitive and the feature set is clearly much more robust than what competing lenses offer. If you’d like to see more image samples, check out the image gallery here.
Conclusion
The Yongnuo 33mm F1.4S DA DSM WL Pro is a pretty attractive option if you’re looking for a 50mm equivalent lens on your APS-C camera. It is a feature rich, focuses well, has weather sealing, and delivers a pretty strong optical performance, too.
It certainly bests the competition that I’ve seen from Viltrox and Tokina, and prices in much lower than any competing first party lens that I can think of.
Although I was shooting in a difficult season of the year (in between autumn and winter), I felt like I didn’t have a hard time getting images that I liked. I’m pretty amazed by how good budget lenses are these days. In 2016 I reviewed a Samyang 21mm F1.4 fully manual lens that had zero features, and that lens cost $450 at the time. Flash forward eight years and all the inflation that we’ve seen, and you’re still getting a lens with autofocus, weather sealing, a declickable aperture, a custom button, the ability to wirelessly control the lens…and paying nearly $200 less. That’s really pretty astounding when you stop and think about it. That makes the Yongnuo YN 33mm F1.4 well worth consideration.
Pros:
Nice looking lens with nice build
USB-C port for firmware updates
Good manual focus ring and experience
Very feature rich
Weather sealed
Declickable aperture
Wireless remote control
Custom button
Autofocus motor is quiet and fast
Good sharpness wide open
Excellent sharpness stopped down
Fairly good bokeh
Great price to performance ratio
Cons:
Some fringing issues
Gasket for USB-C is hard to remove and easy to lose
Keywords: Yongnuo, YN, 33mm, F1.4, Yongnuo 33mm F1.4, DSM, WL, F1.4, Pro, APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Wireless, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Sirui has done a lot of development work in the cine world, and their Nightwalker series of lens is a cine lineup for APS-C mirrorless sensors (including Sony E-mount [tested here], Canon RF, Nikon Z, Fuji X, Leica L, and MFT mounts). The initial series of lenses included 24, 35, and 55mm T1.2 lenses), and Sirui has returned in 2014 with two new entries – a 16mm T1.2 (reviewed here) and a 75mm T1.2 (reviewing coming). These are essentially the cine equivalents of the autofocusing Sniper series for typical photography. The price tag is typically in the mid $300s for each lens, though sales and kits will reduce the per lens price. But is the 16mm T1.2 worth buying? Explore it with me in my video review.
Keywords:Sirui, Nightwalker, Night Walker, 16mm, T1.2, S35, Sirui Nightwalker 16mm Review, APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I’ve been familiar 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 reading on.
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 a7RVcamera.
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.
Build and Handling
Yongnuo is clearly going head to head with Sony with this particular lens release, as Sony also has a compact 11mm F1.8 lens that I reviewed a few years ago. There is some give and take between the two lenses, but the Sony wins on being more compact and light (181g vs 260g), while the YN 11mm has more features and a much lower price ($298 vs $498 USD). Here’s a spec comparison between the two lenses.
While not as small as the Sony, this is a very compact lens. I do my Sony E-mount APS-C tests on the APS-C mode of my Sony a7RV, as its 26MP in APS-C matches Sony’s a6700 for resolution. That means that I’m doing my test on a larger camera, but the YN 11mm is clearly small enough to work nicely even on the smallest of cameras.
The size is 66mm in diameter (2.6″) and 69mm (2.7″) in length. The lens weighs in at 260g or 9.2 oz. Up front we have a common 58mm front filter thread.
You’ll note the “Wi-Fi” radio signal logo next to the lens designation. That’s a first for me!
The lens barrel is made of metal, and it has a nice, anodized black satin finish. The lens design is very clean and modern.
A petal-shaped lens hood is included. While it isn’t anything particularly special, it is sturdier than some and bayonets into place with a reasonably precise feel.
There is a USB-C port for firmware updates covered by a small rubber gasket. Be careful when pulling it out, as it is small and wouldn’t be hard to lose.
The USB-C port will allow for quick and easy firmware updates, which is a smart move by Yongnuo considering that they are a third party lens maker, so they may have to rely on firmware updates to maintain compatibility with cameras in the future. The lens does include a USB-C cable in the box in case you don’t have one.
There is a metal lens mount with a weather sealing gasket attached. Yongnuo also claims a fluorine coating on the front element to resist fingerprints and moisture.
As noted, this is a very feature rich little lens. We have a function/focus hold button on the left side of the barrel. That function can be assigned from within the camera.
There’s also a custom switch that allows for a few different functions. In one mode, it serves a an AF | MF switch, with mode I being AF while mode II will switch to MF.
The manual focus ring has a nice feel to it overall, though the weight is on the lighter side. There is no obvious stepping, however, so focus moves fairly smoothly as I use the MF ring. You can program the custom switch to this function by turning the camera off, setting the position to II, and then holding the custom button down. Then power the camera back on, and you will feel a click in the lens.
You can probably guess how to change the function to use the remote control. Turn the camera off, set the switch position to I, and then hold down the function button while turning on the camera. Now position “I” will mean that wi-fi is turned on for remote communication while position “II” will mean that it is turned off. I would recommend keeping it in the off position when it is not in use. I haven’t noticed a battery drain issue, but I would think there is the potential for one.
