bokeh

Sigma 50mm f/1.2 Art hands on review

The 50mm f/1.2 Art Proves Sigma Has Mastered Lens Making

I normally dismiss ultra-fast aperture lenses because they tend to be overly large, overly expensive, and overly excessive. I rarely want to have the shallowest depth of field possible, and an f/1.2 lens is only two-thirds of a stop brighter than a reasonably priced f/1.4 lens. But what if I can have my cake and eat it too?

Mispronounced photography terms

The 10 Most Mispronounced Photography Terms

There are some tough photography-related words to pronounce, but which ones trip up the most photographers? SimpleGhar used the online pronunciation resource, Forvo, to find out. Which photo words did Forvo users look up the most?

How to Blur the Background in iPhone Photos

Your iPhone can nicely blur the background to enhance a photograph or video. A similar effect works well with video chat software, eliminating distractions and putting the focus on the subject. Whether you want to blur the background during a FaceTime call, snap a beautiful portrait photograph with your iPhone, or edit the background blur in pictures you've already captured, we'll explain how it works to help you get the blur you want from your iPhone.

Bokeh: A Photographer’s Guide

As photographers, when we hear the word "bokeh", we probably already have a visual in our mind of its meaning. Since bokeh can be somewhat abstract and subjective, describing it can be difficult. 

Nikon Z 40mm f/2 Review: Affordable and Surprisingly Useful

Despite a nearly two-year global supply chain shortage, Nikon has been making good on the company's promise to deliver a plethora of new lenses for the mirrorless Z system. Filling in most of the missing gaps from the F-mount lineup with greatly improved lenses, this time with a unique and affordable "in-between" focal length lens for everyday use, the $297 40mm f/2 Z.

Kolari EF to EOS R Drop-In Filter Adapter: Tons of Creative Options

A little over a year ago, Kolari Vision released its lineup of high-end and ultra-rugged drop-in filters for Canon's EF-to-RF mount adapter with a built-in filter slot, making the company the first to come to market for such a product. But does getting to market first make them any better than the competition? Is the price worth it?

Petzval 80.5mm f/1.9 MKII Review: A Stunning Vintage-Style Lens

Just over a year ago, Lomography launched the 180th Anniversary Edition of the Petzval 80.5mm f/1.9 MKII Bokeh Control Art Lens which promised a bevy of improvements over its 85mm predecessor. It looked as though it would put a historic lens back in the hands in creatives at an affordable $549 price. So does it?

Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95 CF APO Review: So. Much. Bokeh.

Venus Optics' Laowa lenses have been growing in both notoriety and popularity over the last few years thanks to their nearly constant stream of new and interesting optics for a wide variety of mounts. The company's latest is backed by the high-quality promise of its new Argus line: the Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95 CF APO for APS-C systems.

When Bokeh Isn’t Best: Appreciating a Deeper Depth of Field

Recently, the more I study my photographs, the more I feel that bokeh is cheating me out of a more substantial image. I really like photographs with a lot of visual complexity -- well presented, not chaotic, but a clear arrangement of multiple elements.

Concert Photographer Shoots Striking Bokeh Panoramas

In Summer of 2019, while working with Elbow in Manchester, concert photographer Peter Neill had an idea. He decided to try and stitch an epic panorama... with a twist. Instead of using a wide-angle, he would use an 85mm f/1.4 and capture a pano of the stage and the crowd, but with a shallow depth of field and bokeh.

Testing an Insanely Fast 100mm f/0.73 Lens In Real Life

The folks over at YouTube channel Media Division recently put together an incredibly comprehensive test of the fastest camera lenses on the market. In this video, they cover everything from the legendary Zeiss R-Biotar 100mm f/0.73 X-Ray lens, to some of the more "practical" options with maximum apertures under f/1.

Adding Foreground Flare to Portraits

There are a million-and-one ways to add creative flares and effects to your shots in post-production after you’ve taken the image, but nothing beats the look and feel of an image that has used in-camera flares and bokeh effects.

Defocus Smoothing on Canon’s 85mm Costs You 1.5 Stops of Light at f/1.2

Does that photo of the new Canon 85mm f/1.2L DS IS lens look a bit dark to you? Well, that's because the new Defocus Smoothing coating Canon applied to its latest prime lens isn't without its tradeoffs. Though the Defocus Smoothing that helps improve the look of bokeh in photos, it's going to cost you a stop and a half of light wide open.

How Canon’s New Defocus Smoothing Gets You Ultra-Creamy Bokeh

Canon announced the new RF 85mm f/1.2L DS IS lens for its full-frame mirrorless cameras today, and the $3,000 lens is the very first Canon lens to feature a new technology called Defocus Smoothing (DS). If you're curious about the new lens tech, check out this 1.5-minute video by Canon that introduces it.