Bokeh or not?

ecphoto · May 13, 2012

I notice that some people go nuts and some use hardly any bokeh.

What's more important? Isolating your subject or getting tack sharp focusing?

I have a copy of focal point2 so I can always add it later if the picture seems to need it.

Just wondering what other think about it.

ann · May 13, 2012

Perhaps your thinking of depth of field rather than bokeh. Bokeh is the quality of the out of focus area which is a product of the specific lens.

Use the combination of lens, fstop and focusing distance that gives you the "look" you want.

o hey tyler · May 13, 2012

ecphoto said:
I notice that some people go nuts and some use hardly any bokeh.

What's more important? Isolating your subject or getting tack sharp focusing?

I have a copy of focal point2 so I can always add it later if the picture seems to need it.

Just wondering what other think about it.

Computer generated DoF is nothing like doing it in camera.

rpm · May 13, 2012

tack sharp focusing?....technically you can achieve tack sharp with a 1.4 lens...if you nail the DoF and your focus point correctly. the use of 'bokeh' depends on what you're trying to achieve with it and if it add to the look you're after...

Patriot · May 13, 2012

I didn't even know you could do that out of camera. Why spend that much money on a program when you can do it yourself.

Garbz · May 13, 2012

ecphoto said:
What's more important? Isolating your subject or getting tack sharp focusing?

Isolating the subject is not important. Directing the eye of the viewer is important. You can do that in many different ways. Drawing converging lines is one way, using someone else's eyes to draw the viewer to try and find where they are looking is another. Even a busy and sharp background can still allow you to draw attention to a subject for instance if it is a repeating pattern and the subject is a stand out. Bokeh happens to be one of the easier ways when the background is completely out of control.

rpm · May 13, 2012

if you're using Photoshop....you already have a program that can do it. its not a 'dedicated' bokeh program...assuming you use anything beyond Lightroom to do your edits you can create a fake sense of bokeh but really its just blurring the background. it wont look anywhere near the real thing

KmH · May 13, 2012

Bokeh is not adjustable. It's an inherent quality of a lens design. There are 2 kinds of bokeh - cream cheese bokeh and hollywood bokeh. Cream cheese bokeh is very smooth and uniform. Hollywood bokeh is nice very round specular highlights.

The number and shape of the lens aperture blades and the blade edges has a lot to do with the quality of the bokeh a lens produces. Optical design also plays a part.

Canon's inexpensive, 5 blade (straight), 50 mm f/1.8 II lens is renouned for the low quality, nervous, garring, jittery bokeh it produces, while Nikon's 9 blade (curved), AF 85 mm f/1.4 is nicknamed "The Cream Machine" because of the silky smooth, cream cheese type bokeh it produces.

caseysrt · May 13, 2012

I've not read all of the replies so sorry if this has already been said.

For me, when I use bokeh depends on two things:

1: Do I want the background to be a part of the overall mood of the photo.

2: Is the background busy (distracting) such as random branches, a bright sign behind the subject, etc.

ecphoto · May 13, 2012

KmH said:
Bokeh is not adjustable. It's an inherent quality of a lens design. There are 2 kinds of bokeh - cream cheese bokeh and hollywood bokeh. Cream cheese bokeh is very smooth and uniform. Hollywood bokeh is nice very round specular highlights.

The number and shape of the lens aperture blades and the blade edges has a lot to do with the quality of the bokeh a lens produces. Optical design also plays a part.

Canon's inexpensive, 5 blade (straight), 50 mm f/1.8 II lens is renouned for the low quality, nervous, garring, jittery bokeh it produces, while Nikon's 9 blade (curved), AF 85 mm f/1.4 is nicknamed "The Cream Machine" because of the silky smooth, cream cheese type bokeh it produces.

Thanks KMH, you've explained it really well. I've never really understood it before now. I'm on a tight budget, what would kind of prime would you recommend to get those cream cheese results? I shoot canon(APSc).

KmH · May 13, 2012

Define 'tight budget' in dollars, but it will depend on the prime lens focal length you want. Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

You won't likely get superior bokeh from any consumer grade (tight budget) prime lens, because the best consumer grade lenses usually only have 7 aperture blades.

o hey tyler · May 13, 2012

ecphoto said:
KmH said:

Bokeh is not adjustable. It's an inherent quality of a lens design. There are 2 kinds of bokeh - cream cheese bokeh and hollywood bokeh. Cream cheese bokeh is very smooth and uniform. Hollywood bokeh is nice very round specular highlights.

The number and shape of the lens aperture blades and the blade edges has a lot to do with the quality of the bokeh a lens produces. Optical design also plays a part.

Canon's inexpensive, 5 blade (straight), 50 mm f/1.8 II lens is renouned for the low quality, nervous, garring, jittery bokeh it produces, while Nikon's 9 blade (curved), AF 85 mm f/1.4 is nicknamed "The Cream Machine" because of the silky smooth, cream cheese type bokeh it produces.

Click to expand...

Thanks KMH, you've explained it really well. I've never really understood it before now. I'm on a tight budget, what would kind of prime would you recommend to get those cream cheese results? I shoot canon(APSc).

The Canon 50mm f/1.4 is a good choice. Pretty high optical quality, and it has 8 aperture blades which produces far more pleasing renditions of out of focus areas. The lens can be had for ~$350, and is very worth it when compared to the 50mm f/1.8. It was the first prime lens I bought, and I still use it regularly.

table1349 · May 13, 2012

KmH said:
Bokeh is not adjustable. It's an inherent quality of a lens design. There are 2 kinds of bokeh - cream cheese bokeh and hollywood bokeh. Cream cheese bokeh is very smooth and uniform. Hollywood bokeh is nice very round specular highlights.

The number and shape of the lens aperture blades and the blade edges has a lot to do with the quality of the bokeh a lens produces. Optical design also plays a part.

Canon's inexpensive, 5 blade (straight), 50 mm f/1.8 II lens is renouned for the low quality, nervous, garring, jittery bokeh it produces, while Nikon's 9 blade (curved), AF 85 mm f/1.4 is nicknamed "The Cream Machine" because of the silky smooth, cream cheese type bokeh it produces.

You are correct in what you say, except you contradict yourself. There are 3 types of Bokeh. Cream Cheese Bokeh, Hollywood Bokeh, and the cheap 50mm crap Bokeh that you describe. There are only two desirable forms of Bokeh.