The YN 11mm also has a robust approach to aperture control. It has an aperture control ring with one third stop detents between F1.8 and F16 along with an automatic position that can be accessed past F16 (there is a firmer detent there to keep from accidental switches between the two). The feel of the clicks is good, with clear delineation of each position but without being rough.
But in a very surprising move for this class of lens there is also a declick option with a switch on the right side of the barrel. Click that switch and you can smoothly rack through the aperture.
By contrast, the Sony lens has an AF/MF switch and a custom button, but no aperture ring at all, much less a declick option. This Yongnuo is perhaps the most feature rich under $300 lens that I’ve tested.
Take a closer took inside and you can barely see 7 rounded aperture blades. The aperture shape stays reasonably circular as the lens is stopped down.
The sunstar looks reasonably clean with the aperture stopped down (here at F8):
The minimum focus distance is 15cm and gives a maximum magnification figure of 0.15x, which is good enough to be useful. Here’s what MFD looks like:
You can get close enough to get a pretty nice level of magnification, but that will exaggerate the distortion – don’t expect a flat plane of focus!
The remote control has a small LCD screen and is primarily controlled through the main knob that can be clicked to switch through various functions and rotated to control those functions. There are two buttons for programming A and B focus pulls (just set the focus position, hold down the corresponding button for one second, and either “A” or B” where appropriate will light up. There’s a power switch on the side and also a custom button on the side that corresponds to the custom button on the lens. Clicking it will enable whatever function is programmed to that button on the lens.
Using the remote isn’t always intuitive, but if you’ll spend a few minutes with the included user manual it becomes easy enough to use. Range is up to 30 meters, which definitely gives you some flexibility for controlling off camera.
The Yongnuo 11mm F1.8 is a pretty impressive little lens when it comes to the functionality. Try to find another lens under $300 that gives you all of this!
Autofocus and Video
Yongnuo has equipped the 11mm F1.8 with what they call a “digital stepping motor” (DSM). I’m not entirely sure how a digital stepping motor varies from a typical stepping motor, but the end result is a quiet, fast, and accurate focus experience.
There is almost no noise to be heard even if I put my ear next to the lens barrel. There is the slightest buzz from the motor, but so quiet as to be nearly undetectable. Focus speed is good, too, with near instant transitions from one focus point to another either indoors or out. Wide angle lenses benefit from deeper depths of field, so there are fewer focus possibilities. But I’m not looking to undermine what I saw here; this is an excellent focus performance.
I also saw very good focus precision, even when closer and the depth of field more shallow.
I did note that focus didn’t quite perfectly keep up with a moving subject coming towards the camera. I shot some sequences of Nala, and while focus kept up at first, as she got closer (and the depth of field diminished) I found that focus was a little behind where it should be (mid-body rather than face).
For most other applications, however, I didn’t have any issues with focus.
On the video front I found mostly good results. Focus pulls were smooth and quick with no visible steps, and focus breathing is very minimal. My only potential complaint is that I didn’t feel that focus on my foreground subject was always as precise as what I would have liked.
The YN 11mm did fine with my “hand test” as well, where I alternately block the view to my face with my hand and then remove it. Focus transitioned nicely from my hand to my face. The minimal focus breathing helped make this transition nice and smooth.
I also had fairly good results with video clips where I slowly moved the camera to force change from one subject to another at varying depths of field. Focus transitions were fairly well damped, and I feel like this could be an interesting lens on a gimbal for vlogging or cinematic footage for weddings, walkthroughs, etc…. It’s light, focuses with confidence, and seems fairly mannerly for video AF.
All in all, focus is generally very good here.
Yongnuo 11mm F1.8S Image Quality Breakdown
The YN11mm has an optical design of 10 elements in 9 groups. Most of these are exotic elements, including low dispersion lenses, high refractive elements, aspherical lenses, and ultra low dispersion elements. A lot of fancy glass for an inexpensive lens! The MTF chart shows an extremely sharp center, a very sharp mid-frame, and mild regression to the corners, though they are still reasonably sharp. This MTF chart also shows an F8 report, and there we see a more even sharpness performance across the frame, though without the exceptional levels in the center and midframe visible wide open.
On a practical level I was repeatedly impressed by how sharp the lens was in the rule of thirds zones. The corners are generally less impressive, so my favorite images taken with the lens tended to be those where that excellent center 2/3rds performance was on display and the corners less important.
The corners are okay, but just not as impressive as the rest of the image circle even when stopped down (F5.6 here).
At least part of that is connected to the fact that, at the moment, there is no correction profile for RAW images in Lightroom. That means that by default lateral chromatic aberrations are left uncorrected, and, while I saw no issue with longitudinal CA before and after the plane of focus, there is definitely some fringing along the edges of the frame (LaCA).
Fortunately these are the variety easier to remove with one click. Getting rid of that fringing does improve things a bit.
For those interested in full frame coverage, here’s what the view looks like in full frame:
That means that there is a fair bit extra of the frame available after a manual crop, though with a caveat.
