Bokeh and aperture blades

4 years 7 months ago #656415 by Mason Katz
Is the number of aperture blades the biggest determining factor of a lens with regards to its ability to create bokeh?


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4 years 7 months ago #656453 by garyrhook

Mason Katz wrote: Is the number of aperture blades the biggest determining factor of a lens with regards to its ability to create bokeh?


Absolutely not.

The blade curvature will affect the shape of the blur, but the blur itself is a result of the lens design (on top of focal length and aperture). Bokeh is about how out-of-focus areas are rendered, not what shape the twinkly lights are.


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The following user(s) said Thank You: A-Perez
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4 years 7 months ago #656459 by Nikon Shooter
Yes, the shape of the light in the bokeh and the
the desired roundness comes with the number
of blades. Nine is the minimum number of them.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 7 months ago - 4 years 7 months ago #656464 by Shadowfixer1
The more blades you have the more circular the lens opening is. The more circular the opening, the truer the circular "bokeh balls" until you get to the edges and then lens design plays a large part as Gary said in the way the lens renders out of focus areas. Some lenses have nervous bokeh, some feathery bokeh. There is everything in between. So the answer is yes the number of blades has an effect but the number of blades are nowhere near the whole story.  
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