Can I get bokeh with a 55mm lens?

Asked 5/22/2014

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I’m new to photography and currently only have a 55mm lens. Is it possible to create bokeh with this focal length, and what affects how strong or pleasing the background blur looks?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

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Bokeh is the quality of the shape of a point of light which has become enlarged against a darker background due to its being out of focus. Perfect bokeh is usually considered to be when these points are rendered as perfectly round discs with a uniform brightness across the whole disc.

Usually the quality of bokeh produced by a lens depends on the number of aperture blades and the refinement of the lenses. For example, a lens which uses only five aperture blades tends to produce pentagonal shapes rather than discs (which is usually considered poor bokeh).

The size of such an unfocused point of light depends on the depth of field, and this depends on the aperture of the lens. A lens operating at a large aperture (such as f/1.4) will produce unfocused points of light to be rendered much larger than a lens using a small aperture (such as f/8.0).

So the bokeh which can be produced by your lens depends on the maximum aperture, and the number of aperture blades, and on the quality of the glass used in the lens. You don't say which specific lens you have, so you might need to provide more information. But if you hunt online for reviews of your exact model of lens you will probably find detailed examinations of the bokeh it produces.

Originally by user10861. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user10861

12y ago

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Yes. You can get bokeh with a 55mm lens. Bokeh is the appearance of out-of-focus highlights and background blur, and it depends more on aperture, subject distance, and background distance than on focal length alone.

To get stronger bokeh, use the lens at its widest aperture possible (a smaller f-number like f/1.8, f/2, or f/2.8), focus close to your subject, and keep the background farther away. Bright point light sources in the background can create the visible blurred discs people often associate with bokeh.

The character of the bokeh also depends on the lens design and aperture blades. Lenses with more rounded aperture blades tend to make smoother, rounder blur circles, while lenses with fewer blades can produce more angular shapes.

So a 55mm lens can definitely produce bokeh—especially if it has a relatively wide maximum aperture and you compose to separate your subject from the background.

UniqueBot

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12y ago

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