The caveat is that while you can expose more image (up to 40MP vs 26MP in APS-C crop), you are exposing more of the area where the lens is weakest, so expect that extra coverage to look increasingly mushy.
As is almost always the case, you would be better served by buying a full frame lens if you want full frame coverage.
There is some barrel distortion here, but the amount is tiny compared to what I saw on the Sony 11mm F1.8:
I had to use a whopping +40 to correct the barrel distortion on the Sony, but a much more reasonable +15 for the Yongnuo. In both cases the distortion is fairly complex, so a manual correction alone doesn’t do a great job. I’m not seeing corrections on the JPEG files, so Yongnuo may not have correction support on Sony. Here’s hoping we see a correction profile for Lightroom for the lens, as trying to correct the lines in the center results in increasing the stretching in the corners.
There is a fair bit of vignette here as well. I used a +74 to correct, or nearly three stops. That’s roughly similar to what I saw from the Sony 11mm as well.
So how about resolution and contrast? My tests have been done on a 26MP APS-C mode of my Sony a7RV. Here’s the test chart:
Here are F1.8 crops at roughly 200% from across the frame (center, mid-frame, and lower right corner).
Both the center and midframe results look very good, as expected. The corner looks softer with less detail. Part of this has to do with the plane of focus at this distance not being flat (field curvature), as I was able to get a slightly sharper result (in the corner) by focusing in the corner, though this came at the cost of less focus/detail elsewhere.
But field curvature shouldn’t be as much of an issue when shooting at infinity, and in real world results I noticed the corners being softer (as noted).
At the same time, I don’t want to oversell this weakness, as it doesn’t look bad in real world work.
Stopping down to F2 makes a slight improvement to contrast and detail, with more improvement coming by F2.8.
Slight improvements come at F4 with more at F5.6. The edge performance is looking better.
You can see that improvement in this real world comparison that compares the F1.8 and F5.6 edge. There isn’t a huge difference on the left side of the image (moving into the rule of thirds zone), but a pretty noticeable one on the right side, which samples the edge at 100% magnification.
The edges of the image still aren’t pin sharp, but I would say acceptably sharp for most people. This is one area where the Sony 11mm F1.8 was better in my tests. Corners are sharper throughout the aperture range, so if this is a big deal to you, you might need to spend the extra money.
Sharpness peaks around F5.6, with F8 being very close to the same. Diffraction will start to soften the image after that, with a mild amount at F11 but a more obvious amount by F16:
Wide angle lenses aren’t really known for their bokeh, but I would say that the Yongnuo 11mm fairs better than most. When you get close to your subject, the quality of the background blur is fairly good.
Here’s another shot that shows a fairly good result.
This final example shows the YN 11mm at it’s best – great detail and contrast but also very nice bokeh and overall look to the image.
Flare resistance is most good but with a few hiccups. You can see from a couple of the images above that the lens does well with bright sun in the frame when shooting at wide apertures. The lens is weakest when the bright light source is in the corner, however, and as you stop the lens down the flare pattern becomes more and more pronounced (F1.8, F2.8, then F11 here).
The best case scenario is when you can position the sun correctly so you don’t have flare issues, and then stop the lens down and benefit from the very nice sunstar.
The optical glass here is good but not top notch. Colors were mostly good but in more challenging light I could definitely see a difference when compared with a more expensive lens that I happened to test at the same time. The Yongnuo required a more delicate touch in processing in harsher light as in shots like this one.
Colors were better in less harsh light, light after a rain here:
When compared to other lenses in this price class, however, I think the optics are competitive and the feature set is clearly much more robust than what competing lenses offer. So if not a flawless performance, this is a good one from a lens priced at under $300. If you’d like to see more image samples, check out the image gallery here.
Conclusion
I agreed to test the Yongnuo 11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL largely based on what I perceived as an innovative amount of features in an inexpensive lens. I do feel like Yongnuo has delivered on that front, as the YN 11mm has more packed into it than any sub-$300 lens that I’ve tested.
The autofocus performance was also a pleasant surprise, delivering quiet, quick autofocus changes that even largely translated to good video performance as well.
There’s some give and take with the optics, with a bit of vignette and distortion that isn’t being corrected by any profiles in camera or software yet. I also didn’t love the corner performance here. The optics remind me of Viltrox’s earlier lenses before they began to use higher end Hoya glass, which is to say good but not great. It’s hard to argue with the value of this lens, however, as not many years ago I was paying more than this for a manual focus only Samyang 12mm F2 with no features and an arguably weaker optical performance. This Yongnuo lens is a lot of lens for the money, and if you can live with its few shortcomings, you will have a much more versatile lens than what $300 will usually buy you!
Keywords: Yongnuo, YN, 11mm, F1.8, Yongnuo 11mm F1.8, DSM, WL, F1.8S, APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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.
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 a7RVcamera.
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.
