Rose - aperture vs. bokeh

[viewfinder]

These were taken a little while ago, but thought I'd share the notable effect of aperture on bokeh.

What happened was I took the first series of shots in our garden, went inside and downloaded them and had a quick look, then realised that the aperture was stopped down too much (f5.6) and the bokeh was not ideal. I then went outside and tried a few more shots with the aperture wide open at f1.8. Imaging doing this with a conventional film camera, the lighting and not to mention the condition of the rose would have been completely different by the time the prints come back...

The lens used was Nikkor 85mm 1.8 D, surprising sharpness coming from a portrait lens. The working distance is too long though for true macro.

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Focal length : 85.0mm (35mm equivalent: 127mm)
Exposure time : 0.0012 s (1/800)
Aperture : f/5.6
Whitebalance : Auto (-2)
Metering Mode : spot
Flash used : No

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Focal length : 85.0mm (35mm equivalent: 127mm)
Exposure time : 0.0006 s (1/1600)
Aperture : f/1.8
Whitebalance : Auto (-2)
Metering Mode : spot
Flash used : No

Regards,
Jonathan

 

[Gilles]

They are both very nice, a little more details in the leaves in the first one.

 

[Flew]

Jonathan,

I agree that the bokeh is better in the second, but I like the DOF around the flower better in the first. Maybe a compromise to get the best of both worlds?? :wink:

 

[viewfinder]

I agree that the bokeh is better in the second, but I like the DOF around the flower better in the first. Maybe a compromise to get the best of both worlds?? :wink:

You know what Frank? You are a genius :!: I will keep it a secret if you would... You are not far behind either Gilles! Thanks for the inspiration...

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Regards,
Jonathan

 

[CrystallP]

Thanks to all of you, I have been struggling with this concept. There's nothing like seeing an actual sample to get the point across. I also think a compromise would give you the best of both worlds, DOF and detail. Thanks again.

 

[Gale]

Beautiful rose.

Top of image to me is extremly distracting though. If that were cropped off, in my eyes would be perfect.

 

[fks]

hi jonathan-

i prefer the shallow DOF of the second image to the first. the OOF in the first image isn't bad, there are more highlights compared to the second one which can be more distracting. if you shoot both shots from the same angle, f/5.6 won't be too bad.

ricky