Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 SLII versus Nikon 50mm 1.4g

I just sold my Nikon 50mm f1.4 AfD lens am looking for a replacement. I don't want a heavy and very expensive 50mm. I was wondering

how the Voigtlander 58mm, newest version, compares with the Nikon 50mm 1.4G. I'm also wondering if the Nikon 50mm 1.4G is much

better than the Older D lens. I am willing to give manual focus a try. Thanks

<p>Unless you need to shoot at f/1.4 all the time save your money and get the 50mm f/1.8 G. I own a lot of lenses in the 50mm range and the best ones for sharpness and AF accuracy are the f/1.8's. I do not own the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 but I have the Nikon AFD and I have access to the 1.4G and the f/1.8 is a better lens.</p>

<p>Hi Leonard. I can't speak for the Voigtlander, but the 50mm f/1.4G is much sharper off-centre at wide apertures than the AF-D version (which is, frankly, soft away from the centre until you stop it down a lot; the AF-S isn't brilliant wide open, but at improves more rapidly and it's pretty good by f/2-f/2.8). Some like the AF-D's look for isolating the subject; I find the blur looks unnatural, so it never tempted me. The AF-S does have fairly visible LoCA. I went with the f/1.8 because the characteristics are similar, and my philosophy when it comes to a lens that's imperfect anyway is that I'll be less annoyed if I spend less on it. (I have the Sigma Art too, but that was worth the money to me.)<br />

<br />

The 58mm Nikkor has nicer bokeh, but arguably it'll fall into the "large and expensive" category you wanted to avoid. If you're on DX, the pre-ART 50mm f/1.4 Sigma HSM is pretty good (sharp and with nice bokeh), but it's a little bigger than the AF-S 50mm f/1.4, though not hugely so. The corners are horrible on FX, though. <a href="https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/AF-S-Nikkor-50mm-f-1.4G-on-Nikon-D810-versus-AF-Nikkor-50mm-f-1.4D-on-Nikon-D810-versus-50mm-F1.4-EX-DG-HSM-Nikon-on-Nikon-D810__199_963_198_963_202_963">Here</a>'s the AF-D, AF-S and old Sigma, for comparison. Obviously the 50mm Sigma Art is strong, but in size and cost it's second only to the 55mm Otus, so I suspect that's out.<br />

<br />

Allegedly Yongnuo might have an autofocus 50mm f/1.4 coming in F mount, though the "leaked" pictures look an awful lot like the Canon 50mm f/1.4. Might be worth keeping an eye out to see how that behaves if you're not in a hurry?</p>

I have read about how good the Nikon 50mm 1.8g is but I was wondering how it compares to the Voigtlander. Is the

50mm f1.8 really much better than the 50mm 1.4d which I found soft until about f5.6.

<p>I do not personally own one in a Nikon F mount, but the Helios MC 58mm f/2 is incredibly good on my various mounts that I do own it in (Contax RF, Nikon S2, M42, Praktina,....).<br /> Another positive for it is that it is quite inexpensive.<br /> I see listed Nikon F mount Helios that claim infinity focus. I've not tried them personally.<br /> Of course stop down and manual focus.<br /> I still shoot my non-AI Nikkor-H 50mm f/2 lens when I shoot my various Nikon SLRS. It is not as good as my Nikkor-S 55mm f/1.2 at f/1.2, but it equals or betters it at other apertures. ;)</p>

<p>If you are willing to go manual on the lens, there are other excellent lenses to consider, as well.</p>

<p>Tried the Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 SLII , compared it with my Nikkor 50mm F/1.2 and.. for me the Nikkor is the more desirable lens.. although a bit soft at 1.2 , I find it visibly sharper at F/2.0 and smaller apertures and I like the way it "draws" the picture much better .<br>

So given the choice my preference would be with the nikkor F/1.2 AI-s .<br>

If it needs to be AF then I think I would go for either the Nikon 50mm F/1.4 G , or if you do not need F1.4 then the F/1.8 G (much cheaper) would be my choice.<br>

There are plenty Reviews for the Nikkor 50mm F/1.2 Ai_s . on the web, if you're interested. :</p>

 

<p>The Voigt, I think, is based on the 58mm Topcor lens from a decade ago: no idea about its performance. In your shoes I would consider an original 50mm Makro-Planar ZF or ZF.2 (not Milvus), if you can swing the 2x price (less secondhand from KEH or ebay): that is an acclaimed lens. The Voigtlander strikes me as a rather idiosyncratic choice when the Nikkor AIS is available.</p>

