WHICH LONG LENS WOULD YOU ADVISE FOR THESE BOKEH EFFECTS?

[giulio1986fi]

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Hello,

Which long lens would you advise to reach this bokeh effect?

Some of the picture attached have a stronger or lighter bokeh.

Thank you.

Best,

Giulio.

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Edited March 29, 2020 by giulio1986fi

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[earleygallery]

Hi 

It's not 'bokeh' it's depth of field. I suggest that you google 'depth of field' and read up about it to understand what you're talking about, and learn what to do to achieve more or less blur in the background of scenes. 

[digger1914]

Maybe to explain a bit, bokeh refers to how the out of focus part of your shot is rendered, not just that it is out of focus as is the case in images 1 and 3.  Image 2 has elements of what I would call bokeh in it.  Generally, you need a faster lens to achieve bokeh, and after that it all depends on taste, as there are a lot of lenses that produce vastly differently out of focus rendering.  In Leica you have the dramatic Noctilux look, which is different from the results using a Summicron or Summilux lens.

[tommonego@gmail.com]

I don't think these were taken  with a long lens all look fairly average, 50 to 90 or so. 

[giulio1986fi]

Thank you all for feedbacks,

 

@James, understand what do mean referring to DOF, I probably explained myself wrongly as image 2 is probably the only bokeh example as @David says while 1,2 are more DOF cases.

Do you guys think, a 50mm or 75mm would help me to shoot in similar ways? (image 1 and 2) If so, which lens would you suggest?

Thank you,

Giulio.

 

 

 

[mmradman]

Follow James’s advice, 50mm and even wider are very capable lens and suitable for examples above, you even don’t have to go with extra fast lens as long as you shoot it at max or close to max aperture.  Out of focus background can be achieved by being close to the subject while the background is further away.

Third example picture with musician on stage is probably photographed with longer lens as it appears to be compressed and stage is usually away from photographer would be.

Edited March 29, 2020 by mmradman

[giulio1986fi]

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Thank you Mladen, will do!

 

Cheers,

 

Giulio.

[Ko.Fe.]

All three have significant separation between object in focus and background. You could have with bokeh with 50mm lens at f5.6. 

Are those images yours? If so what was the point of asking? 

[earleygallery]

Again, we are taking here about depth of field. Bokeh is a silly term IMHO that is meant to refer to the 'quality' of the blurry out of focus parts of the image. You hear terms like harsh or smooth bokeh. 

Depth of field refers to the plane of acceptable focus which depends on a number of factors - quite a large subject which is why I suggest reading up on some of the 1000's of pages of info already available on the internet. 

[NigelG]

Are these your images and were they taken with Leica lenses? If not then you should maybe look at copyright regulations and the posting rules of the forum......

[Mark T]

Hey Giulio - for they type of photos you provided as examples, the 75 mm would be more appropriate. It will give you extra reach when you can't get close to your subject (i.e. skateboarding or on stage). As a bonus, at the same distance and at the same aperture, you will have less depth of field (more blur) than a 50 mm lens, which seems to be what you'd like to achieve. Focal length and proximity to the subject are often more important that aperture - don't fall into that trap. Happy shooting!

[Narsuitus]

On 3/29/2020 at 3:26 PM, giulio1986fi said:

Which long lens would you advise to reach this bokeh effect?

First, if I were attempting to duplicate the out-of-focus areas in the images you posted, I would not use my 35mm Leica rangefinder. Instead, I would use an SLR with one of my long lens (85mm, 105, 135, or 180).

 

Second, if forced to use my rangefinder, I would use my Leica 90mm f/2 Summicron (the only telephoto I own for my M6) with an f/stop of 2, 2.8, or 4 depending on my distance from the foreground subject and the foreground subject's distance from the background.

[250swb]

On 3/29/2020 at 11:01 PM, giulio1986fi said:

 

Do you guys think, a 50mm or 75mm would help me to shoot in similar ways? (image 1 and 2) If so, which lens would you suggest?

Google the difference between Depth of Focus (or Depth of Field) and bokeh, they are not the same thing. 

As the focal length of the lens increases so the depth of field decreases, so wide open at f/2 a 50mm lens will have more depth of field (more things in focus) than a 75mm lens wide open at f/2 (less things in focus). So to separate the subject from the background a portrait photographer would typically use a longer focal length lens, and a typical 'portrait' lens may start at 75mm to throw the background out of focus, but just as an example. This is a technical thing you can read tables and reference charts for which cover it, not an opinion.

