The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II and the Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX 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 35mm f2.8 Macro DX is the longer of the two lenses at 60mm. The Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II with a length of 25mm is 35mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX also has a larger diameter of 73mm 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, which means it is 140g (41%) lighter than the Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX which has a weight of 340g.
Lens Mounts
Both Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II has the Nikon F (FX) lens mount whereas the Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX has the Nikon F (DX) lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500 for the Nikon F (FX) Mount and Nikon D3500, Nikon D7500 and Nikon D5600 for the Nikon F (DX) Mount.
Voigtlander 40mm F2 SL II is also available in Canon EF and Pentax KAF mounts.
Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX is also available in Canon EF mount.
Focal Range
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 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 60mm.
Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 35mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 52.5mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.