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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> What is classified as "Good Bokeh" ???
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 09/08/2008 10:44:57 AM · #1
I had some time, so I looked at some challenges that might come up again in the future... one that interests me is the "Bokeh" challenge... is the bokeh from a mirror lens considered Good or Bad Bokeh? this is a classis example i found on the web:

Example
 09/08/2008 10:47:53 AM · #2
Generally, mirror bokeh is considered bad because when the soft light blobs from background point sources will look like little donuts (the "shadow" of the mirror lens' secondary mirror appears as the dark spot in the middle). For bokeh, mirror lens = bad.
 09/08/2008 10:48:12 AM · #3
Here's another one showing the classic Donut Bokeh i found on the web

Example 2
 09/08/2008 10:56:28 AM · #4
Here is a pic I took a couple months back with my Nikon 50mm at f/1.8 ... is this considered "Good Bokeh"?

09/08/2008 10:57:41 AM · #5
Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:
Here's another one showing the classic Donut Bokeh i found on the web
Example 2

I find the donut style bokeh distracting. The soft circles of light I think are much more attractive
This is my attempt


But this is a much better example [/user]IMO from FocusPoint


But Bokeh means out of focus areas of the photo, not circles of out of focus. Another type of Bokeh is the smooth background displayed in shots like this...

by jasonlprice by arpita by jemison

Edit to fix links

Message edited by author 2008-09-08 11:34:16.
 09/08/2008 11:02:12 AM · #6
Originally posted by bassbone:
Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:
Here's another one showing the classic Donut Bokeh i found on the web

Example 2


I find the donut style bokeh distracting. The soft circles of light I think are much more attractive

This is my attempt


But this is a much better example IMO from [user]//www.dpchallenge.com/profile.php?USER_ID=58785[/user]


But Bokeh means out of focus areas of the photo, not circles of out of focus. Another type of Bokeh is the smooth background displayed in shots like this...



The example 2 was taken from a mirror lens. This example cannot be compared with that you have given above.
 09/08/2008 11:03:54 AM · #7
why can't it be compared? explain...
 09/08/2008 11:03:54 AM · #8
Yeah, the mirror-caused donuts only happen when you have point-sources of light in the OOF background. For other types of backgrounds, as in the above examples, the mirror-lens bokeh can be just fine.
 09/08/2008 11:04:44 AM · #9
Originally posted by msieglerfr:

The example 2 was taken from a mirror lens. This example cannot be compared with that you have given above.

Agreed - Mirror lenses generally give really stinky and distracting bokeh...hence I rarely use my 500mm mirror lens
 09/08/2008 11:06:19 AM · #10
ok... sooo just for future challenge reference... is the Bokeh in this pic "good" ?

09/08/2008 11:06:41 AM · #11
Originally posted by strangeghost:
Yeah, the mirror-caused donuts only happen when you have point-sources of light in the OOF background. For other types of backgrounds, as in the above examples, the mirror-lens bokeh can be just fine.

But these shots were not from mirror lenses...
 09/08/2008 11:44:25 AM · #12
Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:
ok... sooo just for future challenge reference... is the Bokeh in this pic "good" ?



IMHO to have good bokeh it should add something to the shot. This has a little added to the image, but doesnt have alot of impact. So is it good bokeh? in a sense yes, its smooth and nice, but doesnt add alot of interest to the photo. While a few pretty circles are nice in a shot, there is just too much plain dark areas to say that yes it does add alot to the shot.

My criteria is simple, does it take away from the image?

Does it add to the image?

Or is it just there.

Matt
 09/08/2008 11:50:22 AM · #13
so, good bokeh should be smooth, not distracting and IMPROVE the image?
 09/08/2008 11:53:30 AM · #14
Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:
so, good bokeh should be smooth, not distracting and IMPROVE the image?


Honestly you are going to get a variety of answers to this. Go back and look at some of the discussions on the bokeh challenges to get an idea of just how varied the opinions are.

So the real answer to your question is...............it depends.

Matt
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