Keywords: Yongnuo, YN, 11mm, F1.8, Yongnuo 11mm F1.8, DSM, WL, F1.8S, APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Just a month ago I released my first review of an autofocusing 7Artisans lens (all previous reviews had been of manual focus only lenses). The AF 50mm F1.8 was an interesting lens with a surprising number of premium elements for its relatively inexpensive price. But 7Artisans was immediately back with a new lens; in this case a radically smaller 27mm F2.8 autofocusing lens….this time for APS-C cameras. The new 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8 is a surprisingly complete and competent little prime lens for a bargain price of just $129 USD. I’ve reviewed it on Sony E-mount, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see other lens mounts follow in the future. Is this a lens you should consider? Find out my thoughts in the video review below or by reading on…
Thanks to 7Artisans 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 a7RVcamera.
Designing for a smaller APS-C sensor has allowed 7Artisans to create a very different kind of lens here; one radically smaller than the 72mm (2.83″) in diameter and 104mm (4.09″) in length of the 50mm F1.8. The new lens is 64mm in diameter (2.51″) and just 48mm (1.89″) in length. It weighs just 172g (6oz), a far cry from the 421g (14.85oz) of 7Artisans last lens.
27mm is an odd focal length for full frame, but on APS-C it is one of my favorite focal lengths. This is roughly 41mm in a full frame equivalent (Sony’s APS-C crop is 1.5x), which makes it a nice compromise between a 35mm and 50mm lens. I love it as a walkaround or everyday focal length, as it captures images similar to the way that the eye sees them.
It’s really astounding how good of lenses we are getting from companies like 7Artisans at such an inexpensive price. One wouldn’t expect much from a lens costing just $129 USD, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by pretty much all aspects of this lens. It’s surprisingly sharp even at F2.8, has solid autofocus, and has a build quality that is really pretty fantastic.
So is this a lens that you should seriously consider? We’ll explore whether or not that is the case in this review.
Build and Handling
As noted, this lens has a nicely compact size. I do my Sony E-mount APS-C tests on the APS-C mode of my Sony a7RV, as its 26MP in APS-C matches Sony’s a6700 for resolution. That means that I’m doing my test on a larger camera, but the AF 27mm is clearly small enough to work nicely even on the smallest of cameras.
7Artisans included several features on the 50mm F1.8, including an aperture ring and AF/MF switch, but they’ve gone for a paired down, simpler lens here. You’ll note that the side of the lens is devoid of any switches or controls.
The lens barrel is made of metal, and it has a nice, anodized black satin finish. The lens design is very clean and elegant.
The one feature here is a USB-C port covered by a small rubber gasket. Be careful when pulling it out, as it is small and wouldn’t be hard to lose.
The USB-C port will allow for quick and easy firmware updates, which is very smart of 7Artisans considering that they are A) new to autofocus and B) a third party lens maker, so they may have to rely on firmware updates to maintain compatibility with cameras in the future. The lens does include a USB-C cable in the box in case you don’t have one.
There is a metal lens mount but no weather sealing gasket, though that is clearly not an expected feature at this price point.
There also isn’t an included lens hood, which is unfortunate, as frankly the lens could use one.
Up front we have common 52mm filter threads.
Take a closer took inside and you’ll see six straight aperture blades.
In theory that should allow for nice sunstars, but I found the sunburst effect rather aggressive with the lens stopped down a bit.
The manual focus ring is main object on the lens barrel. 7Artisans has elected to make it raised rather than flush, which does make it easy to grab. It’s reasonably wide and is made of metal with fine ribbing. The damping is medium first and the focus simulation is quite good (mirrorless lenses are “focus-by-wire”, where input from the focus ring passes through the focus motor).
The feel of the lens and focus action is premium; nothing about that feels cheep.
The minimum focus distance is 30cm. I estimate the maximum magnification figure to be roughly 0.14x, which looks like this:
That’s close enough to be useful but not exceptionally so. Here’s a real world close shot of a pineapple.
I did notice one quirk that manifests in a few ways. In Lightroom the focal length isn’t communicating correctly in the EXIF data, and I think that was a factor in communicating to the camera for setting the focal length for the camera’s stabilization system. I noticed I was getting a little more motion blur than expected in some images, so I tried manually setting the focal length instead of allowing the camera to automatically set it for Sony’s “SteadyShot”. This made a clear and obvious improvement.
So a little tip – manually set the focal length for IBIS (if your camera is so equipped), and you’ll get more stable results.
The 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8 is a simple lens, in many ways, but a well executed one. It feels much nicer than its bargain price tag would suggest.
Autofocus and Video
I can already tell a welcome improvement to autofocus performance from their first AF lens that I tested. Companies like this tend to learn fast, and it helps that this lens has a narrower maximum aperture and shorter focal length, putting a little less stress on its STM (stepping) focus motor.
Autofocus speed is actually quite good here. Not GM level good, but so fast that you’ll never think about it. The focus motor works smoothly and quietly. If I put my ear right up to the barrel, I hear a light shuffling sound of the focus group moving back and forth, but nothing loud enough to be picked by the camera microphone. The quality of focus felt good, too.
I took a series of photos of Nala rolling around enjoying the spring sun, and focus was nailed (and the lens is surprisingly sharp!)
I didn’t notice any evidence of the focus drift I got with the 50mm F1.8 during bursts. Focus just seems more mature.
On the video front I found mostly good results. Focus pulls were smooth and quick with no visible steps, though there is definitely some mild focus breathing.
