Using LRc version-13 'vague lens' feature: show yours

[Alberti]

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In the new release of LRc a new feature is added, called Vague lens. It is for applying various forms of Bokeh balls in the out of focus areas.

The software 'detects' what the subject is probably by looking at the sharpness, and then the out-of focus areas are blurred, made vague, while the highlight spots get the form of the selected bokeh type (select round, rings, 5-bladed, donut, oblique). The amount can be dialled in with a slider (0-100):

The original (35mm Summicron v1 @f2.8), slightly disturbing background, not too interesting:

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The enhanced version: bokeh (and some crop/vertical adjustment too)

Verdict: yes it is improved, I like the vagueness as a way to get the focus where it is needed. On the doll. Quite surrealistic.

However, you need a picture with a clear focus area. It does not handle the distance between the spokes, for instance. Of course not. No amount of so called intelligence will be able to select such areas..  And look at the lock. It has strange blurs. But the new tool will come out handy at times I'm sure.

[PhaseOne has a feature too to show the plane of focus for years, showing what is sharp, but not yet a feature to selectively blurr the other parts.]

Edited October 22, 2023 by Alberti

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[Alberti]

I'm curious what your experiences are.

[Keith (M)]

Vague Lens?  I had a look in LR Classic v13.0 but could only find newly-added 'Lens Blur'.  Just had a quick try of it, seems something that might be useful on occasion.  

PS - if Vague Lens is in v13.0.1, then it will have to wait until v13.0.1's bugs have been ironed out!

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[jaapv]

On 10/22/2023 at 10:43 AM, Alberti said:

In the new release of LRc a new feature is added, called Vague lens. It is for applying various forms of Bokeh balls in the out of focus areas.

The software 'detects' what the subject is probably by looking at the sharpness, and then the out-of focus areas are blurred, made vague, while the highlight spots get the form of the selected bokeh type (select round, rings, 5-bladed, donut, oblique). The amount can be dialled in with a slider (0-100):

The original (35mm Summicron v1 @f2.8), slightly disturbing background, not too interesting:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

The enhanced version: bokeh (and some crop/vertical adjustment too)

Verdict: yes it is improved, I like the vagueness as a way to get the focus where it is needed. On the doll. Quite surrealistic.

However, you need a picture with a clear focus area. It does not handle the distance between the spokes, for instance. Of course not. No amount of so called intelligence will be able to select such areas..  And look at the lock. It has strange blurs. But the new tool will come out handy at times I'm sure.

[PhaseOne has a feature too to show the plane of focus for years, showing what is sharp, but not yet a feature to selectively blurr the other parts.]

Personally I find the result on the trees in the background quite unnatural. The “Portrait” mode on an iPhone does better. 
Using the sharpen and blur brushes in PS does exactly the same but better and controlled by PI. ( Photographer’s Intelligence) 

Adding rings and shapes of Bokeh is in my opinion very close to Kitsch and crossing the line. 

[Siriusone59]

Felt a bit brave over the weekend and updated from Monterey to Sonoma.   Since that went smoothly I updated LRC as well.  Did a bit of playing with this new feature and can see where it might be useful if one wanted to artificially  create some of that "Leica pop" that we hear about.  There are ways to control the amount and depth of the blur and from what Julieanne Kost  has shown in her Adobe blog, it can be selective as well.  I'll have to look into it further myself.

[Almizilero]

Nobody gonna talk about how that break cable got partially blurred as well? And how unnaturally blurred (in comparisson to the rest) that part of the wheel right of the bike frame is? The sharp bit of grass next to the dolls head?

At first I thought, wow, that feature is impressive, but the longer you look at the results, the more inconsistencies you see. Sadly people don't really look at photos anymore, so this is probably “good enough”.

[250swb]

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What is impressive is that besides the Lightroom software all you need is a 35mm Summicron and a Leica digital body to achieve this effect. 🙄

Edited October 26, 2023 by 250swb

[Alberti]

Haha, I hadn't seen the fuzzy logic applied to the brake cable, only the lock. 

I agree with Jaap, but even more: i think that one does need a Nocti and a Leica to really achieve a good result. 

It does need a lot correction applied to the layer by hand (add/remove parts of the layer) which is a lot of work. And you need >64GB of memory (my 32GB is not enough, I get hugh swap files, between 6 and 12GB). 

So I had this picture, a very sharp Summilux shot, boat and mast perfect, background distracting. 

It took me ages to get the software to understand what is in or out, that is, get the delineation correct. So it is up to the mercy of your capability to manage the sliders and mouse.

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Well, whatever will be, will be  . . .

 

[pedaes]

IMHO if the image had been taken with a shallow DoF with a good lens the boat would really 'pop' from the background in almost 3D effect. The computation does not give us that, but possibly a useful feature used with discretion on the 'right' image.

 

[jaapv]

I find the "Bokeh" totally unnatural in an unpleasant way.

The transition in the water is not gradual, but a straight line (!)

[Alberti]

I totally agree, that line is unnatural now; originally it was because of a slight change in wind there. I tried to correct but failed miserably. Yes, the straight line bothers me. But the constant blurr on the background is unpleasant too.

But like said, maybe other images will work? I tried two now.

How would your wild animals react, Jaap, to such AI?

Edited October 29, 2023 by Alberti

[250swb]

This is an app for people who don't have cameras that can control DOF very well, like small sensor P&S cameras. It isn't a 'big boy' alternative to using the aperture ring that Leica charge you money to have, and if it is a solution, you are lost in a wilderness of pain.

[jaapv]

Probably have it for breakfast… 

On 10/29/2023 at 9:38 PM, Alberti said:

I totally agree, that line is unnatural now; originally it was because of a slight change in wind there. I tried to correct but failed miserably. Yes, the straight line bothers me. But the constant blurr on the background is unpleasant too.

But like said, maybe other images will work? I tried two now.

How would your wild animals react, Jaap, to such AI?

 

[jaapv]

On 10/29/2023 at 10:23 PM, 250swb said:

This is an app for people who don't have cameras that can control DOF very well, like small sensor P&S cameras. It isn't a 'big boy' alternative to using the aperture ring that Leica charge you money to have, and if it is a solution, you are lost in a wilderness of pain.

Strangely my iPhone in Portrait mode does a better job.