One Year Later: Handevision 35mm f/2.4

A little more than a year ago, I picked up the Handevision Iberit 35mm f/2.4 lens, and posted my initial impressions: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4241005

Since then, my Fuji stable has grown. No longer sporting a lone X100S/X100F, I now have, in addition to the Handevision, the Fuji 35mm f/2, 90mm f/2, 100-400, and (this is the important one) a Leica Elmarit 28mm f/2.8. Oh, and the X-E2 magically turned into an X-Pro2. All since winter 2017 - maybe I have a problem...

Anyway, the manual focus honeymoon is over for my Handevision lens. It's been on a few excursions, the latest being a short hike through a city park here in Austin. My other lenses have all very clearly shown their strengths in terms of image quality, and springing for the Leica has further exposed me to a whole new world of detail.

The Handevision 35mm f/2.4 has not managed to stand out on its own in any particular area. Other than being fun to use as a fully manual lens, it does not give me much reason to bring it along whenever I'm out and about. Here are some examples from today (the EXIF says 28mm because I forgot to change the setting in-camera):

The bokeh is flat and muddy; there is simply no depth to my images! What is in focus seems sharp enough, and I do not notice much vignetting or distortion, but the out-of-focus rendering is uninspiring.

Compare these middle-of-day bokehlicious flower shots to ones from the 35, 90, and Leica in similar conditions:

35mm f/2

90mm f/2

Leica 28mm f/2.8

And this shot with the 100-400:

I do not see the same kind of flatness. This has actually given me new appreciation for the Fuji 35mm f/2! I do not have much reason to leave the Fuji lens behind, in favor of this one. All to say, for a $300-500 lens budget, if one wanted a full manual lens, I would recommend searching for a good SLR lens to adapt instead of the Handevision Iberit 35mm f/2.4. It does handle very nicely, but that is not enough to make up for the fact that I wish I'd brought a different kit.