The 7Artisans AF 27mm did fine with my “hand test” however, where I alternately block the view to my face with my hand and then remove it. Focus transitioned nicely from my hand to my face.
I also had fairly good results with video clips where I slowly moved the camera to force change from one subject to another at varying depths of field. Focus transitions were fairly well damped, and I feel like this could be an interesting lens on a gimbal if you’re on a budget. It’s light, focuses with some confidence, and seems fairly mannerly for video AF. I shot a number of my YouTube video episodes with it and got very stable focus and a very nice looking picture.
Autofocus is definitely trending in the right direction for 7Artisans.
7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8 Image Quality Breakdown
The 7Artisans AF 27mmmm F2.8 has a simple optical design of 6 elements in 5 groups. The MTF chart shows a very sharp center, some mid-frame regression, and a bit of a rebound in the corners. We’ll see if that pattern holds up in our results.
I would say that in general I was very impressed with the sharpness and contrast of the lens, though it has an interesting signature in some situations I’ll address in a moment.
I didn’t really notice any kind of issue with longitudinal chromatic aberrations (LoCA) which show up before and after the plane of focus.
There’s also very little lateral chromatic aberrations visible in the transitions from black to white at the edges of the frame.
There is moderate amounts of barrel distortion and vignette present.
I corrected the barrel distortion with a +9 (nothing extreme) and about two stops of vignette (+61). I will note that vignette dramatically reduces by F4.
It seems like people inevitably are interested in seeing how much of the full frame sensor APS-C lenses cover. In this case, basically nothing more than what the typical APS-C crop covers. There is serious mechanical vignette if I switch to full frame.
If I compare the out of camera APS-C crop to what I cropped from the full frame image, I find that the two crops are basically identical.
Bottom line: don’t buy this lens thinking that you are getting some cheat code to a bargain full frame lens!
So how about resolution and contrast? My tests have been done on a 26MP APS-C mode of my Sony a7RV. Here’s the test chart:
Here are F1.8 crops at roughly 180% from across the frame (center, mid-frame, and lower right corner).
There’s a very strong showing in the center, and I feel like the midframe is a bit better than I expected. There’s fairly good detail entering the corner, though it fades right near the edge. Contrast in the corners is not exceptional.
Real world results composed in the rule of thirds zones look pretty great, with good detail and contrast.
Stopping down to F4 shows little improvement in the already excellent center, but there is a fairly dramatic improvement in contrast in the mid-frame and corners.
By F5.6 detail across the frame is impressively good.
That tells us that there is plenty of sharpness potential at landscape apertures, and that proves the case. Landscape images have nice detail across the frame.
Sharpness peaks around F5.6, with F8 being very close to the same. Diffraction will start to soften the image after that, with a mild amount at F11 but a more obvious amount by F16:
The 50mm F1.8 stood out for its lovely bokeh, but the 27mm isn’t quite as nice in this regard.
It’s not bad, but there is a bit more outlining than what I would like. There’s also a bit of a swirl effect due to the cat eye shape near the edges of the frame. You either like that look…or you don’t.
I did find that the subject isolation was fairly nice, as the good contrast in the center two thirds helps the subject pop.
7Artisans can use some improvement to their lens coatings, as flare is definitely an issue. Certain angles will produce pronounced flare artifacts of varying kinds. It’s not completely destructive, but there’s no question that it is very obvious.
Some of those effects can be used artistically, but it will take a little skill to ensure that they are constructive rather than destructive.
The colors from the lens were interesting. I sometimes got a slightly lower contrast look that was quite cinematic.
In other settings contrast seemed strong.
I suspect you’ll find that the look of your images will vary a fair bit depending on your shooting conditions. That may have something to do with the low element count and lack of coatings on the lens. I found that it behaved more like a vintage lens, and often I rather liked it. I felt like it had character and wasn’t the typical modern, perfectly corrected lens.
So not a flawless performance, but for a very inexpensive lens there’s a lot of positives here. If you’d like to see more image samples, check out the image gallery here.
Conclusion
I actually had a lot of fun with the inexpensive 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8. I mostly said “yes” to reviewing it because it is an autofocus lens from a company that is still very new to making autofocus lenses, but I found that I often liked the unique look of images I got from the lens, and also appreciated its very small form factor that was very easy to throw in my bag as an extra to bring along.
Though priced at just $129 USD, the AF 27mm F2.8 actually has a nice build quality, pretty decent autofocus, and, as we’ve just seen, surprisingly strong optics.
There’s no bells and whistles here, but this is actually a really good little lens for the money. If you want an inexpensive near “normal” lens for your Sony APS-C camera that is easy to bring along, the 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8 is well worth your consideration.
Keywords: 7Artisans, 7Artisans 27mm, AF, 27mm, F2.8, STM, 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8, Full APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Just a month ago I released my first review of an autofocusing 7Artisans lens (all previous reviews had been of manual focus only lenses). The AF 50mm F1.8 was an interesting lens with a surprising number of premium elements for its relatively inexpensive price. But 7Artisans was immediately back with a new lens; in this case a radically smaller 27mm F2.8 autofocusing lens….this time for APS-C cameras. The new 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8 is a surprisingly complete and competent little prime lens for a bargain price of just $129 USD. I’ve reviewed it on Sony E-mount, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see other lens mounts follow in the future. Is this a lens you should consider? Find out my thoughts in the video review below or by reading my text review here…or just enjoy the photos below.
