Head to head
Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. vs Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 MC (VM)
Both land on the shortlist for anyone building a fast, character-rich kit on film without paying modern-aspherical prices, and both render with personality rather than clinical sharpness. The split that decides almost everything else: the Canon is an FD-mount 50mm normal lens for SLRs, while the Nokton is a 35mm wide for Leica M and other rangefinders. Different mounts, different field of view, different cameras entirely.
How they differ
Start with what they bolt onto. The FD 50 needs an FD-mount SLR (or a mirrorless body plus adapter), focuses through the lens, and gives you a true normal angle of view. The Nokton is a rangefinder lens, so on a film M you focus by patch and frame at 35mm, which is the classic reportage width. Adapting the Canon to digital mirrorless is easy and cheap; adapting the VM Nokton to mirrorless is also trivial, but on a film body the two simply live in separate systems.
Choose Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C.
Pick the Canon if you already shoot an FD body, or you want a dirt-cheap fast normal to adapt onto mirrorless. The 50mm length suits portraits, general shooting, and tighter framing, and the S.S.C. coating handles flare reasonably for its era. It is the budget-friendly entry point of the two and easy to find used.
Full Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. guide →Choose Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 MC (VM)
Pick the Nokton if you shoot a Leica M or another VM-mount rangefinder and want a fast 35mm for street, documentary, and environmental work. The Classic rendering (gentle wide-open, sharpening as you stop down) is the draw, and the build is current-production with modern coatings, so it is a known quantity you can buy new.
Full Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 MC (VM) guide →The verdict
This is less a duel than a fork in the road: 50mm SLR glass versus 35mm rangefinder glass. Match the lens to the camera and the focal length you actually shoot. If you own both systems, the Canon is the cheap fun normal and the Nokton is the serious street 35.