<p>Neatly ducking all talk of Voigtlanders and Zeisses, of which I know nothing...</p>

 

<blockquote>Is the 50mm f1.8 really much better than the 50mm 1.4d which I found soft until about f5.6.</blockquote>

 

<p>It depends on your definition of "better"! It's certainly not Otus sharp, but it's <a href="https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/AF-S-Nikkor-50mm-f-1.4G-on-Nikon-D810-versus-AF-Nikkor-50mm-f-1.4D-on-Nikon-D810-versus-Nikon-AF-S-Nikkor-50mm-F18G-on-Nikon-D810__199_963_198_963_435_963">decent</a> by f/2.8, if not perfect in the corners. I also have the f/1.8 AF-D 50mm, and found it was so soft wide open that I couldn't really test my D800 for the AF focus issue with it. I've not noticed the kind of rendering that I found ugly in 50mm f/1.4 AF-D images, and it certainly has nicer bokeh than the 50mm f/1.8 AF-D. It's possible that the 50mm f/1.8 AF-D <a href="https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/AF-Nikkor-50mm-f-1.4D-on-Nikon-D810-versus-Nikon-AF-S-Nikkor-50mm-F18G-on-Nikon-D810-versus-AF-Nikkor-50mm-f-1.8D-on-Nikon-D810__198_963_435_963_177_963">has the edge</a> in sharpness at f/5.6, but obviously you're then stuck with fairly ugly bokeh and not much aperture. If you like the rendering of the 50mm f/1.4 AF-D, probably none of that matters.<br />

<br />

The 50mm f/1.8 AF-S is certainly not perfect - and it's also appreciably bigger than the AF-D version, although it's still not all that heavy. But if you want really <a href="https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/Zeiss-Carl-Zeiss-Milvus-F14-50mm-ZF2-Nikon-versus-Zeiss-Carl-Zeiss-Distagon-T-STAR-Otus-55mm-F14-ZF2-Nikon-versus-Sigma-50mm-F14-DG-HSM-A-Nikon__1605_0_1242_0_1307_0">good optics at a wide aperture</a>, you're looking at the Sigma Art or the Otus, and you weren't keen on the price or weight!</p>

<p>Price performance, it's hard to beat the 50mm f/1.8G. Much improved lens over the 50mm f/1.8D, well worth the extra expense and size. Generally, it renders pleasant and the issues found in extreme corner performance in lab tests turn out to be mostly non-issues in real life anyway.</p>

<p>If you're really OK with manual focus, I'd too recommend the AiS 50mm f/1.2; I agree with the description given by C.P.M. above. Its softness at f/1.2 and f/1.4 has its uses, but it's a bit an effect. From f/2 on, it's a terrific performer. For a lot less money, the Ai or Ai'ed 50mm f/2 is also a really good lens. But I've never used the Voigtländer, so my advice here is sure tainted by my own inventory ;-) That said, the reviews I've seen on that Voigltänder make me feel it's a good lens, but nothing incredibly special. I think the lenses mentioned above are better deals.</p>

 

<p>I have both the Voigtlander and the 1.8 G I personally like the character of the Voigtlander better though manual focus makes it more a specialty lens, 1.8 G isn't bad especially used with lens correction in Lightroom, way outside the price range is the Nikkor PC-E 45 it blows them booth away though not as quick.</p>

<p>It is challanging task to focus 58 f 1.4 lens wide-open if you shoot at distances 2-10 meters away. The human's eyes don't have enough resolution for that. The DOF is so tiny. You should use LV which is difficult in sunlight. <br />For most pictures focused I would take 50/1.8G. </p>

Thank you for all posts. I think I will go with Nikon 50mm f1.8g.

<p>thx for reporting back Leonard, let us know your findings ?</p>

I've owned a few of these lenses. The Voigtlander 58, great look and feel but I wasn't happy with the image quality on

high res cameras. Of the Nikons my favorite overall is the 1.8G for being super sharp, not very big or heavy, with much

better image rendering than the 1.8D and costing $200. The Sigma is nice (except that the sample I used could only hit

accurate focus on my D750 maybe 25% of the time) but it's so heavy and expensive that to me it doesn't count as a "nifty"

fifty.

I just got my nIkon 50mm f1.8g. Haven't done thorough testing but from the few photos that I took I would say it focuses faster and has

better IQ than the 50mm 1.4afd that I sold. It seems quite sharp at f5.6 and f8. I plan on getting the 24-70 and wonder how it compares to

that lens at 50mm.