The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tokina Opera 50mm F1.4 and the Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Tokina Opera 50mm F1.4 is the longer of the two lenses at 108mm. The Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II with a length of 25mm is 83mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tokina Opera 50mm F1.4 also has a larger diameter of 80mm compared to Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II's 63mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II weighs 200g, 78% (750g) lighter than the Tokina Opera 50mm F1.4's weight of 950g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Standard Prime Lenses in Canon EF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Standard Prime Lenses in Canon EF Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Tokina Opera 50mm F1.4 and Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II has the same Canon EF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon EF lenses are Canon 1D X III, Canon 6D MII and Canon 5D MIV.
Tokina Opera 50mm F1.4 is also available in Nikon F (FX) mount.
Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II is also available in Nikon F (FX) and Pentax KAF mounts.
Focal Range
Tokina Opera 50mm F1.4 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 50mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 80mm.
Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 40mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 64mm.