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NewtV
NewtV
Known Participant
August 28, 2023

Weird halo using Lens Blur depth map

  • August 28, 2023
  • 18 replies
  • 7649 views

Is there a way to get rid of this weird halo that appears when I use Lens Blur Filter with a Depth Map?
The sharp areas should be in focus at the edges, but they show a strange halo, like if I'm using a fog lens.
Even if the Z map has a good contrast between dark an white areas, the halo appears at the edges as if the subject was out if focus.

    18 replies

    Show previous replies
    N
    NewtonArt
    Participating Frequently
    April 18, 2024

    8 months later after reported, this bug has not yet been fixed!!!

      N
      NewtonArt
      Participating Frequently
      April 18, 2024

      8 months later, this bug has not yet been fixed!!!

        N
        NewtonArt
        Participating Frequently
        November 14, 2023

        Is there any timeline for when this bug will be fixed? Lens Blur is a very important filter but it's useless as it is now.

          N
          NewtonArt
          Participating Frequently
          September 6, 2023

          Hi John. I'm glad to know it, because  Lens Blur is (or would be) a very useful filter for 3D artists. A good reference to solve the problem is the same filter in PS, that works perfectly fine. And the PS Lens Blur filter the user can click on the point where he wants to focus, this is very useful and lacks in AE as well.

            JohnColombo17100380
            Community Manager
            JohnColombo17100380Community Manager
            Community Manager
            September 6, 2023

            Hi @NewtV,

            Thank you for reporting this issue. As noted, this is a long-standing limitation of the Camera Lens Blur effect, but one that we would like to improve. We're tracking this issue and will be investigating an improvement for a future version of After Effects.

             

            Cheers,

            - John, After Effects Engineering Team 

            N
            NewtonArt
            Participating Frequently
            September 1, 2023

            Nobody seems to know much about this filter in this community... and even at Adobe. 

            Andrew Yoole
            Andrew Yoole
            Inspiring
            September 2, 2023

            I tried to reproduce your problem.  I don't have clean versions of your image so I just used Generative Fill to create a crude copy.  I used Photoshop's "Slect subject" to select the bug and create a black/white depth matte.  The results were the same in AE with Lens Camera Blur - a soft fringe around the subject when it's blurred.

             

            However, if I then used the Depth Matte as a luma matte I was able to remove the fringe altogether, leaving a hard edge (Probably a bit too hard, you lose the sense of the blur.)

             

            You could do the same if you're able to render a matte pass of your bug character without any background elements.  

             

            But ultimately I think this is just a limitation of the plugin.

             

            N
            NewtonArt
            Participating Frequently
            September 4, 2023

            I think it's more than a limitation, it's a bug that exists since CS6 version. We could say it's a limitation if no other software could achieve a decent result, but PS can do a very good result using the "same" filter.  It's strange that no one from Adobe has responded about this bug.

              NewtV
              NewtVAuthor
              Known Participant
              August 30, 2023

              Everytime I use Lens Blur, using a DOF Map (Blur Map) I get a weird halo around focused objects.  
              The same files in Photoshop using Lens Blur everything works fine without that annoying halo. 
              I've tried a lot of different settings in After Effects, but I can't get the same nice result I get in Photoshop. 

                NewtV
                NewtVAuthor
                Known Participant
                August 30, 2023

                Using 100 Blur Radius - Lens Blur in Photoshop

                Using 100 Blur Radius - Lens Blur in After Effects

                 



                 

                  Andrew Yoole
                  Andrew Yoole
                  Inspiring
                  August 29, 2023

                  Can you post a screengrab of the effects control panel with all of the Camera Lens Blur parameters visible?

                   

                  If you precompose the depth map layer and use Levels in the precomp to brighten the main body of the character to pure white, do you still get the halo?

                  NewtV
                  NewtVAuthor
                  Known Participant
                  August 29, 2023

                   

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