The Great Bokeh Controversy: Snare or Delusion?

Bokeh is a Japanese word that refers to the subjective visual impression of the out of focus areas of an image. Just because bokeh isn't objectively measurable doesn't mean it's BS, but there's certainly been a lot of BS written about it. What imaging characteristics contribute to beautiful bokeh? What kind of lenses that are most likely to be "bokeh monsters?"? Which vintage and contemporary lenses should bokeh fanatics go for? Just ask me and I'll give you my arrogant but educated opinions-

 

[Bingley]

Two lenses whose bokeh appears very smooth and pleasing to me are the Summicron 50/2.0 v.III, and the Canon 50/1.8.

Here's an example from the version III 'chron:

Summer in the City by bingley0522, on Flickr

And here are two examples from the Canon 50/1.8 (my sample is one of the later, chrome and black versions, not that it makes a difference):

Sao Domingos by bingley0522, on Flickr

Map break by bingley0522, on Flickr

 

[Jason Schneider]

Beautiful Blonde woman

Beautiful Blonde woman

I ran across this strikingly beautiful blonde haired woman working at her desk at a VW agency in upstate New York and asked if I could take her picture. Happily she agreed to pose for me and I shot this portrait with my Bronica S2A and 75mm f/2,8 Nkkor lens. Handheld exposure: 1/60 sec at f/4 on Ilford HP-5 Plus film. If you want to shoot a Vintage Look portrait (note beautiful bokeh) it helps to have a classic timeless subject.

 

[icebear]

Hi Jason,
... still welcome to RFF,

I'm a user, not a collector but that said I pay attention to the out of focus areas and most lenses I use do please my eye.
I made the experience that lenses which often are said to be "clinical" can have very pleasing out of focus rendering.

2/50 Planar:

2/75 'cron asph (all of the following):

I think it's just find out how to use a tool to it's best effect.
Often close up and wide open can yield nice results.

 

[Jason Schneider]

Impeachment Demonstration, Hudson, NY, Dec.2019

Impeachment Demonstration, Hudson, NY, Dec.2019

I shot this on a bitterly cold snowy night in December 2019 in Hudson, NY (note snowflakes falling in the upper right-hand corner of the image). My bare hands were so frozen so I just set the lens at its widest aperture and the shutter at the slowest hand-holdable speed of 1/30 sec and hoped for the best.Tech data: Canon New F-1 with 50mm f/1.4 Canon FD lens, 1/30 sec at f/1.4, Ilford HP-5 Plus film rated at ISO 400. I'm not sure this is a great example of a Vintage Look image, but I like to think taking it conveys the eternity of a moment in time.

 

[fireblade]

Good bokeh, bad bokeh, pleasant bokeh, deranged bokeh..it's all bokeh. It has its place in art/photography. As they say, in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Pfreddee]

What if I don't care, one way or another? Am I a lousy photographer?

With best regards.

Pfreddee(Stephen)

 

[Jason Schneider]

Mady, Age 12

Mady, Age 12

This is an impromptu window light portrait of Mady, age 12. I shot it with my 1968 Mamiya C220 and old style 80mm f/2.8 Mamiya-Sekor lens (a classic 5-element Helier type with an 11-bladed diaphragm). Handheld exposure: 1/50 sec at f/4-5.6 on Ilford HP-5 Plus film. I believe it has that Vintage Look, but please feel free to let me know what you think.

 

[helen.HH]

Hi Jason,
... still welcome to RFF,

I'm a user, not a collector but that said I pay attention to the out of focus areas and most lenses I use do please my eye.
I made the experience that lenses which often are said to be "clinical" can have very pleasing out of focus rendering.

2/50 Planar:

.

Love the first One in particular, & a Touch of noir too
Wonderful and well done Klaus , Yum to miss Planar !

