Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S vs Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena — Optical Ray-Tracing & Bokeh Comparison

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

Optical & Portrait Metric	Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S	Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena	What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance	3.41 m	5.40 m	The Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena requires 2.0 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	87.1 mm (+2.4%)	130.2 mm (-3.6%)	Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S frames like 87.1 mm (+2.4%) at 3.4 m; Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena frames like 130.2 mm (-3.6%) at 5.4 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	17 cm (3.33 m – 3.49 m)	25 cm (5.28 m – 5.53 m)	The Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S has a 33% thinner focus zone (17 cm vs. 25 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	70.8 mm (f/1.2)	75.0 mm (f/1.8)	Nearly identical distant background blur size at equal framing.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.85 m	0.82 m	Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena focuses 3 cm closer (0.85 m vs. 0.82 m) for tighter close-ups.
Patent Prescription	US20260086320A1 (15/10)	WO2024147268A1 (16/14)	Published optical prescriptions traced in the 3D simulator above.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S or Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S at f/1.2 has a 70.8 mm entrance pupil, while Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena at f/1.8 has a 75.0 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena?

For an upper-body portrait, Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S stands 3.41 m from the subject (sharp zone 17 cm, from 3.33 m to 3.49 m), whereas Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena stands 5.40 m away (sharp zone 25 cm, from 5.28 m to 5.53 m).

How do the optical designs of Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena compare?

Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S uses 15 elements in 10 groups (US20260086320A1, effective focal length 87.1 mm at portrait distance). Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena uses 16 elements in 14 groups (WO2024147268A1, effective focal length 130.2 mm).

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