Just what is BOKEH?
Jun 11, 2019 13:46:08 #
I guess that this would be a good example. Sony A57 fitted with Sony 70-300mm G SSM lens. Full frame of image as it came from camera.
Jun 11, 2019 13:48:48 #
Bokeh refers to the quality of the out of focus areas of the image - it can be pleasant or less than pleasant. In your example the out of focus leaves in the background fall to the pleasant side (at least in my opinion) in that they render as smoothly "creamy".
Jun 11, 2019 14:24:04 #
Streets wrote:
I guess that this would be a good example. Sony A57 fitted with Sony 70-300mm G SSM lens. Full frame of image as it came from camera.
You might find this of interest.
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/bokeh-for-beginners.html
Jun 11, 2019 14:27:13 #
Jun 11, 2019 14:31:30 #
A Bokeh is what Willie takes home to his bride when he has done something wrong. Usually cheap flowers or wild ones from the road side.
Jun 11, 2019 14:56:12 #
Properframe wrote:
A Bokeh is what Willie takes home to his bride when he has done something wrong. Usually cheap flowers or wild ones from the road side.
The applause meter just registered zero.
Jun 11, 2019 15:27:04 #
Ysarex
Loc: St. Louis
Doc Barry wrote:
You might find this of interest.
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/bokeh-for-beginners.html
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/bokeh-for-beginners.html
The definition of bokeh in that article is incorrect. It is however colloquially common. Bokeh used to mean the way that a specific lens rendered the out of focus area of a photograph and as such bokeh is a function of the lens and lens design. Bokeh referred to the rendered character of the out of focus region with an emphasis on rendered highlights.
Unfortunately the term was picked up and redefined by the fauxtog hordes on Youtube etc. to mean the out of focus area itself and how out of focus it is. As a result you get mistakes like this remark from the Nikon article; "To achieve bokeh in an image, you need to use a fast lens—the faster the better." Bokeh isn't something you achieve it's how your specific lens brand/design performs in a specific circumstance.
So there's a problem now with the term. If you say bokeh do you mean bokeh as in what bokeh means or do you mean bokeh as in what it doesn't mean that most everyone means it means?
Here's a good article with visual examples by Rick Denney in which he uses the term bokeh to mean what it originally meant: http://www.rickdenney.com/bokeh_test.htm
Jun 11, 2019 15:31:14 #
Properframe wrote:
A Bokeh is what Willie takes home to his bride when he has done something wrong. Usually cheap flowers or wild ones from the road side.
Nice way to remind us of the correct pronunciation
Jun 11, 2019 16:32:57 #
An interesting specialty lens I have is the AF DC-NIKKOR 105mm 1:2 D. The DC stands for defocus control and is quite nice for controlling the defocus in the image that can't be duplicated by other lenses. Here are some reviews if you are interested in what many consider as the lens with the best bokeh.
https://opticallimits.com/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/222-nikkor-af-105mm-f2-d-dc-review--test-report?start=2
https://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/lenses/nikon_105_2d_dc
https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/105mm-f2-dc.htm
https://opticallimits.com/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/222-nikkor-af-105mm-f2-d-dc-review--test-report?start=2
https://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/lenses/nikon_105_2d_dc
https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/105mm-f2-dc.htm
Jun 11, 2019 18:18:13 #
Doc Barry wrote:
An interesting specialty lens I have is the AF DC-... (show quote)
Doc, I think that the current generation of Sony sam and ssm glass has the best bokeh that I have ever seen. The color is also hard to beat. The Nikon 100mm f2 looks like a winner on the DP review. The bokeh looks very similar to my Sony 18-135 and 70-300.
Jun 11, 2019 18:42:44 #
Kaib795
Loc: Maryland, USA
Doc Barry wrote:
An interesting specialty lens I have is the AF DC-... (show quote)
I really like going to your first listed site for lens specs to really learn about my lenses (have been going there for some time). I even note the qualities in a little black book that has the data I find useful. It's all there at optical limits and a important source to reference different lenses before you buy. Dpreview is great for camera reviews and kenrockwell is interesting takes on everything. All great stuff Doc
Jun 12, 2019 08:10:01 #
catchlight..
Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway
DOF (focus) that is nice... but not really Bokeh. The aperture blades play a big part in the particular lens Bokeh characteristics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
Jun 12, 2019 08:38:41 #
AirWalter
Loc: Tipp City, Ohio
OOhhhh! I can't get my breath after reading Ken Rockwell's review. If any of my children are reading the Fathers Day is coming up. AF DC-NIKKOR 105mm 1:2 D, this would work for me!
Jun 12, 2019 09:43:33 #
Streets wrote:
I guess that this would be a good example. Sony A57 fitted with Sony 70-300mm G SSM lens. Full frame of image as it came from camera.
Yep...that’s it...nice bokeh!
Jun 12, 2019 10:29:49 #
AirWalter wrote:
OOhhhh! I can't get my breath after reading Ken Rockwell's review. If any of my children are reading the Fathers Day is coming up. AF DC-NIKKOR 105mm 1:2 D, this would work for me!
Good luck AirWalter! Hope you have wonderful children.
For anyone that would like to understand more fully the design philosophy of this lens and what has become known as bokeh, see the paper that Ohshita-san wrote back in 2006. He is one of the four great lens designers at Nikon. See https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0032/index.htm. This is one of the NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights history stories. Basically, the lens is a double Gaussian configuration that was cleverly modified as described in section III of the paper.
Doc Barry
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