'Bokeh' on the other hand is a largely subjective thing, yes it's qualities can be a design feature of the lens, but it doesn't trump the basic depth of field equation for any given focal length of lens. Basically it is purely about the rendering of the out of focus areas, not whether or not they are out of focus. All to often photographers try to display the 'bokeh' of their lens and not consider the communicative aspects of photography, so 'wide open and dreamy' is a 'thing', but it's a different thing to simply separating the background from the foreground by using the lenses focal length and opening up the lens aperture.

Edited March 31, 2020 by 250swb

[earleygallery]

Excellent summary!

[Keith (M)]

My longest M lens is the 135mm Telyt-M APO which I generally use for what I call 'long-lens landscapes'.  On  a walk in the summer  I tried it at the other end of the distance scale & was pleased at the effects (M7, Acros 100).  

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[rpittal]

20 hours ago, 250swb said:

Google the difference between Depth of Focus (or Depth of Field) and bokeh, they are not the same thing. 

As the focal length of the lens increases so the depth of field decreases, so wide open at f/2 a 50mm lens will have more depth of field (more things in focus) than a 75mm lens wide open at f/2 (less things in focus). So to separate the subject from the background a portrait photographer would typically use a longer focal length lens, and a typical 'portrait' lens may start at 75mm to throw the background out of focus, but just as an example. This is a technical thing you can read tables and reference charts for which cover it, not an opinion.

'Bokeh' on the other hand is a largely subjective thing, yes it's qualities can be a design feature of the lens, but it doesn't trump the basic depth of field equation for any given focal length of lens. Basically it is purely about the rendering of the out of focus areas, not whether or not they are out of focus. All to often photographers try to display the 'bokeh' of their lens and not consider the communicative aspects of photography, so 'wide open and dreamy' is a 'thing', but it's a different thing to simply separating the background from the foreground by using the lenses focal length and opening up the lens aperture.

If I recall, you can roughly compare the DOF/subject isolation relationships with the ratio of the focal length/f. Therefore:

21/1.4 = 15

28/1.4 = 20

35/1.4 = 25

50/0.95 = 53

75/1.4 = 54

75/1.25 = 60

90/2 = 45

90/1.5 = 60

135/3.4 = 40

Non-Leica glass:

200/2 = 100

200/2.8 = 71

300/2.8 = 107

so, long fast glass is preferred by many pros for that property;

it is therefore possible to roughly compare different lenses for this character (but not the quality of the bokeh, which is different)

[jaapv]

20 hours ago, 250swb said:

Google the difference between Depth of Focus (or Depth of Field) and bokeh, they are not the same thing. 

As the focal length of the lens increases so the depth of field decreases, so wide open at f/2 a 50mm lens will have more depth of field (more things in focus) than a 75mm lens wide open at f/2 (less things in focus). So to separate the subject from the background a portrait photographer would typically use a longer focal length lens, and a typical 'portrait' lens may start at 75mm to throw the background out of focus, but just as an example. This is a technical thing you can read tables and reference charts for which cover it, not an opinion.

'Bokeh' on the other hand is a largely subjective thing, yes it's qualities can be a design feature of the lens, but it doesn't trump the basic depth of field equation for any given focal length of lens. Basically it is purely about the rendering of the out of focus areas, not whether or not they are out of focus. All to often photographers try to display the 'bokeh' of their lens and not consider the communicative aspects of photography, so 'wide open and dreamy' is a 'thing', but it's a different thing to simply separating the background from the foreground by using the lenses focal length and opening up the lens aperture.

 

1 hour ago, Keith (M) said:

My longest M lens is the 135mm Telyt-M APO which I generally use for what I call 'long-lens landscapes'.  On  a walk in the summer  I tried it at the other end of the distance scale & was pleased at the effects (M7, Acros 100).  

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it also displays the rather nervous bokeh many longer lenses have.

[epand56]

On 3/29/2020 at 11:40 PM, tommonego@gmail.com said:

I don't think these were taken  with a long lens all look fairly average, 50 to 90 or so. 

In the Leica M world, i think that 75 and 90 lenses can be considered "long" and 135 lenses "very long".
Of course you can use longer lenses, but by the means of adapters and stuff like that.

 

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