Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 vs Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S — Optical Ray-Tracing & Bokeh Comparison

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

Optical & Portrait Metric	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S	What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance	2.01 m	2.01 m	Identical working distance—both frame an upper-body portrait from the exact same spot.
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	49.0 mm (-2.0%)	48.6 mm (-2.9%)	At 2.0 m, Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 frames like a 49.0 mm lens while Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S frames like a 48.6 mm lens.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	20 cm (1.92 m – 2.12 m)	26 cm (1.89 m – 2.15 m)	The Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 has a 22% thinner focus zone (20 cm vs. 26 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	35.7 mm (f/1.4)	27.8 mm (f/1.8)	Distant background blur discs are 28% larger on the Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.37 m	0.4 m	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 focuses 3 cm closer (0.37 m vs. 0.4 m) for tighter close-ups.
Patent Prescription	JP2026-035920A (13/9)	WO2019220618A1 (13/9)	Published optical prescriptions traced in the 3D simulator above.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 or Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 at f/1.4 has a 35.7 mm entrance pupil, while Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S at f/1.8 has a 27.8 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 and Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S?

For an upper-body portrait, Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 stands 2.01 m from the subject (sharp zone 20 cm, from 1.92 m to 2.12 m), whereas Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S stands 2.01 m away (sharp zone 26 cm, from 1.89 m to 2.15 m).

How do the optical designs of Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 and Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S compare?

Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 uses 13 elements in 9 groups (JP2026-035920A, effective focal length 49.0 mm at portrait distance). Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S uses 13 elements in 9 groups (WO2019220618A1, effective focal length 48.6 mm).

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