Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

ahsanford

Particular Member
Aug 16, 2012
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MrFotoFool said:
@ ahsanford - I don't think f9 is a small enough aperture for the starburst effect. Typically (as I understand it) you need f22. Maybe f16 is enough, but apertures larger than that do not work in my limited experience.

I do not know if focal length has any effect or not, meaning I don't know if it is harder to get with wider angle lenses. Perhaps someone reading this has the answer?

Certainly, that effect pops more when you stop it down further, but you should see something sunstar wise at f/9, one would think. Attached are two 24mm FF shots at f/8 (handheld, 1/250s) and f/13 (a solid 25s on a tripod) respectively -- no trouble with stars on the 24-70 f/4L IS, and my experience with the 16-35 f/4L IS has been similar.

Sorry to nitpick a lens detail like that. I'm a rank amateur at this, so I must be missing something else -- perhaps proximity to the lighting itself? Both of my shots the lighting is quite a ways off, whereas you were within a block of your lighting in Winslow there.

- A
 

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Jul 21, 2010
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MrFotoFool said:
@ ahsanford - I don't think f9 is a small enough aperture for the starburst effect. Typically (as I understand it) you need f22. Maybe f16 is enough, but apertures larger than that do not work in my limited experience.

I do not know if focal length has any effect or not, meaning I don't know if it is harder to get with wider angle lenses. Perhaps someone reading this has the answer?

There are very faint and diffuse starbursts in the 'Standin on a Corner' shot. Those areas of the image are a bit soft, there may be some mist in the air, and with the light sources OOF, that also mitigates the starburst effect.

You certainly don't need f/16 or narrower for the effect, nor do ultrawide angles preclude it. Below are 14mm f/11 and 17mm f/8.

Under L'Arc

EOS 1D X, Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, 2 s, f/11, ISO 100

Hôtel de ville de Tours

EOS 1D X, TS-E 17mm f/4L, 8s, f/8, ISO 100

And a 100% crop of the second one below.
 

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I returned to Northern Arizona and had another chance to use my used 17-40 at Grand Canyon. The sunset was initially very dull (gray clouds with almost no color) and I was using my 70-200 to do the layers of the canyon. The sun was hazy from the thin layer of clouds on the horizon line. I was packing up my camera about to leave and bam, the other layers of cloud higher up suddenly lit up once the sun got below the horizon.

Of course contrast is a huge problem so this is a combination of two exposures, both at 21mm and ISO 400 at f16. Exposure for foreground is 6 seconds and exposure for sky is 1/8 second. Lots of other minor tweaks in PS Elements to balance it out.

This is Lupan Point for those who like to visit (or hope to visit) Grand Canyon. Problem with that lookout is there is very limited parking and it was completely full. I parked (and shot from) a spot on the side road below the lot that had just barely enough dirt for me to pull over. Another couple (tourists from Spain) asked me to pull forward a little and we managed to squeeze two compact cars into a dirt pullout that is really only big enough for one car.
 

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