Lens hoods and lens filters! Oh boy...

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I am looking to get a lens hood. I was wondering which of my lenses would be more practical to have a hood (take a look at my signature for lenses). I was thinking about having one for each but I'd like to avoid buying stuff I don't need. I just want to avoid lens flare. Also looking for filters too. I was going to get a polarizer, UV, ND, and a red filter for b&w. I will be using my 17-85mm the most probably and the macro 2nd. Any suggestions for a brand of filters?
 
Wait what? You have those lenses and no hoods for them? There's no one stop solution. The hoods for a 70-300 are a very different size and shape than the 17-85. The Hoods for a fixed focal length are usually tuned to that specific focal length and lens diameter. I suggest you start buying them for all but go first with the 70-300 if you use it enough. The reason being that at 300mm there is a far larger range of angles where the sun could be hitting your lens but not be in the picture which a hood will fix.

Polariser and ND are good, UV only if you need it for protection. If you won't need it for protection then ignore the UV filter. Unless you shoot film don't bother getting a red filter. Any of the coloured filters for black and white can be almost perfectly mimicked by using the channel mixer in Photoshop, or the Black and white tool in Lightroom. Setting 100% 0% 0% For the red green and blue channels and ticking greyscale output for instance approximates the #25A red filter you are talking about.

As for brands Hoya and Kenko make the cheapest and also the best bang for buck available. Don't get their cheapest brands. At the very least get one that is coated like the Hoya SHMC or Kenko KMC, or the Pro1 series from either manufacturer.
 
I am looking to get a lens hood. I was wondering which of my lenses would be more practical to have a hood (take a look at my signature for lenses). I was thinking about having one for each but I'd like to avoid buying stuff I don't need. I just want to avoid lens flare. Also looking for filters too. I was going to get a polarizer, UV, ND, and a red filter for b&w. I will be using my 17-85mm the most probably and the macro 2nd. Any suggestions for a brand of filters?

The practical thing here would be to provide protection to your gear. That means HOODS ALWAYS! If you use a properly designed OEM hood not only is it engineered to provide the maximum protection from stray light but to provide protection for the front elements of the lens against bumps and bangs.

Some people choose to use filters for protection. I do not. A high quality filter will usually cost more than the hood. Adding extra glass to a lens can reduce the image quality of the photos, and glass breaks. Broken glass will scratch other glass and coatings.

The only filters I use on are polarizer filters and a variety of ND filters when the situation calls for them. In the digital age a red filter for B&W can be reproducted in post processing. I prefer to do all of my B&W work post processing instead of in camera.
 
Wait what? You have those lenses and no hoods for them? ...
So those should have come with hoods? If not, I just got those lenses and that's why I was looking for the hoods.

Also thanks guys for the tip on the filters.
 
Wait what? You have those lenses and no hoods for them? ...
So those should have come with hoods? If not, I just got those lenses and that's why I was looking for the hoods.

Also thanks guys for the tip on the filters.

No the hoods come separately for all but L glass from Canon. If you go to Canon's site or B&H you will be able to look up your different lenses and see which one is needed for each lens.
 
Wait what? You have those lenses and no hoods for them? ...
So those should have come with hoods? If not, I just got those lenses and that's why I was looking for the hoods.

Also thanks guys for the tip on the filters.

No the hoods come separately for all but L glass from Canon. If you go to Canon's site or B&H you will be able to look up your different lenses and see which one is needed for each lens.
Ya I did that last night but I wasn't sure about getting hoods for all three lenses. Its too bad they weren't interchangeable. Do you use them when shooting macro? I would think you'd need them when shooting wildlife or sunsets (which I do mostly).
 
So those should have come with hoods? If not, I just got those lenses and that's why I was looking for the hoods.

Also thanks guys for the tip on the filters.

No the hoods come separately for all but L glass from Canon. If you go to Canon's site or B&H you will be able to look up your different lenses and see which one is needed for each lens.
Ya I did that last night but I wasn't sure about getting hoods for all three lenses. Its too bad they weren't interchangeable. Do you use them when shooting macro? I would think you'd need them when shooting wildlife or sunsets (which I do mostly).

I use a lens hood always when practical. My 100mm f2.8 will allow me to use the hood in macro mode most of the time. The determining factor in that hood is if I am adding to the existing light. The 100 f2.8 Macro is also a fantastic portrait lens that is very sharp so it doesn't just get used for macro . If the hood is in the way for macro I am usually not running around with it but shooting static macro.
 
Alright, so I'll hold off on the hood for the macro lens for now and get one for the 70-300mm. I won't be doing portraits other than maybe taking some nice pictures of my nieces (which the idea just popped up last night). I'll also grab some polarizer and ND filters too. I think I should be set with those for now.
 
So those should have come with hoods? If not, I just got those lenses and that's why I was looking for the hoods.

Also thanks guys for the tip on the filters.

No the hoods come separately for all but L glass from Canon. If you go to Canon's site or B&H you will be able to look up your different lenses and see which one is needed for each lens.
Ya I did that last night but I wasn't sure about getting hoods for all three lenses. Its too bad they weren't interchangeable. Do you use them when shooting macro? I would think you'd need them when shooting wildlife or sunsets (which I do mostly).

Lens hoods are technically interchangeable if they have the same mount size. But the length / shape of the hood is specific for its intended lens. You cound use a lens hood made for a wide angle on a telephoto lens. But it would be more for protection than practacality of reducing flare and ghosting. A telephoto hood would not be good on a wide angle as they are longer and will cause vignetting. So, if the mount size is the same you would use just one, but you would be missing out on some of its uses.

It would be good to have a hood made for each lens. For protection and quality of the pictures.
 
Actually I'd like to grab a hood for my 17-85mm just because I'd like to keep any rain mist off the glass (I will most likely get a rain cover for my entire setup so don't freak out people that I'm gunna use it out in the rain...) Speaking of that, know any good rain covers?
 
Can you use a lens hood when you have a filter attached also?

EDIT: Also what ND filter would you recommend? I saw some that are like a .9 density... I thought that might be alright.
 
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I think I'm just gunna go with a UV, Polarizer, ND, and maybe a graduated ND. I heard the graduated ND's are great for landscaping such as sunrises/sets which I take shots of a lot.
 
The hood typically clips on the outside of the lens and won't interfere with a filter. Except a polariser which you will find hard to turn with the hood on.

A ND grad filter is a good thing, but you can't just get a normal circular one. For that you need a plate type filter and a filter holder otherwise you can't move the gradient and there's no point having one. I can't be bothered most of the time and fake my NDgrad using 2 exposures and a gradient mask in photoshop. This doesn't work though if you're shooting moving targets.
 
I ordered two hoods. One for the 17-85mm and one for the 70-300mm. I went to Canon and got the model number of the hoods and then typed that into Ebay, found an American source and went for it. I couldn't see spending $40 for a piece of plastic. (I know, I know... "better than spending for a new lens") I'm more of a deal searcher...
 

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