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Great bokeh (samples)

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RusYus

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thought it would be nice if everyone would posts pictures with what they consider to be "great" bokeh.
If you participate, please include what lens and f-stop were used.

i'll start:
CZ Planar 100/2 @ f2 (or 2.8) don't remember :)
Just a snapshot - but i like bokeh.

 
Very nice photo with a very good soft background but what it shows is excellent OOF not bokeh. I'm refering to the original post. Bokeh involves spectural highlights (see the sample in the second post).

Best wishes,
Richard
--
Equipment: 1 camera, 1 lens, 38 years
http://www.pbase.com/rgthompson

 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning "blur" or "haze") is a photographic term referring to the æsthetic quality of the out-of-focus areas of an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field.[1] Essentially, bokeh is an aesthetic and qualitative measure of light distortion in the out-of-focus areas of an image, and is primarily caused by lens aberrations and aperture shape.

Here are my samples:
70-200VR @ 200mm f/2.8



Sigma 50-150 @ 150mm f/2.8



And for comparison, the ugliest bokeh I've ever managed to get in a picture. The VR really messed up the bokeh:
200-400VR @ 400mm f/4



Jarno
--
Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein
 
Taken with an original 1d Mk I with 135mm f2 L. (Sorry, I shoot a D700 now but LOVED that combo!!!)

Taken in my backyard, which is why I like the photo -- it looks as though it could have been taken in the "wilds" of Ontario! While the bokeh may not be the most beautiful, I think that often the combo of in focus AND out of focus areas together are what make a photo successful. For me, this one was successful.



Thanks for looking!
--
christopher t.
nikon d700 w/ 20 f2.8; 35 f2; 85 f1.8
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oliverstreetphoto/
 
This is one of my favorite "close-ups" taken with a 300mm AF-s f/4 + 1.4TCII.
Diafragm: f5.6
shutterspeed: ?
ISO: 200 (if i remember well)

 
Agree with JC on this one.

Bokeh does not have to include specular highlights, although it could.

Bokeh is "quality" of OOF area. Amount of oof can be measured based on focal lenth, aperture and focusing distance, but bokeh (as quality of oof) cannot be measured.
 
RusYus said:
Agree with JC on this one.

Bokeh does not have to include specular highlights, although it could.

Bokeh is "quality" of OOF area. Amount of oof can be measured based on focal lenth, aperture and focusing distance, but bokeh (as quality of oof) cannot be measured.
Click to expand...
That may be so but it's easy to get good OOF rendering of mids and shadows. Highlights and especially specular points require great bokeh to look pleasing. I think that is where the "quality" comes in.
 
Okay. I agree with the dictonary definition technically however in a practical sense photographers most often assess the quality of bokeh based on spectural highlighs as any lens under the right circumstances can produce half decent OOF. Judging bokeh without spectural highlighs tells much less about a lens than judging with it.

Best wishes,
Richard.
--
Equipment: 1 camera, 1 lens, 38 years
http://www.pbase.com/rgthompson

 
Richard G T said:
Judging bokeh without spectural highlighs tells much less about a lens than judging with it.
Click to expand...
True. A bright pinpoint of light against a deep black background is just about the most difficult test for any optic, just ask any astronomer. I can imagine using an artifical star (for example http://www.telescopes.com/telescope-accessories/collimation-tools/astrozapartificialstarforcollimation.cfm ), focus the lens on it , then move back half a meter and make a test shot, another half a meter and another test shot, and so on. That would clearly show how a lens handles such highlights at various distances behind the focal plane.

Jarno
--
Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein
 
Ok, not a portrait lens at all. But I like this one.



Nikon d90 Nikon 70-300 VRII
@ 70mm f4.5 1/800th sec
 
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