This is a presentation about bokeh in film photography.

1. What is Bokeh?
The beauty of the blur in photographs

2. A brief definition of Bokeh
● Bokeh is a Japanese term - traditionally spelt Boke
It describes the aesthetic quality of the blurred parts of a photograph.
There is often discussion amongst photographers of ‘good’ and ‘bad’
bokeh. We hope this presentation will help people understand what bokeh
is and why it matters to photographers.
● Pronunciation: The addition of the ‘h’ is to help english speakers with
pronunciation. It is suggested that the ‘Bo’ be pronounced as ‘Bow’ and the
‘keh’ be pronounced as the ‘ke’ part in the word ‘kettle’. Both parts of the
word should be articulated clearly.

3. Is Bokeh like wine?
Perhaps you are wondering whether good or bad Bokeh truly exists. Is it like a
fine wine? Are people telling themselves something is ‘good’ because it is
expensive? By this analogy we are, of course, talking about the quality of the
lens. The short answer: Bokeh is a matter of taste. What do you prefer?
The next slide has the YouTube video to demonstrate the differences
in bokeh using three lenses of similar aperture size and identical
focal length.
Test lenses were the Zeiss Ultra Prime 50mm T1.9, Cooke 50mm S4
T2, and a 60-year old Cooke Speed Panchro Ser.II T2.3 lens.
These are very fine lenses and cost thousands of dollars, but what
you need to ask yourself is this: Which one seems to you to be too
busy, scattered or ‘noisy’ when blurred? Which do you like best?
Video courtesy of AbelCine 2014: www.abelcine.com

4. Bokeh is more like cream
Although some people may like their blurred backgrounds to have ‘noisy’
aberrations, it is commonly agreed that an ideal Bokeh will have a ‘creamy’
effect in its depiction of the out-of-focus elements in the background.
Image courtesy of Klaus Shuler 2012: http://www.bokehtests.com

5. Film camera lenses
Good Bokeh is often associated with lenses from the 60’s and 70’s. Some are
inexpensive, such as the Takumar prime lenses for Asahi Pentax cameras, and
others, like Leica, are very expensive. There are many other lenses in-
between. You can read some reviews of Pentax and Leica lenses on these
sites:
http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/Pentax-Takumar-M42-Screwmount-Lenses-i3.html
http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/lens-reviews.htm
Asahi Pentax. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Leica lenses. Image courtesy of Attract Gaze on flickr
Takumar 50mm 1.4 Prime Lens.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia

6. Testing for Bokeh
Many camera enthusiasts set up controlled conditions to test the Bokeh of their
lenses. These tests will also show how any desired creaminess in the Bokeh
will be affected by your camera position, aperture size and focal length:
Image courtesy of mikkokam on flickr
Jupiter-37A vs. Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135/3.5
The Jupiter lens is on the top with the Zeiss lens
on the bottom.
The second examples (on the right) illustrate the
often unwanted ‘noise’ of the background.
Some lenses will never achieve the type of Bokeh
that these lenses have created, but note how
much aperture and focal length has affected the
Bokeh in the images on the right.

7. Some concluding remarks
● Many photographers will trade in and trade up to find the lenses they like.
Keep looking for the Bokeh lenses that suit your needs and budget.
● If you need more evidence that vintage camera lenses create remarkable
Bokeh, look no further than the many step-rings created to retro-fit modern
digital cameras.
● Remember, the type of blur you desire is entirely up to you and sometimes
aberrations are a desired effect. Always experiment and take notes.
● It is not always about the best lenses, but it is always about you.
How, when, and what you shoot will also make a big difference to your
results as a film photographer.

8. Thank you and keep shooting film
walter&bruges