Point and Shoot Photo Enhancement Using Photoshop CS6 Iris Blur

P&S cameras, with their small sensors, are great for getting closeup macro shots. However, even using the widest aperture, the background doesn't have the nice blur/bokeh you can achieve with some DSLR lens. Photoshop CS6 has a new blur filter called Iris Blur which allows you to blur the background while keeping the selected circular region in focus. This can be used to simulate a shallow DOF. The process is this: 1) Choose your focal point 2) Expand or contract the circle of focus 3) Adjust the blur strength, color, and lighting. It works pretty good. Below are some before and after pictures of a sensitive briar flower taken with a Fujifilm F505 in the macro mode.

After

Before

Infared Photography with Fuji F505

I tried out holding my Hoya IR72 filter in front of the lens on a Fujifilm f505 today. The results were promising. For the handheld shots, I used the lowest aperture and ISO 3200 in the Aperture Priority Mode. I also took some shots with the camera in manual. I set the delay timer to 2 seconds and set the camera on a table. Lowest aperture setting. I played around with the shutter speed until I got a decent exposure. Here is an image shot handheld.

I like the way this looks.

Film Simulation Mode on Fujifilm F505

The F505 offers 5 film simulation modes. To save and import photos in these modes the camera must be set to save images as Raw+JPEG. If the camera is in the RAW only mode, your images will be previewed as the film simulation type in the camera, but will be normal RAW images when transferred to the computer.

You can always convert a RAW image to sepia in most image processing programs like Lightroom and Photoshop. I found shooting and previewing images in the "Sepia" film simulation mode helped me with my composition. I suggest the same would be true for the B&W mode.

More on the Fujifilm F505

I have had the F505 for a couple of weeks now. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

1) Panorama setting is really really cool.
2) The camera can capture 3 continuous shots in one shutter click for HDR shots. The shots are set to under exposure, normal exposure, and over exposure. The amount can be set at 1/3, 2/3, or 1 stop. Way cool.
3) Macro function and the closeup ability of this camera is outstanding.

Cons:

1) Mode button is easily moved by accident
2) Buttons are tiny
3) Barrel distortion on full zoom
4) Slow image storage - you have to wait on the camera after 2 shots
5) Oversaturated colors - particularly the reds
6) Overall image quality
7) High ISO images are quite soft

There are still functions I have not used. I am still finding new ways to use this camera. In spite of the flaws, it is well worth the $150 paid.