Hanimex K fit - 21mm wide-auto lens

Hello fellow Pentax users,

I am an avid fan of Pentax and have 10+ Pentax camera bodies and assorted lenses at the present time (nb. must sell some!). I have been offered a Hanimex 21mm f3.8 wide-auto lens and hood. The optics seem good as does the general condition and it also has a metal hood with it. Does anyone have any experience of this lens - is it good, bad or indifferent? Is it worth £100?

Many thanks for reading this and if you have any advice that might help then I would look forward to receiving it.

simonpb

Hanimex rank among the 'cheap and cheerful' of independants and as such are optically average at best. An extreme lens such as this would have been among their more costly but £100 second hand sounds a bit steep to me. I'd be inclined to search eBay for a similar Tamron, Tokina or Vivitar for that sort of price or less.
I think most makes are optically superior to Hanimex but ultimately, if you like the look and feel of the lens and the image through the viewfinder is good (not too dark in the corners etc.) and you can knock the price down then go for it!

Hanimex doesn't make lenses. It put its brand name on other companies products. Check to see who else made the 21mm F3.8 size lens and you will know who really made it. I had an extremely sharp 28mm f2.8 with Hanimex colors. It was really the Sigma.
Cheers,
Bobinarabia

That's an excellent point, there are many 'clones' out there and they can indeed represent good value for money.
I used to buy photo mags regularly (only rarely nowadays) but they frequently featured lens comparison articles and would indicate performance and design similarities.

Thanks for the sound advice.

I haven't been able to find any info on this lens anywhere online - it does appear to be 'too good' for a Hanimex produced one - I have seen really cheap and cheerful Hanimex lenses!. Anyway I am now testing the lens.

Cheers!
Simonpb