Why I cant get a good bokeh with LX5 f2.0

[rwhite]

It works on small objects or macro, but not on portrait, why har? :embrass::embrass:

 

[Daoyin]

It works on small objects or macro, but not on portrait, why har? :embrass::embrass:

Probably because you are standing too far away when shooting portraits or the background is too close.

 

[aaron80]

If you are comparing against cameras with larger sensors, it will be harder for u to create the same kind of bokeh for portraits with the LX5.

 

[Diavonex]

The small imaging sensors of the LX5 require the use of short focal lengths and this in turn gives the camera an unusually long DOF when compared to DSLR camera.

Thus intentionally getting a shallow DPF is more difficult.

 

[Anson]

Curious... can a LX5 get better bokeh than the EPL1 (kit lens) for half body portraiture? This is a question that really interest me.. :think:

 

[Lx3ChuA]

Bokeh on Lumix... hahha... can unless u go macro mode if not all image will all be sharp sharp...;p

 

[chiangkxv]

Do u mean a shallow dof?

Dof is a function of: aperture, focal length, distance to subject, background distance.

During macro mode, distance to subject is near. Thus shallower Dof.

 

[magicdragon]

Bokeh is the subjective quality of the foreground and background out of focus areas.

Shallow depth of field on the other hand depends on many things.

1) The nearer the subject is to the camera on any given focal length the shallower the depth of field (dof).

2) A wider angle lens will have greater depth of field than a longer focal length. So in a zoom even if the f-stop doesn't change say at f2.8 - the wide end of the zoom will have greater depth of field than the tele end of the zoom.

3) Sensor size/ film size - the smaller the sensor/film size the greater the depth of field. So a medium format camera at a given focal length of lens will have a shallower depth of field than say a FF/35mm film camera at the same lens focal length.

Note: Focal length and field of view are not the same thing but are related. A standard 50mm lens on a 35mm/FF DSLR will have the same field of view as a 90mm lens on a medium format camera.

on a 4/3 sensor the depth of field doubles (as the field of view also doubles). ie a 25mm lens on 4/3 sensor have the field of view of a 50mm lens on FF and if shot at say f2.8 the depth of field will be equivalent to f4 because it's actually a 25mm lens in FF terms but the depth of field remains that of a 25mm lens. Makes sense no?

So 2 50mm f.14 lenses used on a FF DSLR at a given f-stop will have the same about of background and foreground blur but the quality of the bokeh will probably be different!

In conclusion:
1. bokeh is ≠ out of focus areas
2. the amount of out of focus area is dependent on a) sensor size, b) focal length and c) f-stop used


I hope I have not confused the matter.

 

[night86mare]

It works on small objects or macro, but not on portrait, why har? :embrass::embrass:

this is due to the smaller sensor size.

a lot of things play a role in getting shallow depth of field:

(1) sensor size, the larger the sensor size, the shallower the depth of field, all other things being equal (i.e. equivalent focal length, aperture)

(2) focal length, the longer the focal length, the shallower the depth of field, all other things being equal.

(3) aperture, the larger the aperture (or the smaller the f-stop), the shallower the dof, all other things being equal.

(4) subject relative to background distance, if you move the subject closer while keeping the background at same distance, or if you move the background further, while keeping the subject at the same position, all other things being equal, bg will be thrown out of focus more.

(4) is the reason why you can get bokeh for macro and closeups but not for portraits.

but (1) is the driving reason why you are limited in the first place.

 

[iRolly]

one of a test shot in school. hope it helps
tested with portrait too cant have the effect.

 

[ManWearPants]

Look at the size of the LX5 sensor - 1/1.6" in comparison with a FF. The f2.0 on such a small sensor would not give you the same DoF as those of larger sensor sizes.

imgae extracted from wikipedia

 

[hawthorne907]

If i may suggest, try this method. Use manual mode or aperture priority mode, then slide the knob to MANUAL FOCUS MF. after which with aperture 2.0. choose the thing u want to take a picture of and then you manually change the focus till you get a sharp image on the object. When I did this, I got a really nice bokeh. Try it!

 

[Nikihunter]

Try to zoom the object and take picture again. max zoom with max aperture will work well.
if you want to use wide angle with nice bokeh, then the object must be very close to camera and background must be very far.

 

[pinholecam]

Here is the explanation.
http://www.megapixel.net/html/articles/article-dof.php

As the sensor size is very small, the focal length (actual physical) of the lens is also very small (5.1 - 19.2mm) written on the lens front. The 24mm-90mm focal length is the 35mm equivalent.


To maximize what you can out of you LX5, the rules for less DOF does not change though.
1. subject distance
2. aperture size
3. bkgnd distance
4. Focal length (the longest that you have)


Of course it will not be the same lack of DOF compared to a APS-C or FF sensor.