 

[Jason Schneider]

Street Portrait

Street Portrait

I shot this portrait of a beautiful woman on Warren St. in Hudson NY with my 1968 Mamiya C220 and old style 80mm f/2.8 Mamiya-Sekor lens (a classic 5-element Heliar type with an 11-bladed diaphragm). Lighting was courtesy of an overcast day--G-d's Softbox! Handheld exposure: 1/100 sec at f/5.6 on Ilford HP-5 film. Does this image capture the Vintage Look? It's your call..

 

[helen.HH]

Great shots. Excellent examples, Helen.
I have a Summilux 75/1.4 and an (inexpensive but excellent) Nokton 50/1.5.

I like the original Nokton and Ultron for the Prominent, plus Zeiss Jena 5cm lenses for nice looking bokeh.

I skipped getting the Summilux 50/1.4 as I have many 50mm lenses.

Thanks Raid !
my summilux shots on page 1 of this thread are my FAVORITE !!

Seems like your collection of lenses is STELLAR, cool !

 

[helen.HH]

late , low light, a few sangrias, Eric musing
and I with the 75 summilux




musing into the Night... by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[helen.HH]

a street shot... with the 75 summilux
if one could be considered 'chic and homeless' this woman was
I can only guess mental illness had pushed her into her present situation




Untitled by Helen Hill, on Flickr

 

[Pál_K]

Jason, all of your portraits surprise me a bit - how your choice of f/4 and f/5.6 in medium format portraiture is indeed sufficient to show the beauty of the entire face and also provides the required softness of the hair and background.

I've not made portraits except in smaller formats and at smaller apertures, so I've learned something here.

 

[markjwyatt]

....

...

I see what you are doing here...Mady definitely does- low contrast, very nice, but reasonably sharp and detailed. The second one is needle sharp, and contrasty. The dark eyes, and contrast with reflections, plus the contrasty detail down to minor blemishes on the skin make this look more modern to me. Same lens it appears, but quite different results. The tint helps push the second to "vintage", but it is just too sharp (that is not to say that vintage cameras and films did not produce super sharp or even contrasty images in the past). This is very subjective of course.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

What if I don't care, one way or another? Am I a lousy photographer? ...

There was a time not that long ago I thought this whole Bokeh thing was completely ridiculous! I could care less - until I started noticing the differences in my pictures from one lens to another.

Now I care - and actually look for it.

Not caring doesn't make you a good or bad photographer; quite frankly, I wish I still didn't care!

 

[Jason Schneider]

Jason Schneider Shooting With His Exakta I of 1937

Jason Schneider Shooting With His Exakta I of 1937

Here I am with my Exakta I of 1937, identifiable by its rectangular viewfinder magnifier (the original Exata I of 1936 had a round window). It's a beautiful but gloriously inconvenient contraption with manual (not even pre-set) lens diaphragm and a squinty focusing system, but its original 54mm f/3.5 Exaktar lens (a Tessar type made by Meyer Optik) is quite sharp and contrasty (see my posted portrait of Jacob Elbaz).

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

You could probably sell that lens for more in that configuration. "Art lens"

You want delusion in your bokeh? Here you go:


Stream Boulder by P F McFarland, on Flickr

I rebuilt an Agfa Karat, and swear I didn't touch the lens! Well, at least not until I saw this. Someone before me flipped a lens element.

Up to that point my only opinion on bokeh was to avoid the Zeiss swirlies.

PF

 

[james.liam]

You want delusion in your bokeh? Here you go:
Stream Boulder by P F McFarland, on Flickr

I rebuilt an Agfa Karat, and swear I didn't touch the lens! Well, at least not until I saw this. Someone before me flipped a lens element.

Up to that point my only opinion on bokeh was to avoid the Zeiss swirlies.

PF

What the world looked like to me when I had a case of vertigo a few years back.

 

[markjwyatt]

Does this look vintage? Mamiya 330f; 55mm f4.5; Ilford FP4+

 

[fireblade]

SIGMA DP2M

MV. by vinny morrissey, on Flickr