All I want for Christmas is bokeh

[Vtec44]

Lot of misinformation going on in this thread...

I stand by my Macro mode statement!

 

[Proteus617]

"Bokeh" is like "Wheels". Before you get a drivers license, you might say something like: "Man, I can't wait to get some wheels". After you have been driving for six months you never again refer to your vehicle as "your wheels" as it makes you sound like a tool. Same thing with bokeh.

 

[nickzou]

"Bokeh" is like "Wheels". Before you get a drivers license, you might say something like: "Man, I can't wait to get some wheels". After you have been driving for six months you never again refer to your vehicle as "your wheels" as it makes you sound like a tool. Same thing with bokeh.

Definitely never got that impression from my photography profs.

 

[Josh66]

I don't think I have ever used the word 'Bokeh' in conversation... It is entirely an online only word for me.

You know good and bad bokeh when you see it. I never had to pull out fancy words like bokeh when talking with real people (none of you guys are real, since I have never met you, lol). In conversation, I would probably say something like "I love how creamy the background is" - not "man, that's some great bokeh".

 

[Crollo]

I WANT something small

I want bokeh

Pick one or the either. You can't get both.

 

[xenocide]

Whats wrong with this bokeh? Don't understand the circles in the center. Shot at 200 ISO, 200mm, f/6.3, 1/6 sec

http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc357/xenocide72/IMGP6023.jpg

 

[enzodm]

Whats wrong with this bokeh? Don't understand the circles in the center. Shot at 200 ISO, 200mm, f/6.3, 1/6 sec

http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc357/xenocide72/IMGP6023.jpg

If you mean the small circles inside the circles of confusion (the only thing I see in the picture), it is just the effect of the lens you are using. Not all lenses are equal: some help in producing good bokeh, some not, due to their optical formula. This lens will most likely give you harsh bokeh.
Something to read: http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-207.html

 

[Bend The Light]

I always believed (and I could be wrong, but since everyone else is making suggestions, I can too. ) that bokeh is the quality of the blur in the background due to the DoF being narrow. Lenses render the bokeh differently, and different backgrounds will obviously affect this, too.
A creamy background, with no circle bits OOF lights is still bokeh. Those little circles (or hexagons, octagons, etc. depending on the aperture blades of the lens) are not bokeh as such, they are PART of the bokeh...

As for using a compact...I had an Olympus SZ10 a short while back which i won in a competition...it was quite good at bokeh, I thought:


Hoverfly Olympus by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr

 

[Ron Evers]

Whats wrong with this bokeh? Don't understand the circles in the center. Shot at 200 ISO, 200mm, f/6.3, 1/6 sec

http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc357/xenocide72/IMGP6023.jpg

Perhaps a mirror lens.

 

[kousPhoto]

informative thanks for the debate