Yongnuo to clone canon lenses ;)

Ted Ramasola

Ted Ramasola

Veteran
From petapixel:
http://petapixel.com/2014/09/25/yongnuo-50mm-f1-4-looks-like-near-perfect-clone-canon-50mm-f1-4/

image from petapixel:
140924_ef50mm_01.jpg
 
Liam Hall said:
Kind of ironic given the first 'Kwanon' was a cheap copy of of Leica.
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+1

For that matter, I hope they clone Nikon and all sorts of other lenses. Competition is good. Also, before you criticize, realize that a lot of the Japanese tech companies you so admire for their high quality innovative products got their start imitating/cloning/ripping off European and American tech companies.

Whenever people rant about cheap rip off Chinese products, I try to remind them of history. Yes, those are poorly made cheapo products, often not worth even their paltry price. BUT that's how Japan started - you may be too young to remember, but that's exactly what Japanese products were in the 50's and early 60's - cheapo crap. And then they grew up and became leaders in many tech areas. Same is happening right now with the Koreans - they are at a stage where they are transitioning from cheapo knockoffs to legit quality and even innovation - see Samsung and see what happened to many of their cars - remember how Hyundai used to be a pile of junk, well today it's starting to compete with Toyota and Honda, still not quite, but getting there. Exactly the same thing will happen with Chinese products. Already today there are some that are not half bad budget stuff - see the Benro product line. It's the cycle of life - from crap to quality over time, and from rants/complaints to compliments/prestige. And then we'll be ranting about cheap Vietnamese/X products ripping off the quality Chinese ones.

So bring it on. I hope they expand their product line... and one day create original ones. Can't wait. Lenses are naturally expensive due to the process of how they're made, and will never be super cheap - that said, I'm not gonna complain about prices coming down... even among the Japanese. I mean, the 18-35 f/1.8 Sigma is an amazing lens for $800.
 
OldCorpse said:
Also, before you criticize, realize that a lot of the Japanese tech companies you so admire for their high quality innovative products got their start imitating/cloning/ripping off European and American tech companies...
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Not quite. There is a huge, HUGE, difference here. A company that is making their own cheaper products to compete with existing lines can be good for the consumer, but a company that just clones/knockoffs other manufacturers products is not helping "the market" or "competition". All they're doing is stealing the original companies R&D, intellectual property, and experience. Those things cost money and that's why some of these products cost more than you'd like. Cut into the sales for the original company, and there's less money for them to put into the next product. What then? Why should Canon shoulder the costs for some other company to ride along for free? That's why companies that act ethically will license technology and designs. Unethical companies will clone.
The "Japanese tech companies" got their start making lower cost products after WWII, but soon enough learned how to make them better, and got better at making them. They didn't invent the radio, but they didn't make a knockoff of RCA's radio either. If Yongnou wants to make a lens, great. They should just design their own and not clone a 1-1 copy of someone else's.
I guess we could look at it like this, that the difference is between making another Zombie movie or selling pirate DVD copies of Shaun of the Dead on the street corner. It's a heck of a lot cheaper to just burn some DVDs of someone else's movie than it is to write, shoot, edit, and publish your own.
 
Andrius Simutis said:
Not quite. There is a huge, HUGE, difference here. A company that is making their own cheaper products to compete with existing lines can be good for the consumer, but a company that just clones/knockoffs other manufacturers products is not helping "the market" or "competition". All they're doing is stealing the original companies R&D, intellectual property, and experience. Those things cost money and that's why some of these products cost more than you'd like. Cut into the sales for the original company, and there's less money for them to put into the next product. What then? Why should Canon shoulder the costs for some other company to ride along for free? That's why companies that act ethically will license technology and designs. Unethical companies will clone.
The "Japanese tech companies" got their start making lower cost products after WWII, but soon enough learned how to make them better, and got better at making them. They didn't invent the radio, but they didn't make a knockoff of RCA's radio either. If Yongnou wants to make a lens, great. They should just design their own and not clone a 1-1 copy of someone else's.
I guess we could look at it like this, that the difference is between making another Zombie movie or selling pirate DVD copies of Shaun of the Dead on the street corner. It's a heck of a lot cheaper to just burn some DVDs of someone else's movie than it is to write, shoot, edit, and publish your own.
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Patent law is very complex but there is a difference between producing a substantially similar product and copying a product to the extent it is patent infringement.

Canon has a stable of lawyers ready to prosecute any patent infringement and I'd leave them to it before crying foul.

Actually the fact that this lens does NOT have an ASM motor, unlike the Canon lens, seems to me that it is less likely this would be patent infringement. You are not getting an exact copy of a Canon lens if you buy this one. They definitely have different motors. Is it still infringement? I don't know, it's a very technical issue to litigate.

I agree with your general idea of patent law, it makes research and development worthwhile. However, I do think over the years corporations have lobbied to strengthen patent law to the point it squishes competition, which is not good. A balance is required and right now we're on the side of stamping out competition, not promoting it.
 
If you knew the level of optical technology that went into Canon lenses, then I don't think this glass would matter much to you. They may look similar on the outside, but I highly doubt the performance will be anything close.
 
Lenses have patents on them, but they expire now and then, 14 years for designs in the US, however the names are trademarked and won't expire. Therefore a company can use the same designs as zeiss or canon, (I mean, someone please make new zeiss superspeeds) and in the lens business there are still old lenses that cost a ton of money to buy or rent. So if they have access to good glass, good coatings, etc. why not go for it?
 
Mitch Gross said:
If you knew the level of optical technology that went into Canon lenses, then I don't think this glass would matter much to you. They may look similar on the outside, but I highly doubt the performance will be anything close.
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+1

unless they're also stealing Canon's factories, equipment, technology and engineers, I highly doubt this will be anywhere close to the Canon 50mm. Also, it doesn't cost much less than the original Canon which makes it pointless.

I would love to have a chinese rip-off Canon lens line-up that has the same quality and costs signifiacantly less as much as the next guy.
 
Some Canon optical components are not available on the open market, only created by and for Canon. Canon actually grows its own fluorite elements, which is a major feature in Canon optical design.
 
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