Canon 60D & Voigtlander 58/1.4 Nokton - a good combo?

[graeme]

It's finally time to upgrade from my ( sort of ) trusty 20D.

I've decided on the 60D as a replacement.

I realize that the 18mp sensor is going to need good glass in front of it. I'm thinking about the Voigtlander 58 as I use that approximate focal length a lot. I know that there isn't a native EOS mount version and I'll have to use an adaptor. Will this involve any optical compromises. I have no problem with manually setting the aperture and lack of focus confirmation is OK as I'll be using Live View.

I'd welcome any opinions on this lens choice.

Graeme

[JeanMichel]

Hi,

I gather from the store (http://www.leicaboutique.com) where I purchased a 20 and a 40 Voigtlander that the 58 1.4 in a Canon mount "is coming soon". I use the two small lenses on a 5D2 and am very pleased with the results.

Jean-Michel

[graeme]

Thanks Jean-Michel

Maybe I'll just get the 60D and wait until the EOS mount version of the lens is released.

Graeme

[stever]

is the Nokton really better than the Canon 50 1.4 (which is not very good wide open but pretty nice at 2.8 and great f4 - f8) ?  and is it worth the loss of autofocus?  i think photozone.de may have a test

i have the voigtlander 20 which is not very good wide open - not unreasonable for a pancake lens

[graeme]

is the Nokton really better than the Canon 50 1.4 (which is not very good wide open but pretty nice at 2.8 and great f4 - f8) ?  and is it worth the loss of autofocus?  i think photozone.de may have a test

i have the voigtlander 20 which is not very good wide open - not unreasonable for a pancake lens

Stever

I got the impression that Photozone thought that the Nokton had the edge optically.

I like the idea of:

the slightly longer focal length ( it's a sweet spot for me )

It's probably going to be better built than the Canon ( i don't have a lot of faith in the build quality of their ' mid range' gear ).

The lack of auto focus isn't an issue, I'll be using live view ( it's also one less thing to go wrong ).

I'm also kind of intrigued by the thing.

And if I really wanted to save pennies I'd get one of the 50mm 1.8 plastic wonders - sharp, but I've already had one die on me and the 'focus ring' is a joke.

Thanks for your input.

Graeme

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Another possibility would be a Tamron 60/2.0 macro. It goes to 1:1, auto-focuses, and is surely optically better corrected than either Canon or Nokton. Just a thought.

[graeme]

Thanks Slobodan

I'd actually looked at the Tamron and it sounds great but I'm after something that will work on full frame as well as APS-C. Until a few weeks ago I was dithering between the 60D and the 5DMk 2. Circumstances may yet dictate that I may buy or at least have to hire a full frame camera so I try to make sure that my lenses will work on both.

Regards

Graeme

( Just used the 60D for the first time today - makes the 20D look stone age, so many menus, but live view using that swivelling screen is a joy ).