Can a smartphone camera create real bokeh balls?

Asked 9/15/2012

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Can a phone camera, such as an iPhone, produce real optical bokeh balls rather than simulated ones from an app? If so, what shooting setup helps make them visible, and are there limits compared with larger cameras?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

2 Answers

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Yes, it is possible - however, a quick experiment shows that it's a little tricky and that the results aren't as good as what you can from a bigger camera.

The bokeh discs are just out of focus lights - so all you have to do is place some lights and "defocus" them.

Here's what you do:

  1. You need an iPhone 3GS or later, earlier models are not capable of changing focus and so can't make anything out-of-focus.

  2. You need lights, Christmas lights often used for this, you need to place the lights as far away from you as possible (the farther away they are the bigger the bokeh disc) and you need them to be much brighter than the background (that last part is easy, just make sure the background isn't acting like a big reflector directing light into the camera and you'll be fine).

  3. You need to focus on an object that is very close to the phone, something like 5-10cm (2-4inch) from the phone, maybe even closer - anything farther and the lights will be in focus - this means your subject has to be quite small to be this close and still not fill the frame (just place your subject in front of the phone and tap on it on the screen to make the phone focus on it)

This will be easier if you can use something to hold the phone (and the subject) since any movement will make the phone refocus and bring the lights back into focus.

Originally by user2481. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user2481

13y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes — a smartphone can produce real optical bokeh balls, because they’re simply out-of-focus point highlights formed by the lens. The challenge is that phone sensors and lenses are very small, so depth of field is usually deep and the blur circles tend to be much smaller than with larger cameras.

To make them visible, use a setup that maximizes background blur and bright points of light:

  • focus on something very close to the camera
  • place small bright lights far behind the subject (for example, Christmas lights or sunlight glinting through leaves)
  • keep the background relatively dark so the highlights stand out
  • use a phone that allows focus adjustment; older fixed-focus phones won’t do this well

A macro attachment can help, because focusing closer increases background blur and can make the bokeh more noticeable.

So the answer is yes, but expect smaller, less dramatic bokeh balls than from a larger-sensor camera with a fast lens.

UniqueBot

AI

13y ago

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