Dennis833 Loc: Australia

If you spot a photographer shooting without a lens hood you can guarantee they are not a professional.

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

I see most of the pros using shades. I have shades on all my lens. For my long lens I reverse the shades on the lens Im not using. All I have to do is to turn it around when I need that lens. Saves having to look for one when needed.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

Lens hoods have saved lens damage for more than one person here - far less expensive than a cracked lens if the camera is dropped or bumped. If it gets in the way, take if off, otherwise leave it on.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I am not sure what your watching but most all the Nikon 200-400's have um.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

NONE - in fact it ADDS to possible flare...

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

tlgphoto

If you are shooting towards the sun a lens shade is not going to help you. Keep the shade with you and if needed, use it.

tlgphoto

Wrong @ Dennis833

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

Here we go again i think this is on ever other day YES USE IT .

tlgphoto

Use it if you need it.

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa

I seldom use hoods unless lighting demands it. My Tokina 11-16 has a lot of flare issues and the hood does little to correct it. The angle to direct light corrects it better than a hood.

On my telephoto I generally use the hood but shoot with these lens less.

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

If you look at end zones in most NFL games, and college games I see a large percentage of photographers with lens shades, certainly the longer fixed lens 300 2.8, 400 2.8, especially. As close to the action as the majority of those shooters are and the threat of being a victim of a photo accident the lens shades provide an extra ounce of protection against damaging those expensive lenses. At times is may not be protection from an player scoring a touchdown, but other photographers. The exception I find is that in some shots that are taken of some of the post game interviews, I do not notice the wider angle lens with lens shade on them.

whhayes

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to improve the qualities of your photos is to use a sunshade. They are provided by many lens manufacturers because they believe that they are an integral part of the optical system. And contrary to what many photographers believe, lens shades are just necessary on a completely overcast day as on a clear, bright day. Try it out on an overcast day--that shade could provide enough additional flare protection to turn a washed out picture into one that is usable. Another thought: if a zoom lens has a wide range focal length (like a 150-600mm), if the shade is shallow enough so that it doesn't cut off the corners when it is used at its widest, when it's used at its longest the sunshade COULD be much, much longer. And when a tele-extender is used, it's even more extreme. Tele-extenders used to have a really bad name, and one of the reasons was that people didn't bother with sunshades. My Sigma Sports 150-600mm with Sigma 1.4x is one very amazing piece of optics. And even though the lens shade is an aluminum cylinder 5inches in diameter and 4.5 inches long(and weighs over half a pound), it always gets used!

LarryFB Loc: Depends where our RV is parked

Like most other situations where you take photos, it depends on the situation.

If the lens I want to use has a lens hood attached to the stored configuration of the lens, and needs to be removed to remove the lens cap, I will always use the lens hoof. Otherwise, I will not necessarily use the hood, depending on the lighting.

GPS Phil Loc: Dayton Ohio

The only time I never use a hood, is when I'm shooting from an aircraft and it is necessary to shoot through an open window. If you don't remove it, the 100 mph plus wind will do it for you.