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Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. vs. Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH.

Pick the 28mm f/1.4 if you want about 43% more background blur, pick the 28mm f/2 if you want a wider field of view. Compare both side by side.

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

Optical & Portrait Metric Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance 1.15 m 1.15 m Identical working distance—both frame an upper-body portrait from the exact same spot.
Background Field of View (Compression) 65° 67° Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. shows a 3% narrower slice of the room behind the subject (65° vs. 67°), isolating them against a cleaner background.
Entrance Pupil Diameter 20.0 mm (f/1.4) 14.0 mm (f/2) Distant background blur discs are 43% larger on the Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH..
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) 72% (-0.8 EV) 100% (-0.4 EV) Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (100% vs. 72% roundness).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing) 28.1 mm (+0.2%) 27.3 mm (-2.5%) At 1.1 m, Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. frames like a 28.1 mm lens while Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. frames like a 27.3 mm lens.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) 21 cm (1.05 m – 1.26 m) 30 cm (1.02 m – 1.31 m) The Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. has a 31% thinner focus zone (21 cm vs. 30 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Minimum Focus Distance 0.7 m 0.7 m Both lenses share the same 0.7 m close-focus limit.

Questions

Which blurs the background more, Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. or Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH.?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. at f/1.4 has a 20.0 mm entrance pupil, while Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. at f/2 has a 14.0 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. and Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH.?

For an upper-body portrait, Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. stands 1.15 m from the subject (sharp zone 21 cm, from 1.05 m to 1.26 m), whereas Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. stands 1.15 m away (sharp zone 30 cm, from 1.02 m to 1.31 m).

How do the optical designs of Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. and Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. compare?

Leica Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. uses 10 elements in 7 groups (US20160070086A1, effective focal length 28.1 mm at portrait distance). Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH. uses 11 elements in 9 groups (US20160266350A1, effective focal length 27.3 mm).

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