Yonghua YN 11mm f/1.8S DA DSM WL Autofocus Lens Announced
The Chinese lens brand Yongnuo is starting the year with a bang by introducing their mew wide angle lineup which its a super wide aperture that is dubbed as the Yongnuo YN 11mm f/1.8S DA DSM WL APS-C and promises to break records with its phenomenal price to value ratio and immense sharpness for landscape and close range photography since it includes a DSM Wireless technology.
Such integration of the DSM module aims to provide a hands-free experience as users can now remotely control the aperture size of the lens, making solo shots a walk in the park. Being a long-time user of Yongnuo we knew for sure their new lineup wouldn’t disappoint while being rolled out with its fair share of cutting-edge technology all while giving us a glimpse of its 110-degree view.
Some of our close photography peers were quick to comment on the DSM protocol by stating “The ability to control the lens feels like a dream come true because it paves the way for newer opportunities that we have been waiting keenly for all these years.”
To which our reply was, “Spoken like a true photography expert!”
But that’s not all the features this lens has been possibly racking up on the internet lately. According to leaks that have surfaced on r/photography and other camera-affiliated subreddits lately, we have examined the possibility of the inclusion of 7 7-blade diaphragm in the core of the lens. This implies that an aperture size of f/1.8 and a moderately higher blade count could eventually result in a buttery smooth bokeh effect all while basking in the 11mm magic of the lens.
As previously mentioned, On Reddit’s photography subforum r/photography, the YN 11mm has racked up quite a level of attention. “This really looks like a game-changer for us ultra-wide shooters on a budget,” commented one user, with others praising Yongnuo for advancing features typically only found on higher-end systems. Product images and sample shots are racking up over a thousand upvotes as photographers speculate on real-world performance.
On the other hand, Twitter is also being lightening up with hashtags such as #Yongnuo11mm and #wirlesscontrol along with tweets such as “wow, up to 30 meters of lens control on such a budget-friendly lens seems too good to be true, let’s just hope for the best in real-world scenarios.”
Since the wireless feature was the most pivotal part of the lens, after digging further into multiple social platforms, we also found out from trusted sources that the lens operates on 2.4Ghz frequency and can work on interference-free channels up to 30 meters of distance, which is why it has been racking up numbers in the solo shoot community.
As far as the glass elements are concerned, Yongnuo 11mm incorporates ten elements in nine groups including three low-dispersion and two extra low-dispersion elements to control chromatic aberrations effectively, which is pretty surprising considering how advanced YN lenses have come all this way.
On the other, hats off to the incredibly modular design as the lens is merely 66x69mm, and being an ultra-wide angle lens, it only has a mere minimum focusing distance of 15cm. The modular design achieves compact dimensions of 66x69mm while maintaining a useful minimum focus distance of 15cm, we just hope there is no corner softening or color distortion that its previous iteration suffered from in the past.
Lastly, as expected, the YN 11mm is set to aim towards photographers who are on a budget but don’t really want to compromise on the quality output of their still shoots while pairing it up with the E-Mount of Sony or the X Mount of Fujifilm which is why the price tag is purposely kept at a justified $299, respectively.
Now, it is about time the specifications live up to their promises because otherwise, it might be a massive letdown for those photographers who have their fingers crossed for some budget-friendly gear.
