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45mm medium format vs 35mm full frame portrait comparison
Interactive side-by-side simulation at the same subject size: see how 45mm medium format and 35mm full frame change camera distance, perspective, depth of field and background blur.
What this comparison shows
Both images show the same portrait at the same size. Both cameras stand at almost the same distance, because 45mm medium format and 35mm full frame have a similar field of view. From closer in, 45mm medium format shows more of the room around the person. 35mm full frame has a narrower field of view, so the background looks larger and closer and is easier to simplify.
Start at f/2.8 on the left and f/1.4 on the right. Then try f/1.8 vs f/1.8, or open both to f/2.8 and f/1.4. Match depth of field sets the right-hand aperture so the background is as blurred as on the left. The larger medium-format sensor reaches full-frame background blur at a slower f-number.
At the face framing, 45mm medium format stands 60 cm from the subject. At f/2.8 the sharp zone runs from 58 cm to 63 cm. 35mm full frame stands 57 cm away, and at f/1.4 the sharp zone runs from 55 cm to 58 cm.
Questions
How far from the subject do you stand with 45mm medium format and 35mm full frame?
In the face framing, 45mm medium format stands 60 cm from the subject and 35mm full frame stands 57 cm. Both cameras stand at almost the same distance, because 45mm medium format and 35mm full frame have a similar field of view.
Which blurs the background more, 45mm medium format or 35mm full frame?
At the same framing, a distant background blurs in proportion to the aperture opening, focal length divided by f-number. 45mm medium format at f/2.8 opens 16.1 mm and 35mm full frame at f/1.4 opens 25.0 mm, so 35mm full frame blurs it about 1.6 times as much. Close behind the person, the focal length matters less and the f-number more.
Do 45mm medium format and 35mm full frame give a different perspective?
Hardly. Both frame the face from almost the same distance, so perspective and background size match. What changes is how much the background blurs at a given f-number.
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Also see: depth of field, bokeh, crop factor, lens compression.