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Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM vs. Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G

Pick the 14mm f/1.8 if you want a wider field of view, pick the 20mm f/1.8 if you want about 43% more background blur. Compare both side by side.

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

Optical & Portrait Metric Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance 0.61 m 0.84 m The Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G requires 0.2 m more room behind you for the same subject size.
Background Field of View (Compression) 105° 84° Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G shows a 20% narrower slice of the room behind the subject (84° vs. 105°), isolating them against a cleaner background.
Entrance Pupil Diameter 7.8 mm (f/1.8) 11.1 mm (f/1.8) Distant background blur discs are 42% larger on the Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G.
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) 60% (-1.3 EV) 85% (-0.9 EV) Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (85% vs. 60% roundness).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing) 13.9 mm (-0.5%) 19.8 mm (-0.8%) Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM frames like 13.9 mm (-0.5%) at 0.6 m; Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G frames like 19.8 mm (-0.8%) at 0.8 m.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) 31 cm (49 cm – 80 cm) 28 cm (72 cm – 100 cm) The Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G has a 10% thinner focus zone (31 cm vs. 28 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus.
Minimum Focus Distance 0.25 m 0.19 m Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G focuses 6 cm closer (0.25 m vs. 0.19 m) for tighter close-ups.

Questions

Which blurs the background more, Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM or Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM at f/1.8 has a 7.8 mm entrance pupil, while Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G at f/1.8 has a 11.1 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM and Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G?

For an upper-body portrait, Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM stands 0.61 m from the subject (sharp zone 31 cm, from 49 cm to 80 cm), whereas Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G stands 0.84 m away (sharp zone 28 cm, from 72 cm to 100 cm).

How do the optical designs of Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM and Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G compare?

Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM uses 14 elements in 12 groups (WO2021199923A1, effective focal length 13.9 mm at portrait distance). Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G uses 14 elements in 12 groups (WO2020213337A1, effective focal length 19.8 mm).

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