Portrait At-a-Glance Comparison (Upper Body Framing)
| Optical & Portrait Metric | Sony Planar FE 50mm F1.4 ZA | Sony FE 50mm F1.8 | What It Means in Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper-Body Working Distance | 2.01 m | 2.01 m | Identical working distance—both frame an upper-body portrait from the exact same spot. |
| Background Field of View (Compression) | 39° | 39° | Identical 39° horizontal background view behind the subject. |
| Entrance Pupil Diameter | 35.7 mm (f/1.4) | 27.8 mm (f/1.8) | Distant background blur discs are 28% larger on the Sony Planar FE 50mm F1.4 ZA. |
| Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) | 56% (-1.2 EV) | 78% (-0.5 EV) | Sony FE 50mm F1.8 keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (78% vs. 56% roundness). |
| Effective Focal Length (Breathing) | 50.2 mm (+0.5%) | 50.8 mm (+1.7%) | At 2.0 m, Sony Planar FE 50mm F1.4 ZA frames like a 50.2 mm lens while Sony FE 50mm F1.8 frames like a 50.8 mm lens. |
| Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) | 20 cm (1.92 m – 2.12 m) | 26 cm (1.89 m – 2.15 m) | The Sony Planar FE 50mm F1.4 ZA has a 22% thinner focus zone (20 cm vs. 26 cm)—requiring more precise eye focus. |
| Minimum Focus Distance | 0.45 m | 0.45 m | Both lenses share the same 0.45 m close-focus limit. |