Bokeh/Focal Length Comparison Shots

[Mr.Bittacy]

I decided to shoot some comparison shots the other day with some of my lenses and I figured it may be of interest to someone.. Nothing special, or scientific. It was a hazy morning, 2 sec delay on tripod, all shot wide open, WB set to daylight and shots processed in light room with the auto setting then converted. The Chicken is a little larger than human head sized. I tried to keep the size of the chicken the same to show the blur potential so obviously the 300mm shot was much further away than the 58mm... Hopefully it is of interest to someone, I was interested to see the comparison and once again the Isco-Gottingen 180 was very impressive especially for the lack of fringing.

300mm f 2.8 Nikkor AIS ED

Nikkor AIS 300mm f2.8 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

200mm f 2 Nikkor AI ED

Nikkor AI 200mm f2 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

Isco-Gottingen 180mm f 2.8

Isco-Gottingen 180mm f2.8 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

180mm f 2.8 Nikkor AIS ED ( Got a new unscratched lens)

Nikkor AIS 180mm 2.8 ED by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

135mm f 2 Nikkor AI

Nikkor AI 135mm f2 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

135mm f2.8 Isco-Gottingen early preset version

Isco Gottingen 135mm f2.8 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

105mm f1.8 Nikkor AIS

Nikkor AIS 105mm f1.8 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

90mm f 2.5 Tokina AT-X Macro ( Sharpest and most difficult to focus by far)

Tokina 90mm f2.5 AT-X Macro by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

85mm f 1.7 Minolta MC Version 2

Minolta MC v2 85mm f1.7 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

58mm f 1.2 Minolta MC version 2

Minolta MC v2 58mm f1.2 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

55mm f 1.7 Minolta MC

Minolta MC 55mm f 1.7 by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

58mm f2 Helios, Early KMZ 13 blade version

Helios 58mm f2 KMZ 13 blade aperture by Mr. Bittacy, on Flickr

[wolan]

Thanks for sharing. Please publish more bokeh tests.

[aidaho]

Thanks fo the series.

Looking at this, it's interesting to reflect on my own preferences.
I think at the beginning of my facination with interchangeable lens photography I would've preferred something from the top: creamy and dreamy.
Right now though, I find shots from 135mm and below much more interesting due to context and due to visible structure in the bokeh.

[calvin83]

The ISCO looks better than i expected with good CA control.

[Mr.Bittacy]

I agree it is all about personal preference, I like the fast longer lenses because they allow separation when you shoot at longer distances such as full body where the bokeh looks a lot more like the shorter focal length lenses. The problem is just how far away you have to be to do that.. I guess that is why it’s fun to shoot the older lenses though, they all have their own character and being able to have a large selection let’s you choose the right one for the situation or your mood.

[Antoine]

Very interesting and also illustrates the difference between reflex and standard lenses. At long fl, bokey is very soft and creamy for standard lenses while it is busy donuts with reflex which gives wholly different pictures.

[pdccameras]

Very nicely done - thank you very much for the comparisons! For this particular subject/shot, I really like the Nikkor 300 f/2.8. Personal preference, because they are all technically excellent - and all have a place in the camera bag (metaphorically speaking). I think one reason I like the 300, and the creamier/dreamier types for this subject is that as the background shapes up as the focal length decreases, the horizon line cutting through the neck of the chicken becomes more and more obvious.

All the best,

Paul

[KEO]

Good test. That 300mm Nikkor is a really intriguing lens. I just don't think I have room to store one. I'm already over capacity!

I too like the longer focal lengths, but it's harder to structure situations to use them properly. You can't exactly take one along to your friend's house, sit down at the kitchen table, and start taking portraits - not the way you can with a 50.

I still love my 180 ED Nikkor. Great lens. Probably my favorite Nikkor, and that's saying something.

[Mr.Bittacy]

Yeah the 300 Nikkor is a great lens and really cheap compared to the performance... the 300 and the 200 are just so big, heavy and awkward to use I find myself using the 180 the most. But on the flip side the 300 & 200 can get shots that the others lenses just can’t do.. sometimes I get stuck carrying too much weight because you can always stop down a fast lens but sometimes you need the speed.. They are all great to get brenzier style shots to try and copy the look of medium and large format.

[KEO]

Have you ever tried the old 200mm Takumar 3.5 with a preset aperture?

That's a really nice lens (and not very expensive), and it's light enough for handheld shooting. It's got 18 aperture blades too.

[Mr.Bittacy]

[visualopsins]

!

[tb_a]

Interesting comparison, thank you.
You may also find out the different consequences of all the influencing parameters with much lesser effort here: https://dofsimulator.net/en/
Therefore I would find it much more interesting to see the differences when lenses of the same focal length and aperture are compared. The general behaviour can be simulated anyway.

[Mr.Bittacy]

Very true, I messed with some of the simulators but it was still a little difficult for me to visualize the difference real world.. I should have done a lot more comparisons before I cut down on my collection, two lenses I need to shoot side by side Is the Nikkor 50 1.8 pancake and Minolta 55 1.9 Mc.. they have very similar rendering to my eye..