Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S vs Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm 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/1.8 S	Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S	What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance	2.01 m	3.41 m	The Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S requires 1.4 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	48.6 mm (-2.9%)	83.7 mm (-1.6%)	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S frames like 48.6 mm (-2.9%) at 2.0 m; Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S frames like 83.7 mm (-1.6%) at 3.4 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	26 cm (1.89 m – 2.15 m)	25 cm (3.29 m – 3.54 m)	Both lenses deliver the exact same 26 cm sharp focus zone.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	27.8 mm (f/1.8)	47.2 mm (f/1.8)	Distant background blur discs are 70% larger on the Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.4 m	0.8 m	Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S focuses 40 cm closer (0.4 m vs. 0.8 m) for tighter close-ups.
Patent Prescription	WO2019220618A1 (13/9)	JP2020-173366A (12/8)	Published optical prescriptions traced in the 3D simulator above.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S or Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm 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/1.8 S at f/1.8 has a 27.8 mm entrance pupil, while Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S at f/1.8 has a 47.2 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S?

For an upper-body portrait, Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S stands 2.01 m from the subject (sharp zone 26 cm, from 1.89 m to 2.15 m), whereas Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S stands 3.41 m away (sharp zone 25 cm, from 3.29 m to 3.54 m).

How do the optical designs of Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S compare?

Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S uses 13 elements in 9 groups (WO2019220618A1, effective focal length 48.6 mm at portrait distance). Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S uses 12 elements in 8 groups (JP2020-173366A, effective focal length 83.7 mm).

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