17 April 2009

Mirror Bokeh

500mm Tamron SP2 lens, ISO 400, 1/400
Bokeh is an Anglicization of a Japanese term for "out-of-focus blur".
Generally speaking, mirror lens (catadioptric, strictly) iris bokeh is considered icky awful wretched bad, in significant part because what would be points with a refractor lens turn into tiny toruses.
Now, I seem to be prone to liking mirror lenses already; the combination of being able to afford them and being able to carry them (which is really "can shoot this handheld") makes me very happy for bird photography purposes.
This shot, though, I don't think one can sensibly complain of the bokeh. Not like it, sure, but I do not see how it could be considered aesthetically objectionable in this instance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

nothing at all wrong with the bokeh here. there are a lot of scenarios in which iris bokeh adds to the mood of the picture.