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Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM vs. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

Pick the 50mm f/1.4 if you want about 29% more background blur, pick the 50mm f/1.8 if you want less background blur. Compare both side by side.

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

Optical & Portrait Metric Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II 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) 39° 39° Identical 39° horizontal background view behind the subject.
Entrance Pupil Diameter 35.7 mm (f/1.4) 27.8 mm (f/1.8) Distant background blur discs are 28% larger on the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM.
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) 68% (-0.8 EV) 75% (-0.6 EV) Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (75% vs. 68% roundness).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing) 50.2 mm (+0.5%) 50.7 mm (+1.4%) At 2.0 m, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM frames like a 50.2 mm lens while Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II frames like a 50.7 mm lens.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) 20 cm (1.92 m – 2.12 m) 26 cm (1.89 m – 2.15 m) The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM has a 22% thinner focus zone (20 cm vs. 26 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Minimum Focus Distance 0.45 m 0.45 m Both lenses share the same 0.45 m close-focus limit.

Questions

Which blurs the background more, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM or Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM at f/1.4 has a 35.7 mm entrance pupil, while Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II at f/1.8 has a 27.8 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II?

For an upper-body portrait, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM stands 2.01 m from the subject (sharp zone 20 cm, from 1.92 m to 2.12 m), whereas Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II stands 2.01 m away (sharp zone 26 cm, from 1.89 m to 2.15 m).

How do the optical designs of Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II compare?

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM uses 7 elements in 6 groups (JP H06-242370A, effective focal length 50.2 mm at portrait distance). Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II uses 6 elements in 5 groups (JP S62-087922A, effective focal length 50.7 mm).

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