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Canon 50mm f/0.95 vs. Canon 50mm f/1.0 L

Pick the 50mm f/0.95 if you want about 5% more background blur, pick the 50mm f/1 if you want closer focus. Compare both side by side.

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

Optical & Portrait Metric Canon 50mm f/0.95 Canon 50mm f/1.0 L 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.
Background Field of View (Compression) 38° 40° Canon 50mm f/0.95 shows a 5% narrower slice of the room behind the subject (38° vs. 40°), isolating them against a cleaner background.
Entrance Pupil Diameter 52.6 mm (f/0.95) 50.0 mm (f/1) Nearly identical distant background blur size at equal framing.
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) 50% (-1.4 EV) 59% (-1.1 EV) Canon 50mm f/1.0 L keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (59% vs. 50% roundness).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing) 51.8 mm (+3.5%) 49.3 mm (-1.4%) At 2.0 m, Canon 50mm f/0.95 frames like a 51.8 mm lens while Canon 50mm f/1.0 L frames like a 49.3 mm lens.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) 14 cm (1.95 m – 2.08 m) 14 cm (1.95 m – 2.09 m) Both lenses deliver the exact same 14 cm sharp focus zone.
Minimum Focus Distance 1 m 0.6 m Canon 50mm f/1.0 L focuses 40 cm closer (1 m vs. 0.6 m) for tighter close-ups.

Questions

Which blurs the background more, Canon 50mm f/0.95 or Canon 50mm f/1.0 L?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Canon 50mm f/0.95 at f/0.95 has a 52.6 mm entrance pupil, while Canon 50mm f/1.0 L at f/1 has a 50.0 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Canon 50mm f/0.95 and Canon 50mm f/1.0 L?

For an upper-body portrait, Canon 50mm f/0.95 stands 2.01 m from the subject (sharp zone 14 cm, from 1.95 m to 2.08 m), whereas Canon 50mm f/1.0 L stands 2.01 m away (sharp zone 14 cm, from 1.95 m to 2.09 m).

How do the optical designs of Canon 50mm f/0.95 and Canon 50mm f/1.0 L compare?

Canon 50mm f/0.95 uses 7 elements in 5 groups (US2836102A, effective focal length 51.8 mm at portrait distance). Canon 50mm f/1.0 L uses 11 elements in 9 groups (US4717245A, effective focal length 49.3 mm).

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