Kip’s Comments - October 18, 2026
Photo-geek Post
A couple of months ago I bought an ultra-wide angle lens for use on night pictures and occasional daytime pics. So far I have used the lens some, not have not done much with it. Today was a day to “play” with it a bit. My efforts were to learn the type of “sun stars” the lens blades produce. Sun stars occur when the lens is closed down while pointed at a bright light source (the sun, reflections on water, etc.). After making some test pictures I was surprised how defined the sun stars were. All were sharp and well-defined - even more than expected.
Following are sample images for your review. Please note a couple of details. Detail 1 - The size of the sun star changes based on the incoming brightness level. I adjusted that by shooting when leaves either moved away from the incoming sun or blocked the incoming sun. Detail 2 - I have found this ultra wide angle lens is very prone to lens flare, especially with large bright objects. Lens flare are the random colors in a scene due to light bouncing around on the glass elements. I did not have the lens hood on today and should have. Maybe the lens hood would have minimized flare.
Notice the sun bursts on the bright spots on the water. I don’t remember seeing them with my other lenses.
Autumn on Indian Pond - Image 1164528
Autumn on Indian Pond - Image 1164524
Autumn on Indian Pond - Image 1164501
While out today I did see two pied-billed grebes and a river otter. The otter escaped my camera. I did manage to capture some grebe photos. The two photos appear similar other than the color of the background water.
Pied-billed Grebe - Image 1164606
Pied-billed Grebe - Image 1164622
