After looking at a most of the photos posted here I'm trying to pick out the properties that give them the 3D look. IMO...
a. Smooth transition between in and out of focus
b. Smooth tone transition
c. Where foreground is present it is in focus at the nearest point
d. Good contrast
e. Some structure in bokeh
On point C regarding point of focus ... I try to make the left & right edges (at least one) be my critical focus point, with DOF being sufficient to encompass the nearest point of my subject. If the subject is 'too deep' for my DOF to cover it all, then, I'll usually try to 'split the difference' with my focus point ~midway between edges and nearest point, so that DOF encompasses both.
Focus point on the round knob at right & the left edge of the head panel ... DOF to encompass head ...
I wanted to contribute my thoughts of how a lens might contribute to "3-D" (of course there are many compositional, lighting, focus point, and other factors). In particular, why I perceive a 3-D look to my Zeiss lenses.
To me, it includes several distinct factors (1) vibrant color rendition showing an huge range of different tones and hues, but with distinct transitions and no bleeding or blurring (2) the multicoating and flare control with no light scattering or haziness (Zeiss really excells, here), (3) related to the flare control, wide tonal range capable of showing and differentiating subtle tonal differtiations from dark to bright (4) smooth focus fall-off to a smooth, creamy bokeh (5) excellent correction for linear distortions (6) outstanding sharpness
To me, these attributes, which are all combined at a very level in the Zeiss lenses, means that each element of the scene is distinctly rendered, in its own visual space, with clear differentiation of color and tones, crispness, and lack of veiling or blurring between objects. This is a product of all the lens attributes put together. This is not an effect of in focus/out of focus transitions, as this "look" is evident even in fully sharp high depth of field scenes. The focus fall-off and bokeh only improve things when that effect is desired.
I am going to upgrade my membership so I can post photos. These forums are great!
philber wrote:
I don't mean to be offensive, DaggerVez, but your picture looks mildly strange to me. A bit like the Nissan was "overprocessed".. Don't know why...
Nope, it isn't. I can email you the raw image if you want. It was taken with 5D and Rokinon 85/1.4 @ 1.4.
Maybe think about putting up a little FTP or HTTP server in your house. That cost less than about $8.00 a month to run and just for posting images eat almost none of the household bandwidth.
People have told me they feel like they could reach out and touch these, but I think it is judt isolation with a shallow DOF and good light to give it a feeling of depth.
It looks like both your shot and your assessment is 'spot on' ... the detail is great. Makes me wonder how close were you (& what lens) ... I'm afraid to ask.
One of the best 'non-3D' (on this monitor) shots in this thread ... the amount of detail makes it a definite 2.999D !! 3D or 2.999D ... I'm still jealous.
