Bokeh on Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 II APO EX DG Macro

[LuckySo-n-So]

Not bad.
Nikon D90
F2.8
1/100 sec
ISO 400
LSU v. Auburn, October 23, 2009

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

hand held?

 

[PatrickHMS]

Ahhhhhh!

Fall colors...

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

hand held?

Yes.

 

[KmH]

Ya, not very nice at all on the bokeh, all squared off and nowhere near round, soft, and creamy.

I count that the lens has an aperture with only 6 blades. To bad. The best bokeh comes with around 9 blades like Nikon's Cream Machine, the 85 mm f/1.4.

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

FML

 

[Sinister_kid]

What the hell is Bokeh?

 

[musicaleCA]

Spend 5 minutes and learn.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

..interesting i didnt know different amount of blades made different shape bokeh. Now im glad im getting the 80-200 f2.8 D fron Nikon!

 

[PhotoXopher]

You can make your own bokeh shapes if you want...

DIY - Create your own Bokeh | DIYPhotography.net

 

[Montana]

I am sorry, but that out of focus background is not very "pleasing" to me. Of course, its largely due to whats IN the background that is so distracting. Fantastic subject though!

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

I am sorry, but that out of focus background is not very "pleasing" to me. Of course, its largely due to whats IN the background that is so distracting. Fantastic subject though!

Hmm. Thanks for all of your helpful replies. I guess it's just my LSU homerism coming through, but I love the way the purple, gold(yellow), and white are rendered behind the cheerleader, kind of like a Seurat painting. However, once you get out of the stands, and see the people on the sidelines, I can understand how that may not be so pleasing to someone.

I also understand that a Sigma is not going to produce the results of a Nikkor 1.8 prime or a Canon "L" series lens.

It seems I may be missing the boat on the elusive "Bokeh." I'm less than a year into this endeavour, so I'll take any help I can get.

How about an example to show me where my eye is lacking?

How about this photo? I have been led to assume that this is not bokeh, but just a shallow depth of field.
Shot with a $150 Sigma 70-300.

Thanks again for your comments! :cheers:

 

[PhotoXopher]

That's bokeh to me!

Bokeh is essentially a fancy name for the out of focus blur... Looks great in that last photo and I think the only reason it stands out so much in the first one is because of the heavy contrasting colors.

 

[musicaleCA]

Did ANYone look at my link? :banghead:

 

[Derrel]

I went and listened to Martin's post 181, but he did a poor job of describing bokeh--good job telling people how to pronounce the word, but not much real information. I posted this the other day...these links come from people who are kind of "into" bokeh, including the fellow who introduced the convept to the English-speaking work back in the late 1990's.

The Online Photographer: What Is Bokeh?

Bokeh Test

Bokeh in Pictures

http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_1/129000/129691/4/print/bokehrankings5.pdf
Mike Johnston's 2005 bokeh list in .pdf format, free download

Nikon | Imaging Products | NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights, Tale 32 : Ai AF DC Nikkor 135 mm f/2S
Nikon lens designer talking about the 135mm f/2 AF-D Defocus Control lens and how undercorrected spherical aberration leads to an almost ideal out of focus blurring in the background areas. This and the Nikon 105mm D.C. lens have user-adjustable bokeh.


http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bokeh

Silverbased | Bokeh: What it is and isn’t

Learning bokeh - Page 3 - Rangefinderforum.com

Here is an example of a person with a very shallow understanding of bokeh, and who has developed a bunch of bokeh "textures", thinking that bokeh refers exclusively to out of focus specular highlights or out of focus lights. Still,it's interesting to see what one person's incomplete idea of bokeh is all about 155+ Free Grungy And Beautiful Bokeh Textures | Little Box Of Ideas