Install CPL on 18-200mm with hood on

[RichardsTPF]

Try my new 77mm B+W CPL yesterday. I have a 18-200mm lens, which is 72mm. It's tricky to screw on the step-up ring when lens hood is in place. Then find it is extremely hard to crew the CPL onto the ring. The front of CPL is rotatable, my fingers can not reach between hood and CPL.

Any tips?

 

[table1349]

Try my new 77mm B+W CPL yesterday. I have a 18-200mm lens, which is 72mm. It's tricky to screw on the step-up ring when lens hood is in place. Then find it is extremely hard to crew the CPL onto the ring. The front of CPL is rotatable, my fingers can not reach between hood and CPL.Any tips?

Take off the hood?

 

[Overread]

This is one of the downsides of lens hoods and circular polarizers. Generally when fitting the polarizer I take the lens hood off. That makes it much easier to get your fingers in and cleanly fit it to the front of the lens without risking scratching the front element or getting the screw threads messed up.


After that you've a few choices:

1) Shoot with the hood off - bonus is you can quickly change the polarizer to suit the shot.

2) Shoot with the hood on and be careful not to get your fingers on the filter when you dip them in to turn it. Downside is that this is slower and can be a pain

3) Head to ebay and buy a screw thread mount lens hood (the rubber ones tend to be popular and store flat as well so are easy to carry). Then each time you use the polarizer itself you simply take off/reverse the lenses normal hood and put the polarizer and its own hood onto the camera. This costs a bit more, but it gives you the best of both worlds - that of having a lens hood and also having an easy ability to turn the filter. Note make sure you buy the right hood for the lens you are going to mount it to (last thing you want is to have a hood that gives you vignetting problems) .

4) Get bold and cut a slot out of your normal lens hood so that you can change the polarizer when its fitted. Note that the downside here is that you have to cut on your own hood (so if you've not the tools/experience its a risk). Note that you will also need to attach some kind of flap to the slot you cut out so that you don't get strong light leak problems in that locality.

 

[RichardsTPF]

How much IQ difference between hood on and no hood when shooting with CPL? Any people have ever compare it?

 

[KmH]

It would depend where any bright light sources are in relative to the front of the lens front element.

As far as IQ is concerned, a lens hood promotes image contrast and minimizes lens flare, depending on the above.

If it's the the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6, considering all of it's myriad issues, you're already in a hole.

You might consider a lens hood similar to this - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/863168-REG/Dot_Line_DL_2472_72mm_Digital_Video_Lens.html