have i bought cheap and paid the price?

Peakapot · Feb 17, 2016

I have bought a Yongnuo EF 50mm f1.8 lens and the quality is awful. It never seems to focus properly and its rather obvious. Have i made the mistake of buying cheap or is it just a faulty lens. The problem is i bought it about 6 months ago and have never used it so its probably too late for a refund.

Regards Peakapot

wyogirl · Feb 17, 2016

Its hard to say for sure. I have had great success with Yongnuo products but I don't have that lens. I had heard good things about it so maybe you got a bad copy. Can you post some pictures so that we know what you are referring to? Does it "hunt" to focus, or is it not focusing at all. Is it possible that you are missing focus? Post some photos... let us help.

tirediron · Feb 17, 2016

I didn't know YN was selling lenses; my guess would be that you got a bad copy of a mediocre (at best) product. Reverse-engineering electrical items (flashes, triggers, etc) is relatively easy since the components are often bought from the same place as the name-brand stuff; but optics on the other hand are a fish of an entirely different feather. In addition, QC in third-party factories is often (usually?) of a much lower standard than name-brand. On the bright side, I'm sure it will make a nice paper-weight.

wyogirl · Feb 17, 2016

Here are some links to reviews--

A First Review of the $40 Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 'Nifty Fifty' Clone

Tony Northrup Compares The Yongnuo And Canon 50mm 1.8 | Fstoppers

Peakapot · Feb 17, 2016

Ok this is all i have in front of me just now so bare with me. One picture was taken with the canon 18-55mm kit lens nothing fancy, the other with the Yongnuo. Both pictures were taken on a tripod with a remote. Its obvious even from these poor pictures when you look at the detail in Pepa pigs face. Also i had the same aperture size so its not a depth of field issue. thoughts?

Peakapot · Feb 17, 2016

haha no idea why its posted the pictures loads of times. apologies.

tirediron · Feb 17, 2016

Looks like a bad copy to me; out curiosity does the image appear sharp in the viewfinder, and have you tried manual focusing?

Peakapot · Feb 17, 2016

I have tried manual focus but i can not for the life of me get a crisp image. When looking through the view finder i cant really notice a difference between lenses. As soon as it appears on the lcd though i can see its way out.

Derrel · Feb 17, 2016

A few months ago I watched Kai's digitalrevdotcom review of the Yongy Canon 50/1.8 imitation lens...Uggh! It's a clunker. Not even up to 1930's-era standards for a 5cm length lens for 35mm sized image sensors. I noticed that the EXIF report calls it a Sigma lens! The one lens created a dreadfully, dreadfully poor image, while the other lens shows good,small detail info.

JonA_CT · Feb 17, 2016

I'm also not sure why they bother knocking off the EF 50mm! You can buy used copies in great condition for less than a hundred bucks.

Peakapot · Feb 17, 2016

I bought it that long ago theres no way i will get a refund. Had a quick look on Ebay and i can get a new canon lens for £85. Looks like iv found my next purchase. Thanks for all the help. looks like the bin for this bit of kit.