Mastering Bokeh with the Bokeh Masters Kit

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DIY Photography recently sent us the Bokeh Masters Kit, a simple accessory which allows photographers to get creative with their bokeh photographs. Let me tell you about my first try and share with you my results in this quick review!

While I'm no stranger to the lovely effect bokeh makes on photographs, I haven’t been as brave as other film photographers in making my own lens attachments to create bokeh in various shapes. So, when I came across the Bokeh Masters Kit, I decided to give it a go.

In the package, there are 5 sheets of durable plastic with partially-cut components:

  • Bokeh discs with various shapes
  • Blank bokeh discs which you can use to make your own designs
  • The Bokehtinator, the device which holds the bokeh discs and is attached to the lens
  • A cutout that you need to fold to form a storage box for the bokeh discs

You also get:

  • A rubber band for attaching the Bokehtinator on the lens
  • The instruction manual

While it may have been designed with digital cameras in mind, it can also be fitted in film SLR cameras that use any of the lenses below:

  • Nikon 50mm F/1.8, Canon 50mm F/1.8
  • Nikon 50mm F/1.4, Canon 50mm F/1.4
  • Nikon 85mm F/1.8, Canon 85mm F/1.8
  • Nikon 28-105mm F/3.5-F/4.5
  • Kit Zooms: Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6, Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6
  • Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM
  • With vignetting: Sigma 30mm F/1.4

The kit is super easy to use, as it requires no assembly or software. After snapping off the components, you can proceed to attaching it to your lens: take the Bokehtinator (the component that appears to have three legs), fit a bokeh disc on both slots, fold the “legs” of the Bokehtinator over the lens, and secure with the rubber band. Then, you’re ready to shoot beautiful bokehs in various shapes!

Armed with the Bokeh Masters Kit and my trusty Nikon FE2, I had my first taste of shooting bokeh with shapes. It was delightful to be able to see in real time the lights blurring out to form the shapes of the bokeh discs. It’s too bad I didn’t have a lot of great photo opportunities to shoot photos with fun, playful bokeh, but I made do with my surroundings. Here are what I managed to take with Fujicolor 100 during the day and Fuji Superia 400 at night:

Credits: plasticpopsicle

While my photos could have been a little bit better, they at least show what you can achieve with the Bokeh Masters Kit, on a novice level. With this kit, there’s one bokeh disc for every occasion—take it to parties, parks, Christmas dinners, vacation and holidays, or even a photo shoot that allows you to play with lights, and you’re guaranteed to have lovely photos spiced up with bokeh in various shapes! So if you’re looking for a quick solution to make those bokeh photos even more stunning, the Bokeh Masters Kit could help you achieve just that!

written by plasticpopsicle on 2012-09-20 #gear #review #bokeh #shapes #staff-review #camera-accessory #bokeh-masters-kit

4 Comments

  1. denisesanjose
    denisesanjose ·

    Nice, @plasticpopsicle! I love the fleur-de-lis ones :-)

  2. plasticpopsicle
    plasticpopsicle ·

    @denisesanjose Thanks, I really love this kit! The fleur-de-lis and flying bird bokeh snaps are very subtle though, they could have been more prominent if it was sunnier that day I shot with the kit. I might give it another go with slide film next time. Do you want to try it out? I could lend you my Nikon FE2 and the kit. :)

  3. denisesanjose
    denisesanjose ·

    @plasticpopsicle Heehee sige :-)

  4. lokified
    lokified ·

    I saw a similar kit on photojojo and am very tempted to buy it & try with my OM-1.

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