Questions tagged [bokeh]

Bokeh describes the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photograph.

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20 votes
5 answers
8k views

Bokeh of the human eye - How does it look like & vary across apertures and individuals?

Precisely what does the bokeh of a human eye look like? How does it vary over different apertures and different individuals? As a near-sighted person, it is fairly easy for me to get some idea of ...
21 votes
7 answers
11k views

How does background blur (bokeh) relate to sensor size?

This is a somewhat theoretical question. Suppose I first take a photo of a subject using a full frame sensor DSLR, with a given lens (say 50mm prime lens at f/3.5). Now suppose I exchange the camera ...
1 vote
3 answers
964 views

Calculating the "35mm equivalent" circle of confusion/DoF

I'm gonna introduce my concrete example, but I'd like to know how do do this calculation in general. Say I have a middle-format camera with film height 58mm and a 90mm/3.5 lens. What is the equivalent ...
19 votes
3 answers
17k views

What is the cause of this non-uniform bokeh effect?

A friend of mine is thinking of buying a used medium-format film TLR camera (a Mamiya C330), and he showed me some of the test shots he'd taken with it. I was struck by the curiously non-uniform ...
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

What can cause double-vision effect in slightly out of focus areas?

I have an issue with my Canon 70-200 F/4L USM. It is less sharp at 200mm than at shorter range and the objects that are slightly out of focus are rendered twice with horizontal offset. The shutter ...
6 votes
2 answers
256 views

Bokeh includes seemingly random fractions of a circle

While going through some pictures I noticed strange artifacts in the out-of-focus sunlight reflected on the surface of a lake. Most of the reflections appear as a full circle, but I marked the ...
2 votes
1 answer
620 views

Can a lens's bokeh be predicted by reading an MTF chart?

I've heard people say that everything meaningful about a lens's optical performance can be determined simply by looking at the MTF charts — although nothing is mentioned of that under How do I ...
3 votes
5 answers
3k views

Do you get more bokeh on a APSC sensor with a full frame 50mm f/1.8 lens or a APSC 30mm f/1.4?

I am trying to compose a detail shot where I want to get as much background blur as possible. I am using Sony a6500 camera (APSC 1.5x crop factor body). I am considering two lenses: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (...
48 votes
20 answers
17k views

How can I maximize the "blurry background, sharp subject" (bokeh) effect?

I know that this effect occurs when there's a shallow depth of field. My question is, what are the various ways I can increase this effect in my photos when I'm taking them? Note that I'm not ...
3 votes
2 answers
199 views

This photo has light dot bokeh in front of the subject, seemingly coming from the sun. How was this done, or how can the effect be achieved?

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/CONgtDuFozh/ ins: iwakurashiori This photo has light dot bokeh in front of the subject, seemingly coming from the sun. How was this done, or how can the effect be ...
28 votes
2 answers
25k views

What's the difference between Bokeh and Gaussian Blur?

I have heard multiple times in photography, the words Bokeh, and Gaussian Blur. To me, it seems that the words are used almost interchangeably, but in some instances, I have heard them contrasted. ...
1 vote
2 answers
194 views

Prime lens is over-exposed fully open, when in full daylight

I bought a Lumix f/1.7 25mm prime (H-H025), to use with my OM-D E10.3 When fully open on a bright sunny day, with the ISO set to 200 my shutter speed flashes at 4000 to indicate it's out of range. If ...
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why does electronic first curtain shutter affect rendering of blurred backgrounds?

Many recent cameras allow using electronic first curtain shutter with mechanical second curtain, avoiding the huge rolling shutter drawbacks of fully electronic shutter and at the same time avoiding ...
1 vote
1 answer
182 views

What causes the frosted glass effect of out-of-focus areas?

I expect that the out-of-focus areas would look like smooth gaussian blur ideally. But I found that they look like looking through frosted glass. Colors around the edges are blending with a grainy ...
1 vote
1 answer
417 views

Help me find a lens with peculiar bokeh

I want to take portrait pictures with an artistic look of flowers. Therefore Im looking for an vintage lens with peculiar bokeh. I have seen some images taken with older lenses with very ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Which lens should i choose for bokeh while video streaming?

I don't understand this lens topic. I watched so many videos and now i have more questions. I have a Canon M200 for streaming. I want nice bokeh effect for my background and silence auto focus. ...
8 votes
3 answers
457 views

What affects DOF more...distance to subject or focal length?

