Udi over at DIYPhotography.net contacted me while back and asked me to test out a prototype of his Bokeh Masters Kit. It was my pleasure to do so, not only because it was Udi but also because I love new gadgets!

Now that it’s officially announced on DIYPhotography.net, I’d like to give you my impressions of the Bokeh Masters Kit (BMK). Bu tfirst off, I want to commend Udi on his creativeness to create such an original product.

What you get

I received the kit in a bubble envelope which was fine since none of the parts are fragile and is basically flat. What I got was:

- Detailed instructions
- Lens cover (A.K.A. Bokehtinator! Hahahaha)
- 21 precut disks with icons
- 8 blank disks to create your own shapes
- An elastic band

Installation

Once you remove the lens cover from the plastic sheet, all you need to do is bend the three arm supports and place it over the lens. Then take the elastic band and place it around the lens to secure the three arm supports.

All you need to do after that is to add your desired disk shape by placing it in the 2 side slots of the lens cover.

And that’s it! Your done and ready to shoot with your new BMK!

Shooting

To get the desired shape in your bokeh, you need to follow a few basic rules.

1- You need to control your aperture so you must shoot in Aperture priority or Manual.

2- Set your aperture to its widest setting (i.e. smallest number)

3- Try using fast lenses that have an aperture of 2.8 or lower

4- If  your background is dark, you might need to under expose your shot by a few stops. I noticed that if the background lights are overexposed the bokeh effect doesn’t work.

5- The lens cover works best on lenses that are 62mm or smaller. As you can see in this example, I used my trusty Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens.

Here are a few test shots…

My Impressions

I think that Udi did a great job with his first prototype. It ’s easy to assemble and easy to carry in your photo bag.

The design is somewhat basic and could be improved on as I’m sure Udi is also aware of but generally speaking, it’s fully functional and a great gadget to have in your bag. I actually have some ideas using his BMK for some creative stock photography. I would like to eventually see the rubber band replaced by a velcro band or something similar.

I think that for $25 you really do get your money’s worth. The price is fair for what you get and the results it gives you. This is a unique product and I can’t wait to have a bit more free time to test it out further.

You can get all the details on the Website at: www.bokehmasterskit.com.

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