Noob lens hood question.

akcron

akcron

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Hi all.
I have noticed a couple of lens hoods being used, a solid one that came with my kit lens and one petal shaped.

Do these do different jobs?

Is one better than another?

And under what circumstances would you use a lens hood?

Thanks for any help.:)
 
akcron said:
And under what circumstances would you use a lens hood?
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This one's easy.. all the time. It helps control flare in sunshine by shading the front element, but it's also a very good barrier protecting your front element from the world at large. I wouldn't normally use any lens without one, except for something that has a deeply recessed front element such as the Sigma 105mm macro.

The hood design differences I'm less certain on, I was told that petalled lens hoods help give a deeper hood without vignetting the corners of the frame (using round lenses to get squared-off images). Very helpful with wider lenses.
 
Petal shaped ones work better with wide angle lenses as they reduce vignetting by having less on the sides and as so they can be more effective than solid ones as they can be longer. Solid ones are more useful with longer lenses where vignetting is less of a problem.
 
Just don't fall into the trap of using a petal one on a long lens just because "it's what the pro's use" - yes, people like that exist in this world!

(The Canon 70-200mm f2.8 does have a sort of petal hood, because it would get a wee bit of vignetting at 70mm on a full frame camera!)
 
Thanks everyone :thumbs:

Off to do some research on vignetting. Again thanks all:)
 
Whatever lens hood you get, get one that is specific to the lens. ;)

You can get cheap ones for a specific lens from a well known auction site quite cheaply. ;)
 
redhed17 said:
Whatever lens hood you get, get one that is specific to the lens. ;)

You can get cheap ones for a specific lens from a well known auction site quite cheaply. ;)
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:plusone:

If you do go for an aftermarket hood, make sure the inside is a matt finish - some of the genuine Canon ones have a flock finish inside.
 
andyred said:
:plusone:

If you do go for an aftermarket hood, make sure the inside is a matt finish - some of the genuine Canon ones have a flock finish inside.
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I think most of them would be a matte (or matte'ish) finish, but if they're not, a piece of sandpaper would take any shine off. ;) And you'd still be quids in over a manufacturers original, at about 1/3 - 1/5 the price. :D
 
Cyprino said:
Just don't fall into the trap of using a petal one on a long lens just because "it's what the pro's use" - yes, people like that exist in this world!

(The Canon 70-200mm f2.8 does have a sort of petal hood, because it would get a wee bit of vignetting at 70mm on a full frame camera!)
Click to expand...

But they look cool!!! :( :lol:
 
Thanks again.

Just placed an order a petal Hood on a auction site £4.99 inc posting:thumbs:

Thanks again for the replies:)
 
Petal hoods are actually rectangular as seen by the lens - take a peek and you'll see. Which gives better shading, although on a zoom the hood is only ever optimum at the widest focal length* and only then if they are designed for the right camera format. Basically, they're mainly for protection, but they do help reduce flare in some circumstances. Making them circular allows them to reversed back on the lens, as well as more robust (and cheaper to make).

Third party jobbies tend not to be flock lined and not as black as they should be. Self-adhesive felt (a few pence from Hobbycraft) fixes that.

*except the Canon and Nikon 24-70 zooms before anyone mentions those ;)
 
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I just wanted to add that lens hoods are also good for protecting the front glass element from damage.

My Nikon 24-70mm has a huge metal hood, which has taken a fair few knocks and scratches, instead of the glass! Phew!
 
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