Thanks to 7Artisans 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 a7RVcamera.
Designing for a smaller APS-C sensor has allowed 7Artisans to create a very different kind of lens here; one radically smaller than the 72mm (2.83″) in diameter and 104mm (4.09″) in length of the 50mm F1.8. The new lens is 64mm in diameter (2.51″) and just 48mm (1.89″) in length. It weighs just 172g (6oz), a far cry from the 421g (14.85oz) of 7Artisans last lens.
27mm is an odd focal length for full frame, but on APS-C it is one of my favorite focal lengths. This is roughly 41mm in a full frame equivalent (Sony’s APS-C crop is 1.5x), which makes it a nice compromise between a 35mm and 50mm lens. I love it as a walkaround or everyday focal length, as it captures images similar to the way that the eye sees them.
It’s really astounding how good of lenses we are getting from companies like 7Artisans at such an inexpensive price. One wouldn’t expect much from a lens costing just $129 USD, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by pretty much all aspects of this lens. It’s surprisingly sharp even at F2.8, has solid autofocus, and has a build quality that is really pretty fantastic.
Keywords: 7Artisans, 7Artisans 27mm, AF, 27mm, F2.8, STM, 7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8, Full APS-C, Review, Sony a6700, a6000, a6400, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Back in May of this year I spent extended time reviewing the Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4 STM for Fuji (on a FUJIFilm X-T4 camera). I concluded that it joined the 85mm F1.8 as one of their best lenses to date and was a very compelling option on Fuji if one is looking for a wide angle, wide aperture prime lens. Fast forward three months and I’ve been spending time with the Sony E-mount version of the lens. There is obviously a lot of crossover between the two versions of the lens, so this won’t be a completely new review, but I was interested to see how what I saw particularly in the autofocus department carried over to Sony. I also have the opportunity to see how well the lens covers the full frame image circle on Sony, something I didn’t have the opportunity to do on Fuji. So if you are a Sony E-mount (APS-C) shooter that is looking for a reasonably priced, high performing wide angle prime, read on and see if the Viltrox 13mm F1.4 STM is the lens you’ve been looking for.
Why do I consider the new 13mm F1.4 to be one of Viltrox’s best? Because it builds on the formula they’ve had to date but improves some key areas of weakness that I’ve consistently seen over my many Viltrox reviews. The Viltrox AF13 has an evolution of autofocus performance that I’ve continued to see from Viltrox, where the gap between their lenses and first party alternatives is rapidly closing. They’ve done a great job of reducing distortion and chromatic aberrations relative to previous lenses. That’s particularly impressive when you consider that this is the widest lens that Viltrox has made to date and also when you consider how wide the maximum aperture is at this focal length (F1.4).
So how wide is this lens? Since it is designed for APS-C cameras, you have to apply the crop factor of the camera to the effective focal length. Sony’s APS-C crop factor is 1.5x, which gives us a focal length of 19.5mm full frame equivalent. This is a great focal length. It isn’t extreme but is rather in what I call the “sweet spot” for most landscape and architectural use. Interior spaces look wide but still natural in a way that wider focal lengths can lack.
You can see the low levels of distortion in the lines of the room. This will be a nice lens for those that want to do real estate video or photos.
And how well does it cover the full frame image circle? Here’s a view over beautiful Quebec City on my Sony Alpha 1 in full frame mode:
…and here’s the same view with the APS-C crop mode engaged:
You can see that the full frame image circle is not thoroughly covered at all, with some strangely shaped mechanical vignetting from the lens’ innards. The lens does cover slightly more than the APS-C image circle, however, particularly if you change the crop ratio.
It’s not a perfect lens, as we’ll see, and there are still a few of the familiar Viltrox weaknesses around, but I do think the new Viltrox AF13 is one of Viltrox’s best efforts to date. The MSRP as it comes to market is $430 USD (though if you buy it from the Viltrox store and use code DUSTINABBOTT you can get 10% any Viltrox product, including this lens) . For that money you are getting a nicely built, versatile lens, though it isn’t a perfect performance. We’ll break down the strengths and weaknesses in this review. If you prefer to watch your reviews, you can check out my definitive video review…or just keep reading.
Thanks to Laowa for sending me a review loaner 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 Sony a6400 along with the Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here).
Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4 Build and Handling
There aren’t really any surprises here in the build and design of the lens. Viltrox has consistently made lenses that feel like anything but “plastic fantastics”. There’s a high degree of metal in their build quality, and in the case of the Viltrox AF13, that includes a metal lens hood.
The lens looks very natural on my Sony cameras, though the aesthetic is a little more of a match for Fuji cameras and lenses. The Viltrox AF13 is larger than typical size for many of Viltrox’s APS-C lenses, with a broader diameter that looks more like their full frame lenses. In many ways it feels more at home on my full frame cameras than my a6400. You can see how it compares to the Viltrox X-mount 33mm and 56mm F1.4 lenses:
It is 74mm in diameter (leaving a common 67mm front filter thread) and is 90mm in length. It weighs 420g. The 33mm (the 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm lenses are highly similar in size) is 65mm in diameter and 72mm in length, weighing only 270g. The Viltrox AF13 is in fact larger and heavier than the full frame 24mm F1.8 lens from Viltrox.
