YouTuber Mathieu Stern is a weird lens expert, but even he didn't realize the gem he'd uncovered when someone sold him an old cinema projector lens for 2 Euros at a flea market. It turns out this rare 75mm f/1.9 lens produces some of the most intense swirly bokeh Stern has ever seen.
Given how much more it costs to buy an f/1.4 prime compared to an f/1.8, beginners in particular often ask if the upgrade is worth it. Build quality and optical quality being equal, is the difference in light gathering capability and depth of field noticeable? Can you really tell?
The Taiwanese lens maker Machang Optics has announced the Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 Mark II lens, a followup to the popular first version of the lens that provided photographers with an affordable option for achieving an ultra shallow depth of field and beautiful bokeh.
Want to plant a tree fit for a photographer? Check out the Rising Sun Redbud. At certain times of the year, its leaves look like a bokeh explosion.
If you ever feel like quitting your job and buying a plane ticket to some exotic location with only your backpack in tow, you might wonder which lens to bring. The Nikon 300mm f/2.8 would be on the top of my list.
If you were annoyed by Apple's pronunciation of the word 'bokeh,' then you may be doubly peeved by the company's latest iPhone ad. This 38-second TV spot turns 'bokeh' into a verb.
There are several terms in photography that are commonly mispronounced. Here's a 5-minute video in which Gerald Undone discusses them and teaches how to correct pronounce them.
I love bokeh and wanted to incorporate it into some upcoming holiday-themed beauty shoots. Well, I didn't want to shoot in the cold and I really didn't want to buy strings of lights (or generally spend any money at all) so I put together this great backdrop with basically just tinfoil.
If your camera has an Electronic Front-Curtain Shutter (EFCS) feature and it's turned on, here's something you might want to know: it could be giving you noticeably worse bokeh when you're shooting at faster shutter speeds. Photographer Manny Ortiz shows the difference in the 4.5-minute video above.
Google has released an update to the Google Photos app for iOS that brings bokeh adjustment for Portrait mode photos.
When I read or watch reviews of lenses by folks in the photographic community, it often seems like one of the most important qualities to them is how the lens renders bokeh. It’s often made me wonder, do we sometimes forget that bokeh is just background? And is this fixation healthy? Or most importantly, how much does it matter to an average person who has never heard the term “bokeh”?
There are many sounds that native American English speakers have trouble reproducing. The French “r” (aka the “voiceless uvular fricative”), the rolled double “rr” in Spanish, tonal sounds in various Chinese languages like Mandarin and Cantonese.
Instagram just released a new camera format called "Focus" that brings the magic of iPhone Portrait Mode-style portraits to single-camera smartphones.
Ever wonder how the iPhone's amazing Portrait Model is able to create "fake" bokeh? Some Stuff Explained created this simple 5-minute explanation video that explains how Apple's Portrait Mode works on iPhones with dual lenses.
Leica today announced the new Leica Noctilux-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH, a lens that delivers a "hair-thin depth of focus" that "isolates subjects with extreme precision."
Just starting out in photography and want to learn how to blur your backgrounds when shooting portraits? Here's a 4-minute video from Sheldon Evans that looks at how you can create a beautiful bokeh in your photos.
Want to take your iPhone 7 Plus or 8 Plus beyond Portrait mode? Focos is an app that takes bokeh to the next level while also giving you the ability to choose your focus point after your shoot your photos.
The Sainsonic Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 is a lens you can buy for just $170 for mirrorless cameras (Sony E, Canon EOS-M, Micro Four Thirds, and Fujifilm X) that delivers some beautiful bokeh. Here's a 10-minute video by Kai Wong that shows what this lens can do.
Leica has just announced the new Leica Thambar-M 90mm f/2.2, a revival of a classic lens that was originally released way back in 1935.
First launched in the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple's 'Portrait Mode' uses depth data from dual rear cameras to generate faux blur for a shallow depth-of-field effect. Google's new Pixel 2 has a similar mode that's done with a single "dual pixel" sensor. Now Samsung has unveiled a new "dual pixel" sensor that may bring this tech to an even wider audience.
Lensbaby has today released two new products: an 80mm lens known as the Composer Pro II with Sweet 80 as well as a Creative Bokeh Optic that provide selective focusing and creative effects.
