 BetterPhoto Member |
Lens Hood: When to Use It What type of lens hoods are there, and when should we use lens hood?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bob Cammarata |
Most telephotos have a lens hood built-in. Others screw into the front of the lens in the threaded part you would usually use to install a filter. The latter are usually made from soft rubber or plastic and are collapsible. A lens hood should be used when shooting into the sun.(By that, I mean that the sun is in front of you at an angle, not shooting directly into it.) The hood will shield extraneous light and help to avoid lens flare. Hoods should be used sparingly, especially with wide-angle lenses to avoid vignetting, a discernable darkening around the outside corners of the frame.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jon Close |
A lens hood prevents strong light from striking the front lens element and creating flare, which will reduce contrast. The light source doesn't have to be in the frame or view of the lens to be a problem. Besides the sun, street lights or indoor lighting - such as bright ceiling lights or halogen track lighting - can be sources of flare that a lens hood will protect against. Besides protection against flare, a lens hood also provides physical protection to the lens. Its depth can prevent stray fingers or dog's noses from smudging the lens, and will protect a dropped lens better than the typical UV "protection" filter. I use lens hoods on all of my lenses, especially the wide-angles, at all times. With a wide-angle lens (or any lens for that matter), vignetting is only a problem if one uses the wrong sized/shaped hood. All the lens manufacturers also make hoods specifically designed for each of their lenses that will not cause vignetting. The manufacturer's hoods generally fit with a bayonet mount on the end of the lens rather than screwing into the filter threads.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Brendan Knell |
I agree with Jon about always using a lens hood. On my camera (28-200mm lens), I almost always use one, and have never gotten vignetting from it.
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||