Smooth bokeh with this 58mm
THE term “bokeh” was apparently coined by Japanese photographers to refer to the quality of out-of-focus areas in a photograph.
While it seems quite paradoxical to be concerned about how a lens renders outof-focus areas, the fact is that having a nice, smoothly blur background helps your infocus subject matter stand out from a busy background.
This is the reason why many camera companies produce a 50mm f/ 1.4 lens — the theory being that shooting at the lens’ widest aperture of f/ 1.4 will render the background into a smooth, “creamy” blur, which contrasts nicely with the perfectly sharp subject.
With the latest AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/ 1.4, Nikon is aiming to up the ante on its wide aperture lenses by producing the spiritual successor to its classic 58mm f/ 1.2 “Noct” (which stands for “night’) lens.
While it doesn’t have the f/ 1.2 aperture of the Noct lens, the new 58mm f/ 1.4 nevertheless still exhibits shallower depth-of-field, and thus a background that’s more blurry, than a comparable 50mm f/ 1.4 shot at the same aperture and distance.
The other side benefit is that since the lens’ wide aperture lets in four times more light than an f/ 2.8 lens, it’s also great for getting faster shutter speeds when light levels are low.
Expect to pay a premium for the lens, however — the AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/ 1.4 has a recommended retail price of RM5,898 and is available in stores now.
++++ www.nikon.com.my