If you're into photography, chances are that you've seen the tutorials where you are supposed to cut hearts out of paper to get heart-shaped bokeh. I recently decided to try to do this myself. But I soon realized that my scissor skills aren't anywhere near good enough to make nice looking heart shapes... let alone anything more advanced.
The progression that is the discovery and appreciation of photography is a journey unique to the voyager. Whether the path is walked through a textbook, an online forum, or alone, there is no two that are alike.
In this 20-minute tutorial by PiXimperfect, learn how to use Photoshop to create a realistic bokeh effect in your photo. Creating a shallow depth of field after you've taken the shot can be tricky to do convincingly, but this tutorial will show you one method for how to do it.
The Lydith 30mm f/3.5 lens was introduced in 1964, and grew a cult following due to its excellent sharpness, contrast and color fidelity. Meyer-Optik now plans to create a modernised version, and the Kickstarter project has already tripled its goal.
In this creative 2-minute tutorial, Ukranian photographer Anya Anti demonstrates how to make an interesting bokeh effect using shapes cut out of a paper backdrop.
Want to make your portraits look like they were taken in some weird Minecraft universe full of squares? Weird lens expert Mathieu Stern can help. He found a cheap, strange little lens that produces square bokeh that immediately makes photos and videos stand out.
Talk about luck. Before teaching a workshop, “Aperture In Action”, recently, I was handed a pre-release copy of the eagerly awaited Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art Series lens. What was already going to be a great class instantly got a lot better!
Photo lens experimenter and prolific YouTube filmmaker Mathieu Stern is at it again. This time, he took one of his old, cheap (do we even have to mention that?) Russian lenses and made one small modification to create what he calls a 'bokeh explosion.'
How the heck do you pronounce the word 'Bokeh'? It's a question new and seasoned photographers alike struggle with, argue about, and make fun of each other over, so the folks at Photo Gear News decided to clear it one up once and for all.
We're all familiar with the fuzzy circles that bokeh creates usually behind our main subject, but this lesson is about creating bokeh in front of the subject. And that is what Mark Wallace is about to show us in the 6-minute video above. This episode of Adorama TV is about getting a kind of outdoor feel and adding depth to your indoor portraits.
The next lens in Sony's high-end G Master line has been revealed, and it promises the "highest ever quality bokeh for an alpha lens." Say hello to the FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS.
The world's fastest 105mm lens, the $2,200 Nikon 105mm f/1.4, made a big splash when it arrived on the scene, but is there a more affordable 105mm lens that can produce similar results? Laowa's $700 105mm f/2 STF lens gives it a shot in this lens shootout.
Usually, getting some beautiful swirly bokeh on the cheap means looking to used Russian lenses like the Helios 44-2. But if you're determined to get more creative, weird lens hunter Mathieu Stern has an idea for you: try a military grade night vision lens.
The iPhone 7 Plus has a new Portrait mode that artificially blurs backgrounds using info captured by the two rear cameras. If you want a similar look but don't have an iPhone 7 Plus, check out the new Patch app for iOS. It uses neural networks to generate faux depth and blur.
This foreground bokeh look is actually a setup I played around with a few times many years ago. I thought it would be a good, fun setup to share, as you can get some interesting results whilst playing around the much-loved bokeh.
I recently returned home from my trip to Egypt, and with my wife due any day now, I had some time to squander on lens hunting. A local craigslist post revealed that one of the camera shops in town was having a yard sale to clear out all of their old stuff in preparation for moving to a new location. I wasn’t about to pass up on a camera shop yard sale!
Photographer Manuel Ortiz went out and did something many of us have been considering a lot lately: he bought himself a cheap, vintage Soviet lens. And now, we get to join him to see how this awesome old portrait lens performs when it's attached to the very modern Sony A7R II.
Professional looking, shallow depth of field portraits are now available to a lot more people. Earlier today, Apple released its first major iOS 10 update, and included in that update is their much-anticipated fake bokeh "depth effect" Portrait mode for iPhone 7 Plus.
Say it with me folks: Holy Bokeh Batman! Back in 2014, photographer Matt Granger got his hands on the Canon 50mm f/1.0—a legend of a lens that's accurately been described as, "wholly impractical and yet highly desirable"—and took it for a spin. See what this bokeh monster can do.