Question about 35L and Lights

I don't have images at the moment, but i will soon.

I notice last night while shooting a bridge with the 35L, that the lights were unflattering and the lights instead of becoming stars, they became rays and long ones to. They cover a good portion of the frame.

As soon as I change to the 24-105 the light stars where good, so I'm assuming there's something wrong with the lens.

Anyone know by what I just tried to explain what's going on?

Did you have a filter on the lens?

Sometimes a filter can turn a 1K + lens into a $100 lens.

What aperture were you shooting at? The smaller the aperture, the more "starburst" effect you get.

Really useless without pictures

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16382884
Really useless without pictures

I know man ... sorry!

I was hoping I could out tonight and use it ....

to answer the other questions - no I didnt have a filter and when I do use filters they are BW CPL

The aperture was around f8-f10 ....

The stars were not robust but rather unflattering ...

Again did you have a filter on the lens? If so it can cause flare when pointed at light sources.

Next time take off the filter when shooting in these types of lighting conditions. I'll bet that clears up a lot of issues.

You should also get less flare with the 35L than with the zoom.

Certainly looks like a filter, or maybe perhaps condensation on the lens?

Not sure how many times can I say that I didn't have a filter on the lens. All the lenses I use are in my backpack and once I notice that I change to the 24-105 and I didn't have a problem.

Well, it's certainly not normal. I have both of those lenses and the 35L is definitely a sharper lens than the 24-105 and certainly doesn't have issues like yours shows. I suggested the filter or a dirty lens, because that's what it looks like.

It also doesn't look very sharp, almost like the camera had movement?

ExperiencedN00B wrote in post #16386445
Not sure how many times can I say that I didn't have a filter on the lens. All the lenses I use are in my backpack and once I notice that I change to the 24-105 and I didn't have a problem.

apparently 3posts out of 10 aren't enough...sorry i can't help...i just thought it was crazy how everyone seemed to miss you saying no filter every time...

I dont know if it makes that much difference, but try f11 next time.
Image below is the sh*tty Sigma 35, but, well...
I have a few images at different apertures and found f11 to be the most appealing.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

ExperiencedN00B wrote in post #16382832
I don't have images at the moment, but i will soon.

I notice last night while shooting a bridge with the 35L, that the lights were unflattering and the lights instead of becoming stars, they became rays and long ones to. They cover a good portion of the frame.

As soon as I change to the 24-105 the light stars where good, so I'm assuming there's something wrong with the lens.

Anyone know by what I just tried to explain what's going on?

Are you sure this is the correct image? Also, this was shot at f/14 rather than f/8-f/10.

Camera Maker: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF35mm f/1.4L USM
Image Date: 2012-02-27
Focal Length: 35mm
Aperture: f/14.0
Exposure Time: 25.000 s
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Manual
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)

bob_r wrote in post #16387397
Are you sure this is the correct image? Also, this was shot at f/14 rather than f/8-f/10.

Camera Maker: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF35mm f/1.4L USM
Image Date: 2012-02-27
Focal Length: 35mm
Aperture: f/14.0
Exposure Time: 25.000 s
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Manual
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)

You are correct, it was at f14 - after I change lens I dropped the aperture.

Yes this is the correct image, shot in raw and just resized for in LR just to post ..

I'm so disappointing ... my camera is having some focusing issues and now this BS with the 35L.

I would say to start that you missed the focus or/and got some vibration play - can't seem to find a sharp spot in the whole frame. The bridge cables are really blurred.
Try a few more shots, steady your tripod without using center column, and bit faster shunter speed along with smaller f value. Might as well try a few variables.
Also, check if rear element is clean, and that there is no condensation inside or in the front element too.
last but not least try the lens in a different camera, or another 35L in your camera.
But I still don't find the pic sharp at all...