Lens with soft focus

[sereze]

Why would I need that? Can I not manually have out of focus images in MF mode?

[Dave Humphries]

Welcome sereze,

I don't know the context (portraiture?) or the lens, but I would say not, because the degree of softness you are looking for isn't much, so manually mis-focusing will leave something else (unwanted) in focus.

I would imagine you focus normally then alter another control to give an amount of softness to the sharpest bits.

With digital photography, I'd have thought shoot normal (sharp) and blur in post production offers a more controllable result.

If you get a chance, do drop by the Common Room and introduce yourself there in the "Introduce Yourself & Welcome Other Members (2)" thread.

Always helps to know abit of members backgrounds.

Hope that helps,

[sereze]

Thanks Dave. I think I got it. Quick research on the net I found this also in case anyone would be interested. http://www.answers.com/topic/soft-focus-1

[rpcrowe]

The results of a soft focus lens such as the 135mm Canon soft-focus is different and more pleasing for portraiture than an out of focus shot.

If you want a soft focus effect without the steep price of a special lens for that effect, try a soft focus filter. They are available rather inexpensively on eBay. The nice thing about buying a soft focus filter is that you don't need to buy the best quality filter. Since the effect is to soften the image anyway, a less expensive filter is just fine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-77mm-1-Sof...3A1%7C294%3A50