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80mm medium format vs 85mm full frame portrait comparison
Interactive side-by-side simulation at the same subject size: see how 80mm medium format and 85mm 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. For the same head size, the 85mm full frame camera stands about 1.5 times farther back than the 80mm medium format camera. From closer in, 80mm medium format shows more of the room around the person. 85mm full frame has a narrower field of view, so the background looks larger and closer and is easier to simplify.
Start at f/1.7 on the left and f/1.4 on the right. Then try f/1.8 vs f/1.8, or open both to f/1.7 and f/1.2. 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, 80mm medium format stands 106 cm from the subject. At f/1.7 the sharp zone runs from 104 cm to 107 cm. 85mm full frame stands 136 cm away, and at f/1.4 the sharp zone runs from 135 cm to 138 cm.
Questions
How far from the subject do you stand with 80mm medium format and 85mm full frame?
In the face framing, 80mm medium format stands 106 cm from the subject and 85mm full frame stands 136 cm. For the same head size, the 85mm full frame camera stands about 1.5 times farther back than the 80mm medium format camera.
Which blurs the background more, 80mm medium format or 85mm full frame?
At the same framing, a distant background blurs in proportion to the aperture opening, focal length divided by f-number. 80mm medium format at f/1.7 opens 47.1 mm and 85mm full frame at f/1.4 opens 60.7 mm, so 85mm full frame blurs it about 1.3 times as much. Close behind the person, the focal length matters less and the f-number more.
Does 85mm full frame compress the background compared with 80mm medium format?
Compression comes from camera distance, not from the focal length itself. For the same framing, 85mm full frame stands about 1.5 times farther back than 80mm medium format, so the background looks larger and closer behind the person and less of it fits in the frame.
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Also see: depth of field, bokeh, crop factor, lens compression.