The word “bokeh” has been bugging me the past few weeks but I did not really pay attention to it until recently when I suddenly realised that it is almost impossible to shoot real and good bokeh with a point and shoot camera.
Even if the point and shoot camera has a full manual control, it is simply impossible to mimic stunning bokeh shots like this one, produced by DSLR cameras.
I have not really tried to shoot bokeh with my point and shoot cameras but when I flicked through my Flickr photos, I found several shots which I think had the elements of bokeh in it. Not bokeh enough, though.
Bokeh is a Japanese word meaning “blur”. In photographic term, it refers to the quality of out-of-focus points of lights in a photograph.
One reason why bokeh is not possible with a compact camera is that it doesn’t have a big aperture; the biggest being f/2.8 whereas in DSLR it can go as big as f/1.4.
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Hey! I can do bokeh with my point and shoot camera, ok?! Ugh…the nerve of some people!
(I’m totally joking…well 1/2 joking. I can do bokeh, but you’re right, it in now way compares DSLR).
I hope someday camera makers will include “bokeh” in their list of scene modes apart from the usual beach, indoor, fireworks, sunset and so on… that would be nice!
That would be fabulous! Can you imagine? Wow…I love bokeh…
Say, I’m wondering how do you like the SX 1 . . . the bokeh shots are cool — I need to remember to think closer (I tend to take lots of photos in the mountains while hiking).
But more to the point, have you heard anything about when or if the SX1 will be available in the U.S.?
(I’m obviously waiting: <a href=”http://www.wickedcooltech.com/index.php/271/the-wicked-canon-sx1-superzoom-you-cant-have.html”
Best,
–Chris
No words from Canon… I guess it won’t be making its way there at all. So the best bet for the US market will be to wait for Nikon’s P90 (to be released in April), which has 24x optical zoom, faster frame per second continuous shot, decent video capture…
Portraiture bokeh (like your DSLR example) is possible with a P&S. It just takes some moving around and setting up, in the way that a shot with the DSLR wouldn’t.
Nice shots, what P&S camera are you using? I’m using an Olympus P&S and the bokeh shots out of that are amazing!
I am using a Canon P&S. I find it a bit difficult to achieve bokeh with P&S especially for subjects taken at a distance as things seem to be always in focus. But ya, it is possible to shoot bokeh with it.
the reason is not that the aperturevalue is do big, but because the sensor is too small.
Hey there- I just got a Canon PowerShot SX20IS and am trying to figure out how to use the feature that will allow the Bokeh feature. I am brand new to this term and this camera- but I do know that it will only to to 2.8. So I went to the Av setting, turned it to 2.8, then took a picture of my son and it looked like every other picture- the background was totally focused. Sorry to ask such a basic question- but I’d love to learn this!
thanks so much-
Nancy
Nancy,
The reason you aren’t able to easily get the bokeh in the background of your photos, is because of a limitation with the lens. I own a Canon S5is which is the older cousin of the SX20IS. You can achieve this effect, but it is more difficult than a DSLR with say a 50mm lens and a large aperture. Your camera has a zoom lens which is trying to achieve as much flexibility as possible. It is giving you figuratively 28 – 5xx mm of capability. The depth of field (narrow in this case) is created with a large aperture, which is a small f-stop number. This capability is again limited as it needs to achieve both ends of the spectrum. Keep in mind, that with a DSLR, you would have a lens for each kind of shot you are creating. You’d have a zoom lens for longer shots, and more of a lower mm lens to achieve portrait style photos. I have “achieved” bokeh, but actually with capturing the subject from a greater distance (longer focal length). For example, I was sitting approximately 3 feet away from this ornament. If you click on image info, you can see the focal length was 72mm and my f-stop was 3.5 which is the lowest available at longer focal lengths for my camera. If I pulled the lens all the way in, say at 30mm or so, and set the f-stop to 2.7, I would not achieve this effect. To that end, I find that longer focal lengths with the lowest f-stop (largest aperture) is the way to achieve this. If someone can explain the science further as to how it relates to focal length, I’d be glad to hear it. I hope what I provided helps shed a little light on the technique with our types of camera.
Nancy,
The main reason you can’t get good bokeh with P&S cameras is the sensor size. Depth of Field (DoF) is the technical aspect behind bokeh – you want a limited DoF so only your subject is in focus. DoF is basically a function of focal length, aperture size, and sensor size/film format. Your SX20IS has a ~6mmx4.6mm sensor. So even though your aperture can open up to f/2.8; since the sensor is so small; it’s DoF is equivalent to a 35mm film camera at f/11 (assuming comparable focal length)! For full-format/35mm, f/11 is already too small of an aperture for decent bokeh in most situations – something like f/4 or so would be better; unfortunately because of that it’s not really possible for you to achieve the shallow focus (limited DoF) necessary to get good portraiture bokeh.
There is nothing stopping you from blurring the background in photoshop or similar; with suitable skill a similar effect may be achieved for portraiture.
sorry!
– bri
Guess what everyone, Sony has a new feature called “background defocus” that internally takes 2 pictures, determines subject and background, then introduces additional blur to the background and combines the image to create an excellent bokeh effect with a point and shoot. I tested it out and it really works! This was my biggest gripe of digital photography, the small aperatures with no DOF.
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