Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S vs Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S — Optical Ray-Tracing & Bokeh Comparison

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

Optical & Portrait Metric	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S	Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S	What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance	2.01 m	3.41 m	The Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S requires 1.4 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	49.0 mm (-1.9%)	87.1 mm (+2.4%)	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S frames like 49.0 mm (-1.9%) at 2.0 m; Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S frames like 87.1 mm (+2.4%) at 3.4 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	17 cm (1.93 m – 2.10 m)	17 cm (3.33 m – 3.49 m)	Both lenses deliver the exact same 17 cm sharp focus zone.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	41.7 mm (f/1.2)	70.8 mm (f/1.2)	Distant background blur discs are 70% larger on the Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.45 m	0.85 m	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S focuses 40 cm closer (0.45 m vs. 0.85 m) for tighter close-ups.
Patent Prescription	WO2021241230A1 (17/15)	US20260086320A1 (15/10)	Published optical prescriptions traced in the 3D simulator above.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S or Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S at f/1.2 has a 41.7 mm entrance pupil, while Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S at f/1.2 has a 70.8 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S?

For an upper-body portrait, Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S stands 2.01 m from the subject (sharp zone 17 cm, from 1.93 m to 2.10 m), whereas Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S stands 3.41 m away (sharp zone 17 cm, from 3.33 m to 3.49 m).

How do the optical designs of Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S compare?

Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S uses 17 elements in 15 groups (WO2021241230A1, effective focal length 49.0 mm at portrait distance). Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S uses 15 elements in 10 groups (US20260086320A1, effective focal length 87.1 mm).

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