[altopiet]

"The dual-lens, Leica co-developed cameras on the back of the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus are prime reasons to go out and buy one of these great phones. They take beautiful shots, whether in color, monochrome, a portrait or a photo with a cool, blurred background. Most enticingly, the P10 boosts your confidence as a photographer, and its ability to produce wonderful pictures pushes you to go out and experiment."
How To Get The Best From The Huawei P10's Amazing Camera | Digital Trends

It seems as if the mobile photography world is doing everything they can to "create" or at least give the option to try and create bokeh....even going so far as using dual lenses.

[LensBeginner]

You must have been horrified by the appearance of $200 pre-ripped jeans!

That was a long lasting trauma, yes.

There is this story about a journalist who as doing an interview with Indro Montanelli, a very influential journalist, writer, historian etc. etc. etc., who was quite old at the time.
The joung journalist complimented the old man on his jacket.
He answered that he couldn't possibly afford that. It took forty years to make it become what it was now.

You can't just "buy" time.

[Rondec]

Bokeh isn't going away. At the same time, photos need some context. Eventually every sharp portrait of an individual in front of a blurred out background looks about the same and you need to have some variety. Using deeper depth of field and framing using trees or architecture has been around for a long time and will continue to be around.

It isn't as though people invented these techniques in the late 19th century with the advent of photography. Photographers to a great extent were copying the painters with regard to composition and lighting. Shallow depth of field photos were more of an accident that came from needing more light and hence using wide apertures. These days our cameras go to a million iso and we don't need to use super-wide apertures as much, but it is still an interesting look, if not over done.

[abruzzi]

One of my cameras has an available lens that stops down for f64. I’d love one, just so I could kill bokeh and replace it with diffraction.

(I have nothing against bokeh, I just find the obsession a little off putting.)

[PizzaDon]

Like anything else it serves a purpose in moderation.

[torashi]

You think too little of me! no elbow patches.
Those serve a purpose when the fabric is worn out, never could get why people would buy a new jacket with them already on...

It's the same as for "worn" jeans.

[torashi]

I think there's still a number of different diaphragm configurations across a wide range of current lenses... but straight-edged six blade diaphragms are certainly quite common.

Those shooting the HD Limited lenses enjoy curved diaphragm blades, allowing for rounded out-of-focus highlights at any aperture...

Yes, but they kill sunstars. The HD 15mm is an example. They haven't quite figured it out when and where round diaphragm blades are needed (large aperture and large OOF highlights) and when straight are called for (small apertures). I think seven is the sweet spot. Nine can be too busy. Six is boring. Eight and four are nice, too.

[BigMackCam]

Yes, but they kill sunstars. The HD 15mm is an example. They haven't quite figured it out when and where round diaphragm blades are needed (large aperture and large OOF highlights) and when straight are called for (small apertures). I think seven is the sweet spot. Nine can be too busy. Six is boring. Eight and four are nice, too.

Sure. It doesn't particularly worry me, as I don't often make use of diffraction spikes, but it would be nice to have that capability - and there's really no reason to have a perfectly-rounded aperture on something like the DA15, DA21 and even the DA20-40 for typical use cases. I can see the point on the DA35 Macro, specifically where close focus work is concerned, the DA40 and especially the DA70. There's an argument for rounded blades on the D FA100 WR, too, though it doesn't use them...

[Kuzma]

so, recently, Tony Northrup was discussing where photography is heading, in his opinion, and what changes might be coming our way.
he mentioned that the bokeh 'trend' is on its way out. the newer generation is preferring to use more candid shots, less composed, less attention to light, and other technicalities. that the newer generation is caring more for selfies and badly executed images, as they find 'well done photography' to be cheesy and 'professional'.

It is not clear whether he is talking about professional photographers, amateurs or addicted to selfies people. In the first and second cases his point is baseless. In the last one - partly I could agree, but these people even don't know what bokeh is.

[T T]

Bokeh isn't going away. At the same time, photos need some context. Eventually every sharp portrait of an individual in front of a blurred out background looks about the same and you need to have some variety. Using deeper depth of field and framing using trees or architecture has been around for a long time and will continue to be around.

