Quick question about a lens addon I saw.

trapspeed · Jan 17, 2008

This may be confusing as I'm having a hard time trying to find the words to explain it. Haha. A friend of mine's uncle has a Canon, not sure of the lens size but it was pretty big. Anyway, on the end of the lens he had a large shield which he explained "makes sure no sun strikes the lens." It probably extended a good 3-4" past the lens. It attached to the end of the lens and was square shaped extending outward. Anyone know where I can find one of these? I don't even know what they're called.

Sideburns · Jan 17, 2008

a lens shade/hood. If it was square, I don't think he had the right thing on it...lol. I may be wrong...but usually they're round...and sometimes cut out a bit to look like a flower.

trapspeed · Jan 17, 2008

Sideburns said:
a lens shade/hood. If it was square, I don't think he had the right thing on it...lol. I may be wrong...but usually they're round...and sometimes cut out a bit to look like a flower.

yea, it sort of resembled a flower or the petals rather. where can i buy one?

n2carmis · Jan 17, 2008

Go to any local camera shop and they should have one to fit your lens. But bring in your lens that you want the hood for cause every lens varies!

Big Mike · Jan 18, 2008

There are generic lens hoods, I have a few that are collapsible rubber. They work well but the get in the way of some wider lenses and cause vignetting (you can see the hood in the corners of the photo)...which isn't good.

The 'flower' hoods are designed specifically for particular lenses, and they cover as much area as possible, with out getting in the way. They are more expensive though.

nicfargo · Jan 18, 2008

The square lens hoods are usually used for video lenses, weird that his camera lens had a square hood...oh well, could be the way things were years ago.

Big Mike · Jan 18, 2008

I actually see a lot of 'old pros' using the old square bellows hoods.

patrickt · Jan 18, 2008

Lens hoods are measured in mm so if the lens has 67mm threads then you need a 67mm hood. If you're shooting towards the sun they can be useful but to be honest I rarely use one. I stroll and shoot and just don't want the added length to the lens. I sometimes shade my lens with my hat if I'm worried.

Happy Hour · Jan 18, 2008

Big Mike said:
There are generic lens hoods, I have a few that are collapsible rubber. They work well but the get in the way of some wider lenses and cause vignetting (you can see the hood in the corners of the photo)...which isn't good.

The 'flower' hoods are designed specifically for particular lenses, and they cover as much area as possible, with out getting in the way. They are more expensive though.

Really? I have 4 lenses with the rubber hood. I love it! It's 1 second to flip it open and you can adjust it to how long you want it. I honestly have never seen any bad from those hoods though. I have one on a 28mm and even with the hood fully extended I can't say It's ever got in the way.I wish they made them even bigger for my big tele lenses Those 4" hoods take up allot of room in the bag

Helen B · Jan 19, 2008

The square adjustable "compendium" hoods are still used. They usually incorporate filter holders for square filters. They are very versatile, and especially useful with zoom lenses. Any light entering the lens that is not going to form the image has the potential to reduce the image contrast. The hood that comes with a zoom lens is designed for the widest angle the lens is capable of. It is often useless when the lens is zoomed fully in. Adjustable hoods get round this problem.

Lens hoods can also help to protect the lens physically.

Best,
Helen

RyanLilly · Jan 19, 2008

Helen B said:
The hood that comes with a zoom lens is designed for the widest angle the lens is capable of. It is often useless when the lens is zoomed fully in. Adjustable hoods get round this problem.

There are some zooms however, like the canon 24-70L that the hood is fixed and the front of the lens moves in and out of the hood, essentially auto-adjusting, and making it useful throughout the zoom range; granted, you do pay for this level of engineering.