Bokeh ???

[chriskett]

Hi,

Please excuse my ignorance , when reading reviews for lenses I keep seeing the expresion BOKEH being used.
Can someone please enlighten me as to what this means. I have not come accross it before.

Many thanks

Chris

[another view]

Basically it refers to what the out of focus highlights look like. If you're working in low light, you'll probably be using a wide aperture - which means a small depth of field. Sometimes lights or reflections in the background can make hard-edged circles that look unnatural (as in bad bokeh) or smooth edged highlights (good bokeh).

[Asylum Steve]

Seriously, AV did a good job of explaining this lens term...

Now that you know what it is, I wouldn't get too hung up over on it. Any major brand of camera will have a very good line of lenses, with perfectly acceptable bokeh.

If you're set on off-brands or budget lenses, perhaps it would be worth comparing test results. In that sense, you get what you pay for.

I was a pro for twenty years before I ever even heard the term... ;)

Hi,

Please excuse my ignorance , when reading reviews for lenses I keep seeing the expresion BOKEH being used.
Can someone please enlighten me as to what this means. I have not come accross it before.

Many thanks

Chris

[kkraczek]

Seriously, AV did a good job of explaining this lens term...

Now that you know what it is, I wouldn't get too hung up over on it. Any major brand of camera will have a very good line of lenses, with perfectly acceptable bokeh.

If you're set on off-brands or budget lenses, perhaps it would be worth comparing test results. In that sense, you get what you pay for.

I was a pro for twenty years before I ever even heard the term... ;)

"I thought it was a city in Florida... :-))"... You mean it really isn't?


Can anyone provide us with photo examples of "good" and "bad" bokeh? That way we'd really get it! ;) Thanks!

[Lemming51]

Some sources with examples:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/bokeh.shtml
http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/ef50/

[kkraczek]

Some sources with examples:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/bokeh.shtml
http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/ef50/

Thanks Lemming, I found the third link to be especially helpful... (loved those comparisons!) although I'm sure it will be a very long time before I can distinguish between good and bad bokeh! All the "little things" I learn about photography continue to amaze me....

[kkraczek]

I'd like to take a stab at guessing that this is "bad" bokeh?

FS 200
SS 125
F/2.8

[another view]

I'd like to take a stab at guessing that this is "bad" bokeh?

FS 200
SS 125
F/2.8

Hmm... Yeah, kind of. Not that fairly harsh bokeh destroys an image - it's just one of those little characteristics of lenses to be aware of. Not sure what "FS 200" means, but I know my Nikon 80-200 f2.8 (two-touch, non-AFS version) is fairly harsh - looks alot like this wide open.

[kkraczek]

Hmm... Yeah, kind of. Not that fairly harsh bokeh destroys an image - it's just one of those little characteristics of lenses to be aware of. Not sure what "FS 200" means, but I know my Nikon 80-200 f2.8 (two-touch, non-AFS version) is fairly harsh - looks alot like this wide open.

Oops, sorry... FS is film speed. The lens I was using is a Canon 50mm 1.8 Mark I. Thanks for the help!