Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM vs Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM — Optical Ray-Tracing & Bokeh Comparison

Portrait At-a-Glance Comparison (Upper Body Framing)

Optical & Portrait Metric	Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM	Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM	What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance	1.42 m	2.01 m	The Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM requires 0.6 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	34.7 mm (-0.7%)	49.3 mm (-1.5%)	Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM frames like 34.7 mm (-0.7%) at 1.4 m; Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM frames like 49.3 mm (-1.5%) at 2.0 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	20 cm (1.33 m – 1.53 m)	20 cm (1.92 m – 2.12 m)	Both lenses deliver the exact same 20 cm sharp focus zone.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	25.0 mm (f/1.4)	35.7 mm (f/1.4)	Distant background blur discs are 43% larger on the Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.28 m	0.4 m	Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM focuses 12 cm closer (0.28 m vs. 0.4 m) for tighter close-ups.
Patent Prescription	JP H11-211978A (11/9)	US20250251576A1 (15/11)	Published optical prescriptions traced in the 3D simulator above.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM or Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM at f/1.4 has a 25.0 mm entrance pupil, while Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM at f/1.4 has a 35.7 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM and Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM?

For an upper-body portrait, Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM stands 1.42 m from the subject (sharp zone 20 cm, from 1.33 m to 1.53 m), whereas Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM stands 2.01 m away (sharp zone 20 cm, from 1.92 m to 2.12 m).

How do the optical designs of Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM and Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM compare?

Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM uses 11 elements in 9 groups (JP H11-211978A, effective focal length 34.7 mm at portrait distance). Canon RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM uses 15 elements in 11 groups (US20250251576A1, effective focal length 49.3 mm).

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Also see: depth of field, bokeh, crop factor, lens compression.