Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

200mm-ish for "more" bokeh?
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2019 4:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kypfer wrote:
zzzxtreme wrote:
kypfer wrote:
I have a Sun 200mm f/2.8 in M42 which would probably meet most of your requirements, but at 750gm it's getting just a little too heavy to be carried around comfortably.

The solution I often use for "extreme" bokeh is a 135mm lens with a short extension tube. I have a selection, they are all good, but the effects do differ so it can be a case of experimenting to achieve the most pleasing effect, depending on the subject.

Good luck.

short extension tube? never thought of that. My limited experience with extention tubes is it only works with very small objects? I got to check it out


Most "bokeh" subjects, as I see it, are only a few feet away, with an out-of-focus background disappearing into the distance. With a 12mm extension tube on the back of any 135mm lens the furthest it will focus is about 5ft, so I can place myself so that my subject is around 3-5ft in front of me, move about a bit to get the background looking as I like it, and fire away. At 3ft my APSC Pentax "sees" about a 4 inch wide subject, at 5ft the subject is around a foot across. Measurements may well vary slightly between different lenses, especially regarding the minimum focus distance, I've just made these ball-park tests in my lounge with a Tamron 135mm and a tape measure. I see no practical use in making further tests, you've probably got completely different lenses to me and the numbers will be different if your tube is a 10 or a 15mm rather than my 12mm.

For the few seconds it'll take, check it out, you might like it Wink


doing some googling now. plenty people seems to be against it (out of ignorance maybe) lol and there are not many discussion about it. i do want to experiment. I'm able to find 12-17mm m42 focusing helicoid (if I decide on takumars)


PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2019 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Reading some of the responses, it occurred to me that there is another Nikkor lens you might try. It's highly underrated. The manual focus, Micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4 AIS. My copy works beautifully. Its only real flaw: if you get close enough to approach 1:2 magnification, it starts having noticeable chromatic aberration. But it allows you to get much closer than most lenses, and with very good bokeh. Because it only goes to 1:2 and has been so thoroughly overshadowed by its autofocus replacement (Micro-Nikkor AF 200mm f/4D), prices are quite low.

Worth looking into, in my opinion.

Here's a pic from it, though this one was intended to be very close. At that distance, lots of bokeh is inevitable.


PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2019 4:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My favorite short tele to 200mm (or so) zoom is the Tamron 80-200mm f/2.8 LD. It's big and heavy and usually not cheap, but it's worth it, I feel. Sharpness at 200mm is on par with the Nikkor AIs 180mm f/2.8 ED. Because of the LD glass, CA tends to be well controlled. Bokeh are consistent with the class of 200/2.8 optics.
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
Goto page Previous  1, 2
Page 2 of 2