Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR vs Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR — Optical Ray-Tracing & Bokeh Comparison

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

Optical & Portrait Metric	Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR	Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR	What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance	3.06 m	3.42 m	The Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR requires 0.4 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	50.3 mm (+0.5%)	56.2 mm (+0.4%)	Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR frames like 50.3 mm (+0.5%) at 3.1 m; Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR frames like 56.2 mm (+0.4%) at 3.4 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	44 cm (2.86 m – 3.29 m)	26 cm (3.30 m – 3.56 m)	The Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR has a 40% thinner focus zone (44 cm vs. 26 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	25.0 mm (f/2)	46.7 mm (f/1.2)	Distant background blur discs are 87% larger on the Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.39 m	0.5 m	Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR focuses 11 cm closer (0.39 m vs. 0.5 m) for tighter close-ups.
Patent Prescription	US10168507B2 (9/7)	JP2023-029039A (13/8)	Published optical prescriptions traced in the 3D simulator above.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR or Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR at f/2 has a 25.0 mm entrance pupil, while Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR at f/1.2 has a 46.7 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR and Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR?

For an upper-body portrait, Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR stands 3.06 m from the subject (sharp zone 44 cm, from 2.86 m to 3.29 m), whereas Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR stands 3.42 m away (sharp zone 26 cm, from 3.30 m to 3.56 m).

How do the optical designs of Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR and Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR compare?

Fujifilm XF 50mm F2 R WR uses 9 elements in 7 groups (US10168507B2, effective focal length 50.3 mm at portrait distance). Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR uses 13 elements in 8 groups (JP2023-029039A, effective focal length 56.2 mm).

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