Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM vs Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM II

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

Optical & Portrait Metric	Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM	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)	25°	24°	Identical 25° horizontal background view behind the subject.
Entrance Pupil Diameter	60.7 mm (f/1.4)	60.7 mm (f/1.4)	Nearly identical distant background blur size at equal framing.
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field)	66% (-0.6 EV)	67% (-0.6 EV)	Similar corner bokeh shape wide open (66% vs. 67% roundness at 90% field).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing)	82.6 mm (-2.8%)	83.0 mm (-2.4%)	At 3.4 m, Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM frames like a 82.6 mm lens while Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II frames like a 83.0 mm lens.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone)	20 cm (3.31 m – 3.51 m)	20 cm (3.31 m – 3.51 m)	Both lenses deliver the exact same 20 cm sharp focus zone.
Minimum Focus Distance	0.85 m	0.85 m	Both lenses share the same 0.85 m close-focus limit.

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Questions

Which blurs the background more, Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM 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). Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM at f/1.4 has a 60.7 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 Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM and Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II?

For an upper-body portrait, Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM stands 3.41 m from the subject (sharp zone 20 cm, from 3.31 m to 3.51 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 Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM and Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II compare?

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM uses 11 elements in 8 groups (WO2017130571A1, effective focal length 82.6 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.