Say I want shoot a butterfly. My goal is to make sure the butterfly fills the frame. I can do this in two ways...I can use zoom or I can simply move the camera closer to the subject. Which will ...
3 votes
2 answers
755 views

What is the bokeh difference between 1/2.3" f/0.95 cell phone and 1" f/1.8 compact camera?

I am thinking of buying a Sony RX100 (mark i). The thing is, I am gonna use it for pet, flower photography, and I really like the f/0.95 lens on my cell phone camera. It produces creamy bokeh with 1/...
1 vote
2 answers
237 views

Cause of bokeh with dark ring and bright center

This is a detail from a photo that I took with a Fujifilm XF55-200mm lens. The lens was zoomed all the way to 200mm, and the aperture was wide open—f4.8. I wonder whether somebody knows the cause of ...
2 votes
3 answers
5k views

Why didn't I get bokeh with my 50mm f1.8?

Recently I took a photograph at an aperture of f/1.8, but there was very little bokeh. The shot was of a wave with a few boats in the background. Everything seems to be clear even at f/1.8. Can ...
14 votes
2 answers
3k views

What algorithm can I use to simulate bokeh?

I am attempting to write a script that loops through each pixel in a photograph and applies a bokeh to the image as a whole. I built a script based off this link, however that seems to be a hack. I ...
0 votes
1 answer
176 views

What is behind this symmetric coma like effect, and literally odd-ball bokeh, in a triplet lens?

The example picture, shot with a vintage triplet (Staeble Kata 45mm/f2.8, wide open, on APS-C, no further crop), shows a curious shape of coma-like cross pattern in the right- and leftmost sculptures -...
2 votes
5 answers
1k views

Does amount of background blur change with focal length given equal framing?

Let's assume I have two lenses, 50mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8. I want to fill the frame with the photographed object. Now, if the object is 50cm wide, I need to take the photograph at a distance of 1.112 ...
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

Is smooth and nice bokeh only a function of the lens?

Assuming I stick with my current 50mm, f1.8 prime on a DX, are there any: 1. Tips I could use to create better bokeh using the current lenses while shooting or by adjusting camera settings 2. Post ...
19 votes
2 answers
2k views

Clipped bokeh circles at max aperture with wide aperture, short focal length lenses

I recently purchased a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens for my Canon 450D and noticed soon that at least wide open, any bokeh circles in the lower half of an image (in landscape orientation) seem to have their ...
1 vote
5 answers
1k views

How to take a portrait with dramatic bokeh circles when the subject is close to the lights?

I used 50mm @ f1.8 to take a portrait snap. Light source (fancy lights) was near to subject (~3-5ft). I couldn't get bokeh with big circles with the subject there, but without the subject I could get ...
0 votes
5 answers
685 views

How do I find a camera specifically for bokeh / a very shallow depth of field?

I am interested in taking pictures with a very shallow depth of field, and also willing to have the option to have the bokeh effect, I'm not an expert in photography so I'm really confused about what ...
21 votes
8 answers
14k views

How does a teleconverter affect depth of field?

I'm aware that a teleconverter will reduce the amount of light reaching the film or sensor in a camera, and as such you hear people banding around things like "With a 2x teleconverter this 300mm f/2.8 ...
29 votes
4 answers
6k views

How do you achieve sharp bokeh circles?

There's an effect I'm looking for and I was wondering if I could get it with just the camera or will I need to open up photoshop to achieve something like it. I'm trying to get shark bokeh circles ...
5 votes
2 answers
4k views

How to prevent "cats eye" bokeh?

What steps could someone take in order to keep their bokeh balls as circular as possible? I know stepping down the lens aperture will help. Are there any other suggestions? Would using the lens hood ...
3 votes
3 answers
930 views

In photo taken with a prime lens, what is the cause of the "zoomed" bokeh appearance?

This image was taken with a Vivitar 24/2 (Kiron) prime lens. The lens is sharp. The focal plane is reasonably flat, and there is barrel distortion. The bokeh balls have an oval shape in which the ...
1 vote
1 answer
452 views

What causes this 'bokeh crop' effect?

I've seen this effect before & not thought much about it, but I was trying out some experiments with a string of xmas lights & short DoF & noticed that sometimes I can get circular bokeh ...
3 votes
2 answers
721 views

How can I take pictures with extreme bokeh with an in-focus subject nearby?

