What is your favorite lens for good bokeh?

The other day I received a negative comment about the background of an image that I put up in a discussion about

whether or not VR technology is helpful at high shutter speeds. I had to agree that the bokeh of the background was

distracting and I started to wonder. Bokeh is not just a function of aperture or distance from the subject. It also

depends on lens design, elements in the iris and their shape and more. So my question is...what is your favorite

lens for bokeh and why? Please share some examples and the technical details of how you achieved your results.

 

Thanks,

 

Dick

Complicated subject, always open to debate, sometimes controversial due to disputes over what exactly "bokeh" means.

 

Short version: 105/2.5 AI and 180/2.8 pre-AI Nikkors are incredible. I've never seen bad bokeh from these wide open or nearly so (to f/4) under any conditions. Even hard edges, foliage stems, etc., never produce harsh doubling. With other lenses I need to watch the background and foreground; with these two I never worry about it.<div></div>

I personally like the 70-200 f2.8 vr wide open... for sports, it rocks.

 

Dave

My personal favorite is the 70-200. The smoothness and consistency of its bokeh is very appealing.<div></div>

105/2 DC...bokeh that's buttery-soft, weak-in-the-knees good!

I also like my 80-200

Lex speaks with great wisdom and impeccable perpendicularity, as usual (by the way, cool self portrait there, Lex. You know what they say, on the internet, no one knows you're...).

 

The 105mm f2.5 AIs was my gotta lotta bokeh lens for two decades. I still think it may be the best bokeh lens of any I own, despite it having 7 straight aperture blades, unlike my fancy-dancy 85mm f1.4 and 135mm f2.0 with their 9 curved blades.

 

The newer 105mm f2.0 DC is pretty much its equal, and it has the DC control, 2/3 stop more speed, twice the weight, and a price tag 4x higher. I've never seen a need to acquire one.

 

Aside from that one, in no particular order...

 

135mm f2.0 DC

 

85mm f1.4

 

And bringing up the rear, two zooms. If anyone had told me 10 years ago that two zooms would make the bokeh list, I'd have laughed in his face. Laughed, I say.

 

70-200mm f2.8 VR, on a tripod with the VR off, or in the studio with flash. At low shutter speeds, handheld, with VR on, VR does make the bokeh do strange things. I've taken test images to prove it...

 

24-70mm f2.8, no special handling needed...

 

On an APS camera, I rather liked my 30mm f1.4 Sigma, as long as I kept one thing in mind, the bokeh is great near center, and weird at the corners.

 

And on an APS camera, the 58mm f1.4 Voigtlander is kind of interesting, but I didn't get enough time to play with it as far as a detailed comparison to the full frame with 85mm or 70-200mm zoomed to 85mm.

 

I'll try to dig up some pictures...

For a zoom, I like the 75-150mm Series E.

It was the 18-200 VR zoom that brought forth the negative bokeh comment. But, at times it seems to work fine and has to be a function of distance to the subject, as well as background, of course. This is an 18-200 shot with, I think, pleasant bokeh...<div></div>

This was the shot that was criticized, also with the 18-200 zoom...<div></div>

the 85 1.4 and 70-200 are my favorites... bokeh aside, the second shot is really cool...

The 85mm f/1.4's bokeh is absolutely gorgeous.

The thing about bokeh is that it depends a lot on the subject. Sharp contrasts and busy details are always difficult, even for

a lens with good bokeh. I find that the most important thing isn't when the background is way out of focus. It's how the lens

handles the transition from sharp focus to blur. Really subtle bokeh is harder to do than really soft focus bokeh. I like the

Sigma 30 1.4 and the Sigma 50 1.4 the best. Here's a shot with the 30...<BR>

 

<A HREF="http://www.animationarchive.org/pics/blairlessonlunch02-big.jpg" TARGET="clear"><IMG

SRC="http://www.animationarchive.org/pics/blairlessonlunch02.jpg" HEIGHT="268" WIDTH="400" HSPACE="0"

VSPACE="0" BORDER="0" ALT="Preston Blair Lessons"></A><BR>

 

...and here is the same lens with lots of blur...<BR>

 

<A HREF="http://www.animationarchive.org/pics/danny30-big.jpg" TARGET="clear"><IMG

SRC="http://www.animationarchive.org/pics/danny30.jpg" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="552" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BORDER="0"

ALT="Danny's Facebook Picture"></A><BR>

 

Notice the shimmer on the high contrast writing on the shirt. Sharp contrasty lines right on the edge of focus are the hardest things to do

right. In most cases, it doesn't matter though.<BR><BR>

 

(Click on them to see them bigger.)

Rob, can you show us an example? And Robert, thanks, do you have any with the 85 f1.4?

Stephen, very nice examples and explanation. I also like the Sigma 30mm f1.4. But I really haven't given much thought to what you point out in your first example. I believe you are correct and it is true that the subtle details of lens performance make a huge difference in the "feel" of the image. This is an image from the Sigma f1.4...<div></div>

Here are two 85 1.4 samples<br>

 

<img src="http:\\www.robgulotta.com\samples\temp\1.jpg">

<img src="http:\\www.robgulotta.com\samples\temp\2.jpg">

Robert, thank you, they are both beautiful images and great examples. I always wonder about the circles, whether they are distracting or add to the image. In these shots I think they add some "sparkle" for lack of a better term. The crisp detail of the glasses in the first shot is just great!

no problem richard... the circles are from bright spots in the image and would show up in almost any open aperture shot... the key to good bokeh is what it does to the circles... the 85 makes really nice circles, in my opinion, as many other lenses leave them with strong outlines or other weirdness

I'm looking forward to the 50mm AFS - I sold my 50mm 1.8 AF D in anticipation of what I hope will be a great DX portrait

lens. My current favorites are the 70-200mm (e.g.: http://www.purebredmutt.net/mutts14.html

) and the 60mm AFS.

 

I have a 85mm f1.4 AIS, but it's bokeh is not as smooth as the AF's, although in some situations it really shines (e.g.: http://www.purebredmutt.net/mutts2a.html ).

The 105mm f/2.5 is one of my all time favorite lenses. I also like the 85mm f/1.8, the new 180mm f/2.8, and 300mm f/4 at some distance (but not close up). Here's the newest 180mm f/2.8.<div></div>

Here's a 180mm AIS sample: http://www.purebredmutt.net/scrabble5.html

almost makes me want to drop my Leica Summiluxes and grab a Nikkor. NOT. actually I've got the 105/2.5 nikkor and the 50/1.4 zeiss I am fond of.

 

great examples guys. Tks.

I remember a couple of years ago, there was a discussion of bokeh going on. Some guy over in England wrote something like "You Americans agonize over things we've never heard of."

70-200mm VR This example at 190mm f/8 with a blanket of white camomile flowers one meter behind the subject.

 

Second favourite bokeh producer is my AF-S 300mm f/4

OK lets try that again.........<div></div>