Depth Blur Node

Depth Blur evaluates, for each pixel, the distance between its Z depth and the Focus Distance. The bigger the gap, the stronger the blur applied. Mathematically close to a circle of confusion in photography.

Advantages over native 3D rendering: real-time tuning after the render (animatable Focus Distance), fast iteration, independence from expensive 3D render time. Drawback: no complex bokeh (custom aperture shapes), it stays "smoother" than a true optical DOF.

• Effects Library: Tools > Deep Pixel > Depth Blur
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > Deep Pixel > Depth Blur

Focus Distance (plane of focus)

Distance at which the image is sharp. Pixels exactly at this Z = no blur. Pixels in front or behind = increasingly blurry.

Aperture

Sets the extent of the DOF. Small aperture = deep DOF (everything sharp), large aperture = shallow DOF (strong bokeh). The equivalent of an optical f-stop.

Blur Size

Global multiplier of the blur intensity. Bump it up if Aperture alone does not give enough blur.

• Image (orange) - the beauty image to blur.
• Z (green) - Z-depth channel (from a multilayer EXR, a Disparity to Z node, or an AI estimator).
• Effect Mask (blue) - optional.

Post DOF on a 3D render:
EXR (Beauty + Z) → Depth Blur (Focus = subject,
                              moderate Aperture)
                ↓
              MediaOut

Animated rack focus (to/from the subject):
EXR (Beauty + Z) → Depth Blur (Focus animated over 60 frames)
                ↓ MediaOut

Stereo + Disparity to Z + Depth Blur:
LeftCam ─┐
         ├── Disparity → Disparity to Z
RightCam ┘                ↓
        Beauty L → Depth Blur (Focus on the subject)
                ↓ MediaOut

Live action with AI-estimated Z:
MediaIn → [external Z map MiDaS]
       → Depth Blur (Focus tweaked)
       → MediaOut

Focus Distance (default: 0.5)

Z distance where the focus is sharp. The unit follows the convention of the Z map (meters, normalized 0-1, etc.). Animate it for a rack focus.

Aperture (Depth of Field) (default: 1.0)

Width of the DOF. Low = everything blurred except a narrow sharp band (strong bokeh). High = a large sharp area (deep DOF, subtle bokeh).

Blur Size (default: 10)

Maximum blur intensity in pixels. Caps the amount of blur on the pixels furthest from the focus.

Lock X/Y (default: On)

Isotropic blur (same X and Y) or anamorphic (different X and Y) for stylized effects.

Z Channel (default: Z)

Source channel of the Z-depth. Depending on the naming: Z, depth, z_depth.

Sub-pixel Multiplier (default: 1)

Supersampling for quality. Raise it to 2-4 for very clean bokeh, at the cost of performance.

• Post DOF on a 3D render - render the 3D without DOF (a massive render time saving), add Depth Blur in compositing with comparable quality.
• Animated rack focus - animate Focus Distance to rack focus from one subject to another in post.
• DOF correction - live footage shot with too little DOF: add background blur to isolate the subject.
• Stereo + Disparity to Z + Depth Blur - a complete pipeline to add DOF to stereo live-action footage.
• Macro / portrait look - exaggerate the DOF for a high-end portrait effect on ordinary footage.
• Tilt-shift miniature look - a narrow band of focus + Z map = a miniature model effect.
• Live action + AI Z estimation - 2D footage + AI-generated Z (MiDaS, DPT) + Depth Blur = a convincing artificial DOF.

• A clean Z is required - artifacts in the Z map (smeary edges, noisy areas) show up directly as halos / glitches in the DOF. Clean up the Z first.
• Focus Distance with the picker - some versions let you click in the viewer to set the Focus Distance on a pixel = a fast workflow.
• Aperture vs Blur Size - Aperture sets the transition (deep/shallow DOF), Blur Size sets the maximum. Tune them separately.
• Sub-pixel 2 for clean bokeh - for the final render, raise Sub-pixel to avoid visible banding in the transition areas.
• No bokeh shapes - Depth Blur is Gaussian-like. For hexagonal, star or other bokeh, prefer a specialized Defocus or Lens Blur node.
• Animate it for a rack focus - a keyframed Focus Distance instantly gives you a cinematic focus pull.
• Place it downstream of the composite - the DOF must be on the final composited image, otherwise the added elements (3D, matte paintings) will have inconsistent blur.
• For edge artifacts, consider a Deep Image workflow (Nuke, Houdini) - but Fusion's Depth Blur is enough for 90% of cases.