How is that possible to make this type of picture, once his face is close to the christmas lights and all huge without focus. I tried f/2.8 with a 50 mm but with both lights and face next to each ...
4 votes
5 answers
3k views

How to maximize the blurred background look with a distant subject (for example, 10m away)?

What lenses do I need in order to achieve the amount of bokeh that's on the image below? I am quite new to dslr photography, and I want to buy a new lens. My main objective is to get strong bokeh ...
3 votes
3 answers
3k views

Can I use a shaped bokeh filter with a mobile phone camera?

I have found this interesting way to make pictures bokeh filter for camera but I am wondering if it is possible to achieve the same just using a mobile camera. I have tried to overlap something in ...
0 votes
3 answers
476 views

Is it beneficial to use full frame for blurred background?

I have often heard it said that to have a blurred background, it is beneficial to shoot full frame. However, is this really true? The useful largest aperture is anyway limited by the amount of depth ...
20 votes
4 answers
18k views

What swirly bokeh technique is this and how can I achieve it?

What is the technique used to capture this image? How can the result be achieved? I know that it can be achieved in a digital darkroom but how can I replicate the effect straight out of the camera?
0 votes
1 answer
647 views

Panasonic Lumix G 42.5mm F/1.2 vs Panasonic Lumix G 42.5mm f/1.7 ASPH Power O.I.S

How much of a difference these two lenses will make in photo quality and what will be the difference? I am a newbie in photo and I am looking to invest in a nice lens for 4/3 that has max features in ...
1 vote
0 answers
224 views

How to get bokeh or macro on E-M10 Mark II with 14-42mm Black EZ Lens? [duplicate]

I got E-M10 Mark II with 14-42mm Black EZ Lens f3.5-5.6 EZ. Is it possible to create nice bokeh and macro pics with this set up? I tried shooting many pics (well mainly on auto), but I never got ...
1 vote
8 answers
5k views

Does it make sense to buy a Sigma Art f1.4 for a crop sensor body?

Im currently shooting on a Nikon D5300 with a 35mm f1.8 and I looking for a quality telephoto portraiture lens. I'm interested in the Sigma Art 85mm f1.4 DG HSM. I saw the lens is versatile and my ...
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

Besides mirror lenses, what can cause ring-shaped bokeh?

A couple of images in a question about how to create a 'medieval look' appear to have ring-shaped bokeh. Catadioptric (mirror) lenses can cause similarly shaped bokeh, but these images do not look ...
123 votes
7 answers
14k views

What is bokeh, exactly?

I understand that "bokeh" refers to out-of-focus areas of an image — but there is obviously more to it than that. What does the term mean exactly? How well is bokeh really understood? Is it purely ...
1 vote
2 answers
874 views

Nikon 105mm f/2.8D or Nikon AF S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G

My lens broke down so I am in a market for a new one. Ideally I would love to purchase one lens for both macro (I photograph jewelry) and portraits (I am an amateur striving for a creamy bokeh). I ...
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the cause of inclusions in my bokeh?

I was doing a lens review an two of my lenses showed these rather unsightly inclusions in their bokeh. There are two different lenses. EDIT: The third lens I have tested also seems to have this ...
2 votes
2 answers
3k views

How do I obtain sharp images on full body portraits?

I currently have a 50mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.8 and would want to know if the bokeh or sharpness would be any different at all. Many seem to say that the 85mm woud work best, but wouldn’t I have to bump up ...
6 votes
1 answer
634 views

Is this "tack sharp with blurred background" look done with Photoshop?

I’m relatively new to photography and although I feel like each photographer has their own style when capturing an image it seems that sometimes I just don’t have the right equipment. The pictures ...
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to do smoky bokeh

How is this effect achieved? Possible ideas: This is just "painted" in photoshop A custom shaped aperture is used Original image by Frederic Gombert
4 votes
1 answer
450 views

Can I change the color only of the bokeh in Photoshop?

Say I capture two photos of the same object. The second one with a light pointed towards the camera but away from the lens's optical path so the light creates bokeh. And in Ps, I want to stack these ...
2 votes
2 answers
259 views

Why do out of focus elements in a photograph increase in apparent brightness?

What is the physics that explains the phenomenon observed when out of focus areas increase in apparent brightness?
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Will 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8 lenses produce the same bokeh, given the same framing?

I have recently upgraded from a DX Body (Nikon D3300) to a FX body (Nikon D750) and also I have Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 & Sigma 150-600mm Sport lenses. While I was using the DX body, I had a Nikon ...