Alternative for the 50mm to make bokeh

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Adi Cretu

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Adrian
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I just bought a Canon 550d and i only have the kit lens. I've seen some photos with the 50mm lens and i like them a lot. Is there any other lens that does the same thing?
 
Hi Adrian

For shallow dof (rather than the bokeh itself) then the 50 f1:8 is the most affordable option although there are other more expensive large aperture options.

Remember your dof (and bokeh) can be affected by focal length as well as distance to subject and subject distance relative to background.

Is there a particular subject that you had in mind ?
 
No particular subject, i just like the bokeh the 50mm does
 
Well then buy the 50mm, it's the cheapest way of achieving that shallow depth of field.
 
You could consider a Manual focus lens with an adapter. My first 50mm 1.8 with adapter cost me around £30 all in. I've now got loads of lenses (Got to love freecycle) and I love them all (Especially my 55mm f1.4)

Warning - they are addictive! ;)
 
halli is there a quality difference between the fd with mount ring and the ef?
 
adrian,

You can also get really good depth of field isolation by using long lenses at short focus distances. Also, puting distance between the subject and the background improves DoF isolation.

I find that the 55-200 f4-5.6 nikon at 200mm can do great out of focus backgrounds and has really nice bokeh when you're focussed closely or have good separation.

thanks
rick
 
The FD mount lenses will not work on an EOS camera without an adapter, and the adapters tend to be quite expensive. PK and M42 lenses have cheap adapters, I have some PK lenses that I use on my 450D and they work brilliantly!
 
You can get a shallow DOF with any lens (at the right shooting distance & aperture)

A 50mm 1.4 isn't going to help you shoot a footballer scoring a goal from the other side of the pitch (for example)
 
The only lens I have is the 18-55 kit lens and i don't have a real budget to buy some expensive lens this is why i look for a kind of ''all purpose lens''.
 
You can get BOKEH with any lens depending on focal distance between subject and BG
I'v got shots at F10 with creamy BOKEH, but you can't go far wrong with the "nifty fifty"
for the money.

Edit: I got my 50mm F1.8 for £80 brand spankers, it's fell apart a few times but still manages to take crisp shots.
 
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Adi Cretu said:
The only lens I have is the 18-55 kit lens and i don't have a real budget to buy some expensive lens this is why i look for a kind of ''all purpose lens''.
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I would buy a 55-200 zoom before I purchased a 50mm prime whose focal length you all-ready have covered

I said before, the shooting distance is important. at the long end of the 200mm lens, at the right distance, you can isolate a subject beautifully (and you have the advantage of a longer zoom in your bag too)
 
Pentagon 135mm M42 lens or similar, with adaptor is a cheap alternate and plentiful on ebay.
 
The Greek said:
Pentagon 135mm M42 lens or similar, with adaptor is a cheap alternate and plentiful on ebay.
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That is a good lens, but I have found the Super Takumars sell for around £20 to £30 in good condition - 135 f3.5, 55 f1.8, 55 f2, and they produce a nice bokeh effect, added to which, the build quality is a lot better than the Pentacon.
 
Richard King said:
I would buy a 55-200 zoom before I purchased a 50mm prime whose focal length you all-ready have covered

I said before, the shooting distance is important. at the long end of the 200mm lens, at the right distance, you can isolate a subject beautifully (and you have the advantage of a longer zoom in your bag too)
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Quite right Richard, I often use the Minolta 70 - 210 f4 "Beercan" for long range portraits, because the bokeh is really good.
 
Adi Cretu said:
halli is there a quality difference between the fd with mount ring and the ef?
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My Manual Focus lenses are M42 lenses with adapter to EOS. I also have a few other mounts, but not FD.

Quality is not affected with the M42 lenses In my opinion.
 
Nice shallow depth of field can be achieved with your 18-55, I got this shot from mine (it's not the most interesting photo but it was for a comparison) - I do think it shows dof & bokeh well enough though (no editing). The next lens I bought was the 50mm macro as I liked the option if getting up close.


test shot 2 by Iris_255, on Flickr
 
Like others have said, you can do it with any lens.. I had a nifty fifty and I didn't really like it, don't really know why, just didn't get on with it... If you shot quite a few people, 85 1.8 is a great portrait lens :)
 
Iris said:
Nice shallow depth of field can be achieved with your 18-55, I got this shot from mine (it's not the most interesting photo but it was for a comparison) - I do think it shows dof & bokeh well enough though (no editing). The next lens I bought was the 50mm macro as I liked the option if getting up close.


test shot 2 by Iris_255, on Flickr
Click to expand...

I think Jen, that had the subject (ladybird) and the nearby leaf and stem been in focus, and the rest been totally out of focus, then that could be classed as "bokeh", but the background in that shot is still recognisable.

here the bokeh is "creamy", because everything is smooth and no background shapes are discernible.

6187751727_906b03af31_b.jpg


here the bokeh has been achieved by shooting into the sun, and the lens iris is at maximum aperture or thereabouts.

5871614785_69b5cd71c4_b.jpg


The lens used, was the Minolta 70 - 210 f4
 
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andy700 said:
I think Jen, that had the subject (ladybird) and the nearby leaf and stem been in focus, and the rest been totally out of focus, then that could be classed as "bokeh", but the background in that shot is still recognisable...

The lens used, was the Minolta 70 - 210 f4
Click to expand...

Fair do's :)
 
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