Here’s a nice, relatively short article on lens hoods you may find informative and helpful. I’ve spot highlighted a few items I think are really important to know, and have provided extra info/resource links to help you along. — EES
Article by Tom Bonner
Spend time at any event where photography enthusiasts congregate and you will notice plenty of naked lenses… lenses without lens hoods. That is rather strange, when you consider that nearly every quality lens ships with a custom designed lens shade made expressly for that lens. It isn’t a matter of being able to afford a hood; it is nearly impossible to buy a decent lens without a matched shade. So all those photographers already own lens shades; they simply don’t bother to use them.
There are certain situations where a lens shade is unnecessary, or even detrimental to making good images. Most of the time, however, using a shade will result in superior images.
Most photographers know that lens shades exclude glare and reduce hot spots. In addition, lens shades increase contrast, improve sharpness and retain color fidelity. Consider the fact that many photographers spend large sums on top-quality lenses because they know that excellent glass will produce better images. Yet many of these same photographers can’t be bothered taking 10 seconds to attach a hood, even though that is essential to getting the most from that expensive lens.
There are two kinds of lens flare. The first is obvious flare. It is often referred as ghosting because the appearance is akin to the images the paranormal investigators get excited about. It is characterized by distinct ghostly areas caused by light reflected off the interior of the lens. These reflections may be visible in the viewfinder, although sometimes you won’t notice the flare until you process images on your computer. This type of flare can be deadly to your images, because it is nearly impossible to repair the effects of obvious flare.
The other type of flare is more subtle. Instead of a prominent ghostly area, the reflection occurs across the entire surface of the lens’ front element. The result is a subtle loss of contrast and color fidelity. You might not even realize that flare has affected your image, because the difference is so delicate. Yet, the difference exists. If you eliminate the flare, the image would look sharper and richer.
Suppose a respected lab announced that a specific lens had five percent better contrast and sharpness than any other lens in its class. That lens would immediately become a highly lusted-after optic. Photographers would speak of it in hushed tones and be willing to spend huge sums of cash for the privilege of saying they shoot with that lens.
Yet many photographers who Invest hundreds of dollars in specialty lenses can’t be bothered with a shade. Buy an expensive lens to get sharper images with better color? Of course. Spend a few seconds to attach a lens hood? Who has time for that?
What if your original hood is lost or broken? You have several options. If the lens is still in production, you can always order a new one from the manufacturer. This is often the best route, because the hood will be matched to the lens. Unfortunately, original replacement hoods don’t come cheap. In some cases, the list price of an original equipment hood might be 20 percent or more of a complete new lens— a fairly high sticker for a plastic cylinder or stamped piece of aluminum.
You could look for a used hood on one of the online auction websites (like eBay), but if the hood is for a popular lens, you may find a second hand lens shade hard to come by. That narrows your choice to one of the many aftermarket hoods available. Unfortunately, one size of hood definitely doesn’t fit all focal lengths. A longer shade will be more effective, but long hoods cannot be used with wide angle lenses because the hood will cause vignetting. Zoom lenses can be even more problematic, since it may be difficult to find a generic hood that offers the right combination of sun protection without corner vignetting.
Aftermarket hoods are available in metal, plastic and flexible rubber. A generic hood may not be as fully effective as one specially tailored to a particular lens, but the aftermarket shades are much more affordable.
One final source of replacement hoods are printable hoods that can be downloaded from the Internet. Type printable lens hoods into your favorite search engine and you will find dozens of paper hoods designed in the shape of the OEM shades of specific lenses. Print them on stiff card stock, cut them out and attach them to your lens.
Here you go, so you don’t have to bother searching. Go to Free Lens Hoods for free printable PDF documents to make your own lens hoods. — EES
So when should you forgo a lens hood? There are times you might want to introduce lens flare as a creative element. Hollywood movies often go out of the way to show dramatic flare effects. You may want to include this technique as well.
You should use care using a lens shade with electronic flash. Lens hoods can block the light from hot-shoe mounted flash units or built-in flashes. This isn’t a problem with longer focal length lenses, but with a wide angle lens, there is a real possibility that the shade will cause a dark shadow at the bottom of the frame. It is a good idea to check how your wide angle lens hoods perform with hot-shoe mounted flash units.
A good lens hood is a simple and effective way to improve your digital photography. So, don’t let your lenses go naked!
Tom Bonner is the author of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A300/A350 Digital Field Guide and publisher of the Alphatracks Sony Alpha and Minolta SLR weblog . He provides photography and Web design services to clients in the Gastonia, North Carolina area.
