Are lens hoods necessary?
May 13, 2018 15:15:07 #
I use my lens hoods without questioning the necessity of them - in part because putting them on the lens keeps me from loosing them. However, even the ones that invert on to the lens take up quite a bit of room in my bag. For travelling, I would like to reduce the bulk as much as possible. I have CPL's for the lenses I use most. Do I really need to pack a hood as well? The hood only protects from sun coming from the side and from what I understand CPL's are at their strongest when the sun is at right angles to the lens. Do CPL's provide any protection from direct sun, or just reflected light?
May 13, 2018 15:19:10 #
mwsilvers
Loc: Central New Jersey
repleo wrote:
I use my lens hoods without questioning the necess... (show quote)
Lens hoods help prevent flare. They also help to prevent damage to your lens.
May 13, 2018 15:25:14 #
mwsilvers wrote:
Lens hoods help prevent flare. They also help to prevent damage to your lens.
- Do not cut a corner here !..
May 13, 2018 15:29:47 #
May 13, 2018 15:33:27 #
repleo wrote:
I use my lens hoods without questioning the necess... (show quote)
Necessary no. Useful yes. Disregarding the lens protection benefits of lens hoods, my personal feeling is that it depends on the type of lens, lens flare is more frequently an issue with wide / ultra wide lenses, and I like using those. My understanding may be incorrect, but I don't find lens hoods to be an issue, they're light weight, and if the purpose of traveling is to make images then having the tools available makes sense to me. For snapshots, maybe not, but if the journey is to create images why not deal with a little extra effort, a slightly bigger bag, or just a pocket or two?
May 13, 2018 15:37:52 #
I use them almost all the time. Macro work requires I remove them. Otherwise, I don't use a lens without one. I recently purchased a 28mm lens and I'm waiting for the back ordered lens shade to arrive so I can use the lens.
--Bob
--Bob
repleo wrote:
I use my lens hoods without questioning the necess... (show quote)
May 13, 2018 15:42:08 #
Lens hoods won't make much difference unless the sun strikes your lens directly. But some of the best lighting available has the sun back-lighting your subject. So without it you're just limiting your potential for great pictures. I would never go out without one. Also as was stated earlier, they protect your lens from bumps and falls. The darker the front element is, including a polarizer, the greater the potential contrast will be. I don't see a polarizer taking the place of a good lens shade. Because the surface is flat it would seem to be more susceptible to flare than a straight lens without one. As a side note, one of the benefits of prime lenses is the shade is maximized for the specific focal length. Zoom lenses only have shades optimized for the shortest zoom. Otherwise they would cause vignetting as you zoom wide. Keep you shades on, they are worth it!
May 13, 2018 15:57:34 #
repleo wrote:
I use my lens hoods without questioning the necess... (show quote)
I think the answer here is sometimes!!!
It will depend on your shooting.
For me flair is rarely a problem with or without a hood unless flair is what I’m going for.
If I’m shooting an event and the action is fast and furious I put on the hood since I don’t really have control of where and how I shoot.
Whether you use one for protection is a personal thing, not a necessity.
Yes, in a packpack they are a pain.
I carry two wide zooms, so I carry ONLY the hood for the wider lens as it fits both lenses and give up the hood coverage on the longer of the two.
When I shoot professionally the hoods are usually on, when for myself maybe half the time!!
So most of the time, no!
SS
May 13, 2018 16:01:18 #
repleo wrote:
I use my lens hoods without questioning the necess... (show quote)
I understand your point about taking up space. The hood on my 70-200 when reversed for packing in my bag adds another 20% to the lens barrel width. This can apply pressure to the other locations in my bag. I take 6 lenses and 2 bodies in my Protastic 450aw (including the 70-200) and all those lens hoods add up...
If I want to bring my 150-600, the hood forces me to adjust the bag dividers...
Having said all that....I NEVER shoot without the hoods on and would not even consider travelling without them. (Exception is my yongnuo 35mmF2 and Canon 11-18mm which are very low costs and I dont worry about them).
The other lenses are very expensive and do not want to risk damaging the front element. (My 150-600 and 50mm1.4ART do NOT have filters on them)
May 13, 2018 17:20:39 #
I don't know that they are necessary, but I almost always use them, for different reasons--sometimes to control for flair, often to protect the lens.
May 13, 2018 17:29:37 #
Tomfl101 wrote:
Lens hoods won't make much difference unless the sun strikes your lens directly. ...
Sorry; fat-fingered. See next reply.
May 13, 2018 17:32:20 #
Tomfl101 wrote:
Lens hoods won't make much difference unless the sun strikes your lens directly. ...
I may be a heretic, but I never use a lens hood. If the sun strikes the front element, I use my hand or my hat or whatever to shade the lens and I don't notice any problems with flare. Of course, you have to be careful to keep the improvised hood outside the image area.
May 13, 2018 17:46:36 #
I have always thought lens hoods were invaluable when the main source of light was coming from the side. Gases are able to polarize light as well as solid and liquid surfaces. This is because the electrons of atoms interact with both the electric and magnetic vectors of the light. Physics books go on and on about the angular relationships. There is an actual circular polarization, but for filters circular refers to the twisting of the filter.
May 13, 2018 19:53:58 #
May 13, 2018 20:56:15 #
put the hood on upside down so its covering the lens, and you'll save all that space
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