It is finally coming ! This 50mm f/1.4 from Yongnuo have been in our heads since 2014 without hitting the market…

Well, actually there is a bit of confusion about the 50mm f/1.4 from Yongnuo.

There was a time, in 2014, were a 50mm 1.4 was announced and almost ready to hit the market. Unfortunately, without any known reasons (copyright infringement?), no one manage to get a copy. See below how this unreleased lens looked next to the Canon 50mm f/1.4:

So, obviously today we are talking of a new lens (I won’t call it Mark II though). Is it modified or entirely rebuild from scratch? It looks like the second guess is the closest.

We can notice a few changes, for example the metal ring (was previously plastic) or the USB port to update the lens firmware.

Build quality seems pretty good, far from their first 50mm f/1.8. The lens weight 1.2lb (572g) so it’s pretty massive. For comparison, the 50mm f/1.4 from Canon weight “only” 0.6lb and the Canon 50mm f/1.2 weight 1.3lb.

Here are a few pictures from the Yongnuo 50mm f/1.4:

YN50mm f/1.4 Lens specifications:

• Optical formula: 7 groups / 9 elements
• Diaphragm: 7 blades
  
• Minimal aperture: f/22
• Amplification factor: 0.15x
  
• Minimum focus distance: 0.45m
• Weight: 1.2lb (572g)
  
• Filter diameter: 58mm
  
• Price: ~$200
  

We’ll see how it goes, it should be around in a few weeks. It will have to behave pretty nicely if he want to compete with the Canon 50mm f/1.4, which is quite excellent, and cost $330 new, or $230 used.

PS: Yongnuo already released a new firmware (v1.01) for its 50mm lens. You can download it on the firmware page.