Cycles allows for photo-realistic rendering. Part of the realism comes from the simulation of photography parameters, such as lens, aperture size, and depth of field. When simulating anamorphic lens, there is something Cycles still miss which is anamorphic bokeh.
Anamorphic Bokeh Perspective Test
Generally speaking “bokeh” is the shape we see from far away blurred light sources. It’s more evident in night shots. When working with anamorphic lens (or when simulating them in Cycles) it’s important to stretch the bokeh according to the simulated lens.
Anamorphic Bokeh Fisheye Test
In a normal close up scene the effect is subtle but gives an extra cinematographic effect. Compare this test-render from the Gooseberry Open Movie. From top to bottom we have a fisheye render, a fisheye render with anamorphic bokeh of 2.0, and fisheye render with anamorphic bokeh of 3.0:
Frank Fisheye Regular Bokeh
Frank Fisheye Anamorphic Bokeh 2.0
Frank Fisheye Anamorphic Bokeh 3.0
Too subtle? Click on the images for a zoom-up version or look closely at the animated comparison:
Anamorphic Bokeh Frank Test
Another shot, now with 1.0 (normal bokeh), 2.0, 3.0 and 10.0.
Frank Bokeh 1.0 Fisheye
Frank Anamorphic Bokeh 2.0 Fisheye
Frank Anamorphic Bokeh 3.0 Fisheye
Frank Anamorphic Bokeh 10.0 Fisheye
In cinema we often see works done with bokeh 1.33, 1.5 or for old movies 2.0. Nothing stops us from simulating other values as we demonstrated here.
Frank Anamorphic Bokeh Fisheye - Animated
This feature is aimed at Blender 2.72, so stay tuned and prepare your night shots. A special thank you for Aldo Zang for the help with the math part of the patch. Test scenes and feature request by Mathieu Auvrey.
Cheers,
Dalai Felinto
Update: The patch is currently for review [here].