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Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM vs. Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II

Pick the 85mm f/1.2 if you want about 17% more background blur, pick the 85mm f/1.4 if you want rounder highlights when stopped down. Compare both side by side.

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

Optical & Portrait Metric Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance 3.41 m 3.41 m Identical working distance—both frame an upper-body portrait from the exact same spot.
Background Field of View (Compression) 23° 24° Identical 23° horizontal background view behind the subject.
Entrance Pupil Diameter 70.8 mm (f/1.2) 60.7 mm (f/1.4) Distant background blur discs are 17% larger on the Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM.
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) 44% (-1.3 EV) 67% (-0.6 EV) Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (67% vs. 44% roundness).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing) 88.4 mm (+4.0%) 83.0 mm (-2.4%) At 3.4 m, Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM frames like a 88.4 mm lens while Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II frames like a 83.0 mm lens.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) 17 cm (3.33 m – 3.49 m) 20 cm (3.31 m – 3.51 m) The Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM has a 14% thinner focus zone (17 cm vs. 20 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Minimum Focus Distance 0.85 m 0.85 m Both lenses share the same 0.85 m close-focus limit.

Questions

Which blurs the background more, Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM or Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM at f/1.2 has a 70.8 mm entrance pupil, while Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II at f/1.4 has a 60.7 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM and Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II?

For an upper-body portrait, Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM stands 3.41 m from the subject (sharp zone 17 cm, from 3.33 m to 3.49 m), whereas Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II stands 3.41 m away (sharp zone 20 cm, from 3.31 m to 3.51 m).

How do the optical designs of Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM and Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II compare?

Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM uses 14 elements in 9 groups (US20200012073A1, effective focal length 88.4 mm at portrait distance). Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II uses 14 elements in 11 groups (WO2025239028A1, effective focal length 83.0 mm).

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