There are numerous factors that effect the bokeh, including the type of background, the distance between you and the subject and the distance between the background and the subject, aperture, shape of diaphragm blades, number of blades, as well as the design of the lens. The size of the image or print is also a factor, and is something I've experimented with. Web-sized images will never show the bokeh as accurately as a full size print, assuming that the full size print is large enough. For example, I made a photo of a mailbox which had a busy background. The lens I used, K105/2.8, had been mentioned by various list members as having poor bokeh. But at the aperture used, and the distance to the subject, even on the web the bokeh looked OK. Once the photo was viewed (either on the screen or as a print) at the intended size (10 x 14) or a web-sized equivalent, things smoothed out even more.
You need to experiment and get to know the lens well, and, if you're going to keep it, and the quality of the bokeh is important to you or the photographs you make with it, learn to adjust your shooting technique as best you can. Gaussian blur is a cheap trick, and while a lot of people use it, and use it successfully, there's a better alternative in the lens blur filter, which is found in Photoshop CS and perhaps Elements. If you have that filter, try it out, as it offers far more control than gaussian blur and is more closely related to photography than graphics. You may need to find a tutorial somewhere in order to use the filter to best advantage, but, IMO, it's well worth the effort. Shel > [Original Message] > From: Tim Øsleby > Gonz is onto something when he points at the harsh bokeh. So now I wonder: > Is there anything I can do to make it less harsh in Phootoshop (Elements 3)? > Gaussian Blur is one obvious answer. It helps, but it does not take it right > where I want. > Does anybody have some input on this? > The picture is here > http://www.photosight.org/photo.php?photoid=35892&ref=author
