[Leica] bokeh controversy (and lenses)

["Patrick Sobalvarro" <pgs@sobalvarro.org>]

Some "bokeh" notes from my own experience.  What matters to me about
out-of-focus regions in photographs is that they should look natural.  If
you
relax your eyes and look at something without focusing, you will see very
smooth out-of-focus areas, no sharp delineations or donuts or tight double
images.  For me, a lens that gives me that kind of look in the out-of-focus
regions is more pleasing.  The older 50/2 Summicron-R generates what I find
to
be rather unpleasant out-of-focus regions.  One gets twin images both in
front
of and behind the plane of focus when the lens is at or near its maximum
aperture.  I don't remember noticing these with the newer 50/2 Summicron-R,
which has a different optical formula, but I haven't used that lens in a
while
(it's been on my "modern" camera), so I'll have to look more closely next
time.  A lens that has "interesting" out-of-focus characteristics is the
older
28/2.8 Elmarit-R.  This lens is a cracker and I love it, but the
out-of-focus
areas have sharper delineations than I would like.  As others have observed,
the 90/2.8 and 135/2.8 Elmarit-Rs both produce fairly natural-looking
out-of-focus regions.

I briefly had a 2x3 Graphic with a 101 Ektar that produced some really nice
out-of-focus regions, but the damned thing was almost impossible to use, so
it
went to a collector.  The Leica lens I've used that has the most pleasing
out-of-focus images is the 50/1.5 Summarit I sometimes use on my M2.  At f/4
or so, it's quite sharp, and the out-of-focus regions are very very smooth,
really like looking at something out of focus through one's own eyes.
Things
look very natural and relaxing.

- -Patrick