Digital Light & Color

Thanks Den,

Do you really mean ten runs of the 5x5? That takes ages.

And then the guassian noise of 10% applied at the end.

I've had a go and it seems important to stop the background developing any bits that are too dark. When it does it stops looking like what a lens would do.

Tony

Yes, that is what was done for the posted illustrations... ...but then it probably is that this whole process is very 'image specific'... ...then too, printing the full-sized image larger than 8x10 inches probably would result in a 'fake' look to the discerning 'eye'.

Note that you can do almost anything with the blurred background with a curve to change its tone/contrast...

Knowing that you tend to batch process... ...finding a generic software approach may prove to be difficult.

Den and Dieter,

I think my problem is that blur is too blurred. I see why Den picked that 5x5.

I wonder if there is a way that one can create a much rougher blur. I think that is what the bokeh that people enthuse about really is.

The blug we are using looks more like the effect of fog or mist.

Just a thought. I know you guys like a challenge.

Tony

Tony

I found a quiet interesting article:
http://www.computer-darkroom.com/tutori ... al_9_1.htm
It shows the difference between Gaussian Blur and Photoshops Lens Blur.
Unfortunately I cant think of a way now to simulate Lens Blur in PWP, but maybe Jonathan and Kiril find it worth to find it's way in PWP in a (hopefully not too far) future version.
I think it really could be a useful thing, considering the many digital cameras with small sensors around.

Dieter,

Thanks for that pointer. The big hitters in the simulated bokeh field seem to be Topaz and Alien Skins - but neither do much more than spread a fog over areas of the image. Yes, you can pick how much fog you want depending on how far the image stretches into the distance. But the fact that many of the demos also add fog to bits of the image nearer than the intended focus point shows the creators have not looked a lens bokeh properly.

I've found a bit of software http://www.ononesoftware.com/products/focalpoint/ which I'll try and report back on.

I'm now committed to m4/3 and there is a huge great thread on http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/4-3rds-ca ... bokeh.html

I am not suggesting that people flog all the 51 pages but you can take it from me that almost all the images are taken with non standard lenses that do not auto focus on an m4/3 camera. Very few of the normal m4/3 lenses produce satisfying bokeh. And I am sure that it is something that more and more serious photographers are going to miss as they move down sensor sizes as technology progresses.

Second vote for a facility within PWP, please.

Tony