Depth of field is an effect that simulates a plane of maximum sharpness, and blurs objects closer or more distant than this plane. There are two methods for implementing depth of field: a lens shader can be used that takes multiple samples using different paths to reach the same point on the focus plane to interpolate the depth effect; or a combination of a volume shader and an output shader that collect depth information during rendering and then apply a blurring filter as a postprocessing step over the finished image using this depth information. Both methods are supported by shaders.
Copyright © 1986-2009 by mental images GmbH