Diffraction Stars & Walk-around Lenses

I love taking night shots, and one thing I love to see in my shots are the diffraction stars of bright lights I get when stopping down the aperture.

I currently shoot with a 17-85IS (6 blades, therefore 6 pointed star). I'm none too thrilled with the way the stars look, although the rest of the photo is quite nice. What I would like to do is replace the 17-85IS with one of the following (all have 7 blades, therefore 14 point stars):
-Sigma 17-70
-Sigma 18-200OS
-Tamron 18-250

Could anyone post examples of their night shots with diffraction stars with any of the lenses above (doesn't matter the f-stop), or could you create some to post? It'd probably help to post any relevant info about the shot if you can.

I thank you in advance.

none too thrilling of an image...shot months ago, when i was showing my buddy how to get light trails from cars.

shot with the tamron 18-200 (not the 250) but they have the same build and i'm sure the same ammount of aperature blades.
Basic exif:
Rebel XT
18mm
10 second exposure
f/22
ISO 200

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

I thought the title of the thread said something about Star Wars walk around lenses. Time for bed!
(I'm of no help here.... walking away in shame)

Very OT here...but if you're ever considering to buy those star filters (eg. cross-screen, star-six, star-eight) to place on your lens for walkaround photography during the day time, don't. Unless you want pictures with a veiling softness and reduced contrast.

It can have its place in some shots though...kinda gives more atmospheric results.

http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/59570​8

Did you see this article?

Sure did gasrocks, and it prompted me to start looking into the shape of other lenses and thus form the original question: what do the stars look like in normal walk around lenses? Stefan also got me curious as to which lenses (and why) have "pointy" stars and which have dispersed stars, although I fear that would be harder to determine.

fWord: I've given it thought, but as much as I know it would make all my bright point source lights have a nice star shape, as I understand it the lesser light sources will most likely have star shapes, too. I'd be worried that it would look overdone.

Bukka, thanks for the photo. It helps.

Get a Cokin filter holder and a handful of various star filters.

Thanks for the advice, Double Negative. I may in fact look into that option, too. For now, however, I am looking for an effect like Bukka's above, or even more precisely, StevenPA's 16-35 mk2, here: http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/59570​8

I'm afraid that with a star filter all light sources, even not so bright ones, will be subject to the cross-screen effect and it will essentially over-due the look I am after.

I know how to get the shape I want (more aperture blades) and stopped down (longer spokes); I know which lenses are capable and which aren't; but some lenses, like the 17-40L make spokes that aren't pointy and overall look like a "ball of mush" (to use StevenPA's words), while others (apparently the 16-35 mk2) create sharp spokes.

What I am after here is a comparison of the three lenses from above regarding their natural look and shape.

I have to agree, as much as I like the star effect myself, the lens' natural stars look much better than the filter usually does. You just lack a lot of control and leave much to the lens (amount of spikes, rotation/angle of stars, etc.).

I am collecting as many images as I can from the lenses I have, plus I am asking around for other pictures. In addition to actually finding a lens with an aperture blade design/star effect I like, I hope to post up all the examples (with others' permissions of course) and help people learn/see what the different lenses are capable of.

I just found out that the Tokina 12-24 f/4 has a 9 bladed aperture: I really want to get a hold of one just to try it out!

Not a particularly good picture, but a sample from the Tokina 12-24mm f/4

Thanks Lani, that's actually a great photo for showing off what I'm looking for. I'd love to see more night shots with diffraction stars from any of the lenses we've talked about so far.

Thanks everyone.