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Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S vs. Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S

Pick the 20mm f/1.8 if you want a wider field of view, pick the 24mm f/1.8 if you want about 20% more background blur. Compare both side by side.

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

Optical & Portrait Metric Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance 0.84 m 0.99 m The Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S requires 0.2 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Background Field of View (Compression) 85° 74° Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S shows a 13% narrower slice of the room behind the subject (74° vs. 85°), isolating them against a cleaner background.
Entrance Pupil Diameter 11.1 mm (f/1.8) 13.3 mm (f/1.8) Distant background blur discs are 20% larger on the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S.
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) 63% (-1.2 EV) 55% (-1.3 EV) Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (63% vs. 55% roundness).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing) 19.7 mm (-1.3%) 23.7 mm (-1.3%) Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S frames like 19.7 mm (-1.3%) at 0.8 m; Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S frames like 23.7 mm (-1.3%) at 1.0 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) 28 cm (72 cm – 100 cm) 27 cm (87 cm – 1.15 m) The Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S has a 3% thinner focus zone (28 cm vs. 27 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Minimum Focus Distance 0.2 m 0.25 m Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S focuses 5 cm closer (0.2 m vs. 0.25 m) for tighter close-ups.

Questions

Which blurs the background more, Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S or Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S at f/1.8 has a 11.1 mm entrance pupil, while Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S at f/1.8 has a 13.3 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S?

For an upper-body portrait, Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S stands 0.84 m from the subject (sharp zone 28 cm, from 72 cm to 100 cm), whereas Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S stands 0.99 m away (sharp zone 27 cm, from 87 cm to 1.15 m).

How do the optical designs of Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S and Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S compare?

Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S uses 15 elements in 11 groups (WO2021117429A1, effective focal length 19.7 mm at portrait distance). Nikon NIKKOR Z 24mm f/1.8 S uses 12 elements in 9 groups (JP2019-090948A, effective focal length 23.7 mm).

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