That’s not to say that this is an onerously large or heavy lens (it isn’t), but in some ways its size and bulk make it feel like a more premium lens. It has that feel, too, with all metal construction and a dark, sleek look that is a cut above most lenses at this price point.
What is unfortunately still missing is weather sealing. This is (at least) an internally focusing lens, so there is nothing that moves where dust might intrude. There is no gasket at the lens mount, though there is a USB-C port there that allows you to do firmware updates right to the lens.
I’m a fan of this approach, as it eliminates the need for a separate dock or lens station for firmware updates, and I find the process a little more intuitive than even doing firmware updates through the camera. This allows Viltrox to future proof their lenses and continue to improve them through firmware.
There is an aperture ring on the lens that behaves similar to many Fuji lenses. It is clicked (no de-click option) with 1/3rd stop detents and you can twist it fully to the left if you want automatic control of aperture within the lens.
There are no switches on the barrel, which sets it a little behind lenses like the recent Sony 11mm F1.8 and 15mm F1.4 G lenses that I reviewed.
The other ring is the wide zoom ring. It has ribbed, metal surface with nice grip and feel. This is a better experience than many lenses, with enough weight and feel to seem almost like a mechanical manual focus ring. Certainly a better experience than many mirrorless lenses.
There is no image stabilization, so I actually preferred using the lens on my Alpha 1 in APS-C mode as opposed to the a6400 because I could take advantage of the IBIS there. Your mileage may vary depending on what camera body you’re using.
There are nine rounded aperture blades inside, and it seems like Viltrox is doing a better job of having properly centered aperture blades.
One lingering Viltrox weakness remains, and that is in minimum focus and maximum magnification performance. MFD is 22cm (8.7″) and the resulting magnification is only 0.10x:
Opportunities to get really close to things and blur out backgrounds will be limited with this lens.
Beyond those few weaknesses, however, this is a very nicely executed package. The lens feels high quality in the hands, and it handles quite nicely. Of Sony’s APS-C bodies (at the moment), the a6600 is the best match due to having a deeper grip than the other bodies, but that’s a given due to the size of the lens. I would say the lens offers quite good “bang for the buck” in terms of quality.
Autofocus Performance
I was very impressed with the STM motor on the Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4 on Fuji as I found it a better experience than I had seen even on any NATIVE Fuji lens (surprisingly). Autofocus was fast, quiet, and smooth. I experienced the best focus pulls that I’ve ever seen on a Fuji camera, with fast, smooth focus pulls with no obvious stepping (typically a weakness for Fuji lenses). I could not pick up any sounds during focus with the onboard camera. I was interested to see if the same would be true on Sony, and I was pleased to see that autofocus remained excellent. In most all situations I found that autofocus was fast, quiet, confident, and accurate.
I also found that the transitions from my face to my hand during my tests were smooth and confident, with focus immediately returning to my eyes when the obstruction was removed. Focus breathing is also minimal, making this a nice lens for video or vlogging (due to the excellent focal length for this task).
In short, this was the best video autofocus performance that I’ve seen on a Viltrox lens.
I also had good performance for stills, with good eye detection and accurate focus even at closer focus distances and F1.4. In this composite shot, you can see that I had accurate focus at F1.4 at a variety of focus distances as I had my wife move throughout this beautiful space.
I had no problems in lower light situations as well.
The only time I saw any focus issues at all were a very few occasions at smaller apertures in lower lighting conditions where I saw a bit of pulsing, but this is not at all unusual to experience with wide angle lenses on Sony bodies with all points active. There can almost be too much to focus on. I was always able to get the shot that I wanted, though.
In short, autofocus was excellent, and the addition of the USB-C port allows firmware updates to further improve focus results in the future.
Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4 Image Quality
Viltrox has pulled out all the stops with this lens and has included a number of exotic elements in the optical construction, leaving an MTF results that looks quite good at F1.4 and great when stopped down to F8:
As noted earlier, there are a certain trends/traits that I associated with Viltrox lenses, and while some of these are improved here, there are a few lingering areas that I would like to see Viltrox improve upon. That being said – I think this lens (along with their surprisingly strong 85mm F1.8) is one of their best lenses to date.
One area where I do see clear improvement is in the area of LoCA (longitudinal chromatic aberrations). Viltrox lenses have frequently suffered from more fringing than what I would like (particularly green fringing after the plane of focus), but I find that the Viltrox AF13 is delivering a nicely neutral performance here. There’s no fringing showing up in the high contrast zones looking out these windows, which is an area where an otherwise good lens like the Sigma 16mm F1.4 suffered.
That’s real progress.
I’m also satisfied with the control of LaCA (lateral chromatic aberrations) that typically show up along the edges of the frame with high contrast transition points (like the bare branches against the bright sky below).
There is little fringing to be seen here, which is another positive development.
If we move on to vignette and distortion we find even more positive developments. There is next to no distortion at all (I did no correction) and vignette is moderate, requiring a +54 to correct (right under two stops).
