I pretty much always turn motion blur off in-game. When I see it in a console game taht someone is playing nearby or if I start a game that has it on by default, I find myself getting irritated with it. It makes things hard to see. After effects are great and all, but I would like to be able to actually see things when I look at them in-game.
I am sure that there are people out there who actually like motion blur, so I want to hear from the community. I've heard that it is good at hiding low frame rates, but I hardly have an issue with that, or if I do, I lower the settings until I get a smooth gameplay. I guess it has a place on consoles if that is the case.
I usually don't turn it completely off and it depends what game I'm playing. If the option is 'On/Off' then i'll turn it off. If it's a slider and it's out of 100, lets say, I will put it on <25. For me it really does depend on what game I'm playing.
Can you explain why you like it? Does it seem more realistic? Cinematic? Does it hide low frame rates? Is this for competitive fps games or more casual and/or non-fps gaming?
I know for me personally I keep it on for any game that isn't first person competitive. Pretty much any third person game with motion blur I leave on. First person games that aren't competitive shooters (Alien Isolation for example) I usually keep it on as well. Definitely keep it on for racing games.
For games like CS:GO, ARMA 3, Battlefield 4, etc, I turn it off.
I find that it adds a nice bit of atmosphere. Kinda like Depth of Field. It's not the most realistic thing but it can help the game look better. Only in situations where I'm not completely focused on winning a match that is.
I don't use it to cover up low frame rates, I will turn whatever settings I need to down achieve ~ a 60 fps average, I just like the effect. It certainly isn't more realistic but I do think it makes what I'm watching look a *little* more cinematic.
I don't play any video games competitively, strictly for fun. If I start getting worked up over something as dumb as a video game I know it's time to step outside.
I don't like it because it's usually overkill. If it was a super tiny amount then it might add a little extra something to the look and feel of some games.
I love motion blur while sniping, it puts everything else out of focus other than the subject-of-interest. I snipe a lot, even in close ranges (which is a bad habit)
What you described is depth of field. There should be little no motion blur when sniping because motion blur is simply the blurring of the image as you move through the world. Depth of field blurs things that are close to the camera, leaving things far away sharp and in focus.
To add my thoughts to the discussion, I turn motion blur off whenever possible. The only games that might be nice with it on are racing games and third person character action games, of which I have none.
I did end up using camera mode motion blur in Shadow of Mordor. I guess all the aliasing made me desperate to try anything, but it really helped. Then again it's also a third person game.