Total winner. No-brainer RF lens

So, anyway - I'm glad this review posting went completely off the rails with intense, pro-level pixel peeping and theatrics. More below - a few shots while running around with two toddlers in Central Park.

Understanding where a lens is at its worst is important because it allows you to make simple adjustments in the field to avoid trouble.

The bottom line on this lens is that you will not  find a new lens under $500 that performs like this one. You will not find one at $1,000. Outside the 35L II, and perhaps some of the Zeiss offerings - this is a brilliant showing.

Below. If you need to take daylight landscapes like this at f/1.8 - which is usually stupid - here is the result. The lower right corner is the worst of it. You can also see the peripheral vignetting (software correction was turned off)

Takeaway: I'm very surprised how the edge detail held together. This is wide open, after all. I know my Leica 35/2 wouldn't fare better from a technical perspective.

Wide open landscape in broad daylight. Like a boss!

Below: Torture test. too much scene contrast to be reasonable. Wide open. Snips are at 100%. I'm not a corner peeper, but that's more detail than expected for a $400 at f/1.8

Takeaway. Surprisingly better than expected for such bad light. Corners resolved more detail than expected wide open in this circumstance.

Here's an attempt at making the worst possible bokeh - mid-distance subject with a messy out of focus background - especially in the corners.

Takeaway: Only the best (read >4-8x more expensive) 35mm lenses would make this beautiful if you pixel peep the blur in the corners. It's far less nervous and unseemly than suggested. Having owned the Sigma ART - this is much easier to deal with.

Pixel peep the bokeh in the corners if you need to complain about something

A little more pixel peeping. I find that slightly-stopped-down blur tends to be the nastiest. Here's some at 100%.

Takeaway: If you must pixel peep backgrounds - this is not an epic world-class result. It's far better than the price tag, though.

Wide open with a busy background, stopped down just a wee bit.

Below: You can peep this giant, stopped down image in ugly, hard sun. There's almost too much detail. I'd probably soften it up in post. But that's me.

Peep my pixels.

Conclusion:

This lens offers too much goodness for the price tag. Including:

• Good contrast, neutral color, loads of resolving power at all apertures
• You can get your corner detail (if you want it) stopped down, and more than you'd expect when open
• Image stabilization for stills is useful
• Close focus ability expands the lens's usefulness
• The lens performs well in harsh situations where cheap lenses usually fall apart
• You can't get this kind of performance for even twice as much $$
• It's small, light, and still feels reassuring

There are drawbacks:

• Pretty substantial vignetting
• You'll see CAs, especially open with contrast
• (GOOD NEWS - above are the easiest issues to correct)
• Transitional out of focus areas and front-bokeh is pedestrian and can be unattractive 
• You'll get some smearing and nervous bokeh with very busy backgrounds