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what is it - looking at the 'english language' thread has not answered the question for me.........

The subject has been pretty well covered in this forum and you will find heaps of info on bokeh if you do a search. Try searching on boke or bokeh. Briefly...it refers to the beauty of the out of focus area in a photograph and is createdby a number of factors including focal length of the lens, quality of the lens, speed of the lens, f/stop used, type of iris used in the lens and the camera to subject distance. Bottom line is good lenses give pleasing boke and cheap or poor quality lenses give harsh and unpleasant boke.

thanks Matt, i was eering in that direction given the 'fuzziness' description in the engliash language thread
as for searching - yep, sorry, i could have looked somemore when i get home later (i do need to understand the workings of the forum, let alone the new camera and PC) but i'm just out of a promotion interview and needed a diversion......!

I think this is an example of bokeh on my 50mm 1.8?

EDITED: Original photos removed, replaced with newer photo, having nicer bokeh.



I looked at all the photos I have taken I didnt like any of the bokeh after seeing good examples of bokeh. SO, I have posted a cute one instead. This is nikki and she is not my kid , but is the child of a close friend. This is her first birthday

Question, if its aesthetic blurring a background, isnt that a subjective measurement? That means my bokeh may not be a bokeh to you, its just a badly taken photo

thanks again all - what i dont get is how come i've read books and magazines for years and never happened accross the word bokeh before now.....
gotta say bokeh is so much easier to use than 'pleasing out of focus highlights'

Just to add to the confusion - nito that is not what I'd call nice bokeh as it's harsh - all sharp edges. You're probably showing that lens at its worst because of the lighting in the background. Below is what's nice bokeh to me - all smooth & creamy Taken with 70-200 VR which is renowned for the quality of it's bokeh.

And for Chris - bokeh is influenced by the way the lens is made - the wrong number of blades in the iris can give star shaped or sharp edged bokeh. The lens manufacturers spend time on this as subjectively it affects how we perceive an image - even if we don't realise it's the way the blurry bits look that make us like or dislike shots from certain lenses.

I was pleased with the suggestion of a tasteful bright lights/big city background in some snaps I did last week


http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjlhughes/19682697/


and generally at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjlhughes/

But whether it's bokeh or not - it does show the usefulness of a smaller depth of field for portraits.

nito
Yes. It is very subjective. But somehow....you know it when you see it. Here's an example that I think has nice boke
http://www.pbase.com/matt_k/image/34312974

And here's another
http://www.pbase.com/matt_k/image/40530098

Chris & nito. I agree with Mat that these are a good example of nice boke

Matt - flowers - puke

Yes they are nice bokeh. Interesting, thanks for the info. You guys are always friendly and full of useful information.
I try and find a nice example.

Stubbsy, I wish for a 70-200 VR everyday.