A brief look at a bang for buck wide angle lens

The Yongnuo YN35mm f2 is a budget 35mm lens that comes with a number of lens mounts. It weighs a mere 300g focuses from 0.25m, has mechanical manual focus and, unlike some low end Canon lenses, it has a metal bayonet. At the time of writing it retails for under £120.
Not surprisingly, it is far from perfect. The focus falls off relatively quickly from the centre and it is a bit soft, though not in an unpleasant way. On an APS body the YN35 f2 makes for a nice, lightweight normal lens while offering the usual wide angle field of view on a full frame body.
Overall, this is a good value for money lens with few surprises. Auto-focus works as it should, as does manual focus. My copy failed me in sub-zero temperatures (just below freezing) but otherwise worked fine on compatible cameras.
The compatible camera part is worth paying attention to: the Yonguo should work nicely with APS and full frame DSLRs but only communicates with very late Canon analogue bodies. I had no problems using it on ELAN7 / EOS 30/33 bodies or the entry level EOS300V. Anything older, and it goes on strike – and there is no need to go back to the EOS620 either. The relatively late EOS3 is already too old.

Overall: a cheap fair weather lens, and film shooters should be mindful of compatibility issues.