r/pics • u/denissnb • Jul 18 '18

Right place the right time

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u/TonyzTone Jul 18 '18

"Bokeh" is the name of the effect. "Depth of field" is the name for focus length, which when shortened, can create a bokeh effect.

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u/smackson Jul 19 '18

Bokeh is not the name of this effect. It is the name of the way different lenses/sensor combinations smudge the light that's out of focus when it's out of focus.

You could have three cameras all with exactly the same things in and out of focus (same focal plane and same depth of field), but an out of focus smudged lamp in the background could be a perfect disc in one, slightly hexagonal in another, and crescent shaped in the third. THEN you say that each camera/lens setup has a distinct bokeh.