Lense Hood

Jrucker2 · Dec 3, 2014

Hello,

Christmas shopping for my girlfriend, she has a Cannon rebel with a 58mm lense and I know she could use a lense hood, I've seen them on amazon for 5$. Are these pieces of junk or are they functional? Because I dont want to buy her trash. She is a beginner/intermediate photographer so I dont think she will necessarily know either way. Sorry I wish I could tell you more about the lense she uses...

Rubber or plastic? Reversable or not?

I know very little about cameras so I thought I would get help, thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/55-250mm-18-2...&qid=1417645747&sr=8-3&keywords=lens+hood+58m

http://www.amazon.com/Reversible-55...&qid=1417645771&sr=1-6&keywords=lens+hood+58m

tecboy · Dec 3, 2014

Don't buy these hoods! They are junks! Go to your local camera store, and a clerk can help you choose the right one.

Robin Usagani · Dec 3, 2014

she probably has a 18-55mm lens. Are you sure it is 58mm? I highly doubt it. If it is 18-55, it is probably a pretty short petal shaped hood. It wont do her any good. Don't bother.

curtyoungblood · Dec 3, 2014

A couple of things.

First: A quality lens hoods is going to be made for a specific lens (or a couple of very similar lenses), to optimize the amount of light it can block out. Anything that claims to cover a variety of lenses is going to be junk.

Second: The 58mm distinction on your girlfriend's lens is the filter size, not the focal length of the lens. The filter size is the diameter of the end of the lens. You need to find out exactly what lens she has (it is most likely one of the 18-55mm kit lenses) and then find the lens hood that goes with it. I would expect to spend between $20 and $40.

Big Mike · Dec 4, 2014

Lens hoods (of any kind) certainly are functional...but they help a lot more in some situations (sun above you) and a lot less (or not at all) in other situations (sun in front of you).

A hard lens hood also offer some physical protection for the front of the lens.

And a more superficial reason to like lens hoods, is that they make the camera look a little bit more professional. And if that puts a smile on her face, then it's totally worth it.

As mentioned, her lens is not a 58mm lens. I would guess that it's an "18-55mm" lens...but the filter diameter (the threads on the front) are 58mm.

So when looking for a lens hood, you should look for one that is specific to the lens because it will be made so that it doesn't block the lens's view.

Here is an example of one that is made to fit the Canon EF-S 18-55mm II.
Vello EW-60C Dedicated Lens Hood LHC-EW60C B&H Photo Video

Jrucker2 · Dec 8, 2014

Ok great info, yes the 58mm is definitely the filter thread size (which I thought would be how you fit a lense hood). But it makes sense that a properly fitting lense hood would be made for a specific lense and it's focal length (as to not show up in the frame, correct?). Dumb question, but how do I find out the model of the lense (without asking her) in the minute or so that I inspected the lense, I didn't see any identifiers other than what was on the filter, so I'll have to look again this weekend when I'm at her place. I meant to write the camera body model down but she came into the room when I was checking it out her camera and didn't want to be too suspicious, but it's one of the entry level models that she bought refurbished 2 years or so ago and still has the lens it came with that is average sized compared to other dSLRs I have seen.