Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 vs. Topcor 58mm f/1.4

voe

Someone can prove me wrong but, I believe comparing these two lenses is something that no one have ever done (at least not published on the Internet).
The Voigtlander Nokton is one of the most respected if not the best of 50-58s bokeh wise. I tried to question that before with my Volna-9 50mm f/2.8 and in a way I succeeded.
Since I got my Nokton I was always happpy with it, but I kept asking myself how will the original Topcor 58mm f/1.4 do in comparison with the Cosina made copy.

Here is the test scene. With all the metallic objects the scene is really tough for these lenses:

The contenders:

Bokeh comparison at f/1.4:

Voigtlander Nokton

Topcor:

Center crop comparison:

The full size crops are here:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/3105423457_d8c37cf30f_o.jpg

The rest of the images you can get them in full size here:
Flickr: VoeBoe's Photostream

The conclusions are yours to make. Wink

Thanks for watching:)

the_Suede · Joined: 30 Oct 2008 Posts: 67 Location: Sweden

Thank you for your work... interesting Smile

I thought the designs were identical, but it seems that something has changed with the way they distribute LoCA from center/towards center!

Otherwise - they look identical. Good to know... How's the old one mechanically? I know the SL58 is good...

thePiRaTE!! · Joined: 31 Oct 2008 Posts: 416 Location: Canada

Thanks for sharing, this will quiet my curiousity. They look almost identical to me... maybe a little bit of purple in the SLII shot at 1.4 as well as a fraction more defined edges in the highlights. I'm a big fan of the Nokton myself (as you probably already know Smile

)

K.

voe · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:05 am Post subject:

ChrisLilley · Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 1767 Location: Nice, France

Thanks for doing the comparison!

The Nokton seems to be sharper and have more contrast wide open, although this also means the bokeh is not quite as good.

There seems to be some CA that improves by f/2.8 in both lenses. I guess that is typical.

no-X · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 4:36 pm Post subject:

To me the Nocton is sharper, but the Topcor shows less axial CA.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

I would take both of them ! Beautiful lenses!

voe · Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 3:04 am Post subject:

I did some pixel peeping today and I noticed the big difference in sharpnes and CA/PF between the two lenses at apertures f/2.8, f/4 and f/5.6. The Topcor seems to resolve better and there is almost no CA at f/2.8, while the Nokton has some even at f/4. At f/8 I am not able to distinguish between the two. But what I see is that some of the most used aperture range is actually better with Topcor.

spiralcity · Joined: 02 Oct 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Chicago, U.S.A

I thought both lenses performed well. The Voigtlander a bit better wide open, but by f/4 both seemed pretty equal to my eyes. Perhaps the Topcor was a bit more crisp from f/4 up.

voe · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:45 am Post subject:

roentarre · Joined: 18 Dec 2008 Posts: 32 Location: Melbourne Australia

Voe, you are right about the CA. Nokton 58mm f1.4 is really giving me a bit of grief in terms of CA even in overcast condition.

Seriously, I would have opted for Topcor if I know there are literally little difference between the two.

Great test and that pano of comparision shots graded by aperture is just surely breathtaking!

cbass · Joined: 27 Jul 2019 Posts: 441

The pictures are no longer available. Are you able to share them again?