That makes this a good lens to consider for those who do real estate or interior photography (or video), as lines are naturally nice and straight without correction, which also means that you retain a wider angle of view (nothing is lost in correction). I was very happy using the lens to photograph interiors or objects with straight lines.
So far things are looking very positive. We’ll move on to inspecting our test chart. This test has been done on a 24MP Sony a6400 sensor, currently the highest resolution sensor that Sony offers in the APS-C space. I use a high end tripod and two second camera delay to ensure vibration doesn’t affect images. Here’s a look at the test chart that we will examine at high magnification:
If we take a look at crops at F1.4 from the center, mid-frame, and lower right corner, we find that center and mid-frame performance is very good, and while there is some drop-off towards the corners, they remain pretty strong.
This night scene in Quebec City was shot at F1.4, ISO 3200, and you can see that the lens is perfectly capable of making detailed images even under these challenging conditions.
Stopping the lens down will produce only minor improvements in the center and mid-frame, but you can see obvious improvements in the corners at F2.8:
I shot at night in Quebec City at apertures of F1.4 and F2 and got nicely detailed images:
Shoot at more typical landscape apertures like F5.6 and you will be rewarded with nicely detailed images across the frame.
Minimum aperture is F16, but you will see some effects of diffraction, so I would recommend staying at an aperture no smaller than F11 if possible.
I often don’t find Viltrox color rendition top tier (processing needs a delicate touch to avoid colors going garish), but I do think that they are making progress in this area. I can’t say that colors looked much different than other lenses I used alongside the Viltrox. I had plenty of images where I felt like the image as a whole (including the color) was very nice.
Here’s another where I felt like saturation levels were nice and intense but still natural.
Any lens with a wide angle of view and a large maximum aperture is going to be a potential candidate for astrophotography. The Viltrox AF13 is no different. I had a slightly difficult time nailing focus perfectly in the dark, but I did find that there is a bit of coma at F1.4 that seems to improve by F2, where the results were quite good (mostly some stretching of star points due to the length of the exposure). *Theseresults from Fuji version of the lens.
This is a definitely a candidate for all kinds of night-time photography due to the great focal length and maximum aperture.
The low magnification levels of the Viltrox mean that there won’t be a ton of opportunities for high diffused backgrounds even with the F1.4 aperture. I found the bokeh quality where I could capture it to be only average – neither particularly bad or particularly good.
Flare resistance is really situational, in that there were certain images where I experienced a high level of flare and others where it was fairly well controlled. The worst performances seemed to be when the sun was near the edge of the frame, while the best results came with the sun a little further into the frame. Certainly not a flawless performance – I’ll let you judge for yourself from these images.
I’ll conclude this section by noting that my overall feelings about the Viltrox AF13 are very positive. I think this is one of their best lenses to date, and the list of optical strengths in my opinion far outweigh the list of optical flaws. You can check out more photos by visiting the image gallery here.
Conclusion
The Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4 is a very welcome addition to the Sony APS-C catalog, though I do feel like it is a little more competitive in the Fuji space due to the higher prices of many native Fuji lenses. It’s a little hard to argue this 13mm F1.4 over a lens like Sony’s 11mm F1.8 when that lens has more features (including weather sealing) and is significantly smaller. I really like the Viltrox, but the Sony is probably the stronger value at just $110 more. To be fair, though, 11mm is not 13mm, and F1.8 is not F1.4. There are still reasons to consider the Viltrox. It is a fairly sophisticated lens for such a new brand, with good build quality, excellent autofocus performance, and a strong optical showing. A lens with this wide of a focal length and this large of a maximum aperture isn’t easy to engineer, but Viltrox has pulled it off with a fair amount of aplomb here.
It’s not a flawless lens, proving a bit flare prone and with soft corners until F2.8, but those weaknesses are easily outweighed by an exceptional performance in distortion and chromatic aberration control. The Viltrox does top the Sony in distortion and vignette control, which could be a significant factor for some. Yes, I would love to see Viltrox start to employ weather sealing into their designs, but it’s also reasonable to point out that many lenses in this price range also lack weather sealing.
At a price point of $429 USD, the Viltrox AF13 offers great value for money. Sony shooters have more options than what I could point to on Fuji, but I do think there is still a market for this lens. At the very least, the Viltrox AF 13mm F1.8 STM is evidence that Viltrox is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Pros:
Nice build
STM focus motor is quiet, smooth, fast, and accurate
Faster maximum aperture than some competing lenses
Smooth, quiet, confident focus pulls in video
Excellent center and midframe sharpness at wide apertures
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Keywords: Viltrox, Viltrox AF, Viltrox 13mm, Viltrox 13mm, F1.4, f/1.4, STM, Viltrox AF 13mm F1.4, Viltrox 13mm Review, Viltrox 13mm F1.4 Review, Review, Dustin Abbott, a6500, a6400, Alpha 1, Hands On, Video Test, Sharpness, Autofocus, CA, Video AF, Autofocus, Eye AF, Lens, Comparison, Test, Dustinabbott.net, Sample Images, Sample Video, Let the Light In, Burst, Action, #letthelightin
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