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63mm medium format vs 50mm full frame portrait comparison
Interactive side-by-side simulation at the same subject size: see how 63mm medium format and 50mm full frame change camera distance, perspective, depth of field and background blur.
What this comparison shows
Both images show the same portrait at the same size. Both cameras stand at almost the same distance, because 63mm medium format and 50mm full frame have a similar field of view. From closer in, 63mm medium format shows more of the room around the person. 50mm full frame has a narrower field of view, so the background looks larger and closer and is easier to simplify.
Start at f/2.8 on the left and f/1.4 on the right. Then try f/1.8 vs f/1.8, or open both to f/2.8 and f/1.2. Match depth of field sets the right-hand aperture so the background is as blurred as on the left. The larger medium-format sensor reaches full-frame background blur at a slower f-number.
At the face framing, 63mm medium format stands 83 cm from the subject. At f/2.8 the sharp zone runs from 81 cm to 86 cm. 50mm full frame stands 80 cm away, and at f/1.4 the sharp zone runs from 79 cm to 82 cm.
Questions
How far from the subject do you stand with 63mm medium format and 50mm full frame?
In the face framing, 63mm medium format stands 83 cm from the subject and 50mm full frame stands 80 cm. Both cameras stand at almost the same distance, because 63mm medium format and 50mm full frame have a similar field of view.
Which blurs the background more, 63mm medium format or 50mm full frame?
At the same framing, a distant background blurs in proportion to the aperture opening, focal length divided by f-number. 63mm medium format at f/2.8 opens 22.5 mm and 50mm full frame at f/1.4 opens 35.7 mm, so 50mm full frame blurs it about 1.6 times as much. Close behind the person, the focal length matters less and the f-number more.
Do 63mm medium format and 50mm full frame give a different perspective?
Hardly. Both frame the face from almost the same distance, so perspective and background size match. What changes is how much the background blurs at a given f-number.
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Also see: depth of field, bokeh, crop factor, lens compression.