Some Experimentation - Opinions Wanted!

[Canon_Bob]

Here's one at f/8 for a point of reference. It looks nice an sharp at this size, but if you zoom in on the original, you'll see that the limited DOF at f/8 softened the beak a bit. Nothing major, but enough for me to try and experiment and correct. I do prefer the OOF BG on this version. The link to the original is below this image:



http://canonbob.smugmug.com/photos/154611239-O.jpg

[paulnj]

I see your point.

[Loupey]

My personal preference is to really blur out the background at the sacrifice of a shallow DOF.

My reasoning is that if I can keep people from trying to guess what's in the background, the better. From a normal viewing distance, most people won't object to a subject that is not entirely in focus. And having a velvety background against which it can *pop* is icing on the cake IMO - unless I am trying to make a point of the environment.