It isn't as though people invented these techniques in the late 19th century with the advent of photography. Photographers to a great extent were copying the painters with regard to composition and lighting. Shallow depth of field photos were more of an accident that came from needing more light and hence using wide apertures. These days our cameras go to a million iso and we don't need to use super-wide apertures as much, but it is still an interesting look, if not over done.

i do agree that Bokeh isn't going away anytime soon and I agree that photos need some context and bokeh done just for bokeh sake is just rubbish. Having said that photography is like art, and art is subjective, taste wise.

[rognone]

Bokeh isn't going away....

...Photographers to a great extent were copying the painters with regard to composition and lighting.

I agree all the way.

But I have to admit: I am a bit jealous/envious when I see a wonderful portrait shot with a wideangle and 0% of the picture is blurred.

On the photographers copying the painters... funny link to see how this is evolving: insta_repeat on Instagram! Funny little account... with a sad sad message!

[TheCousinDan]

so, recently, Tony Northrup was discussing where photography is heading, in his opinion, and what changes might be coming our way.
he mentioned that the bokeh 'trend' is on its way out. the newer generation is preferring to use more candid shots, less composed, less attention to light, and other technicalities. that the newer generation is caring more for selfies and badly executed images, as they find 'well done photography' to be cheesy and 'professional'.

i'm not sure if fully agree with him, though part of that i am seeing the world going towards.

i personally follow travel photography channels on youtube, or instagram, and i keep coming across photos that are just BAD. people have their selfies with stupid faces, and ugly backgrounds. and yet, those images are LOVED by the world.
and then there is a perfect portrait of a family in the fields of cambodia, with great background, subject, light, and it tells a compelling story. and no one really bats an eye at it.

perhaps he does have a point. smaller sensors, and phone cameras, though maybe able to create more and more bokeh as technology is catching up, its still not as close as to what apsc/fullframe/medium format can do.

even trends like HDR, landscape for calendars, etc are all lost. perhaps bokeh is on its way out too?


thought thoughts?

I can definitely see where this is coming from. I feel that we are oversaturated with PHENOMENAL images at this point. The best of the best is normal to us now so the new thing that is the most different just happens to be crap. Kind of frustrating for photography lovers, but a natural ebb and flow I suppose. Maybe in 10 years the tide will come back in...

[torashi]

Sure. It doesn't particularly worry me, as I don't often make use of diffraction spikes, but it would be nice to have that capability - and there's really no reason to have a perfectly-rounded aperture on something like the DA15, DA21 and even the DA20-40 for typical use cases. I can see the point on the DA35 Macro, specifically where close focus work is concerned, the DA40 and especially the DA70. There's an argument for rounded blades on the D FA100 WR, too, though it doesn't use them...

That's what I say. It's good to have them, even if you don't use them, but others do. And since Pentax's strength lies in landscape photography, it's a shame Ricoh didn't put much thought into what made the DA 15 such a great lens. I'm sure the new HD coatings are up to current standards. {WARNING, RANT:But the name is so lame, sincerely. It reminds me of those cheap "HD" (polarized) glasses from the TV infomercials. OTOH it's a name everybody is familiar with from those and the jump to HDTV ads. Easy money, but it can make people suspicious, too. I do have mixed feelings about that naming.} But the rounded aperture blades weren't necessary. Specially on an f/4 WA.
Round at wider, straight at smaller apertures mix would have been a better choice if the idea was for all lenses to have the same characteristics. I'm even in favor of coating the blades as to make the spikes smaller, since a busy cityscape at night can get clogged up with too many spikes. But I do think it can look boring without them. It's as if the city doesn't sparkle.

[Jonathan Mac]

Mobile phones and social networks open photography up to a much larger proportion of the world than was previously possible, but the proportion of people with good technical skills, an eye for composition and, above all, good taste has not increased in the slightest.

I'd say my biggest bugbear with modern photography is the widespread idea that cranking up the contrast and saturation makes a photo better.

[HoutHans]

Hmmm. We are witnessing the emancipation of the photographer. Everyone can now 1) take a reasonable photograph and 2) get it published quicker and more effectively than ever before. This will lead to the law of masses to apply. That is, we will have a few leaders (influencers on instagram) that will be followed by the masses, just like most of us wear what is fashionable (torn and worn jeans).

So, yep, bokeh will stay, just as there's will be demand for jeans that are not cut up and sanded in advance. I do note that these become more difficult to find, but I can still find them.