Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR vs Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR — Optical Ray-Tracing & Bokeh Comparison

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

Optical & Portrait Metric	Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR	Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR	What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance	1.01 m	1.42 m	The Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR requires 0.4 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	16.0 mm (-0.2%)	23.0 mm (-0.0%)	Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR frames like 16.0 mm (-0.2%) at 1.0 m; Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR frames like 23.0 mm (-0.0%) at 1.4 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	33 cm (87 cm – 1.20 m)	32 cm (1.28 m – 1.60 m)	The Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR has a 4% thinner focus zone (33 cm vs. 32 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	11.4 mm (f/1.4)	16.4 mm (f/1.4)	Distant background blur discs are 44% larger on the Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.15 m	0.28 m	Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR focuses 13 cm closer (0.15 m vs. 0.28 m) for tighter close-ups.
Patent Prescription	US20160282590A1 (13/11)	US20140368926A1 (11/8)	Published optical prescriptions traced in the 3D simulator above.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR or Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR at f/1.4 has a 11.4 mm entrance pupil, while Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR at f/1.4 has a 16.4 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR and Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR?

For an upper-body portrait, Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR stands 1.01 m from the subject (sharp zone 33 cm, from 87 cm to 1.20 m), whereas Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR stands 1.42 m away (sharp zone 32 cm, from 1.28 m to 1.60 m).

How do the optical designs of Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR and Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR compare?

Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR uses 13 elements in 11 groups (US20160282590A1, effective focal length 16.0 mm at portrait distance). Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR uses 11 elements in 8 groups (US20140368926A1, effective focal length 23.0 mm).

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