[Leica] Lens hoods???

[Henning Wulff]

Different lenses need hoods for different reasons. Flare prone lenses need them, obviously.... but lenses that don't flare or rarely flare need them as well; to keep fingers and dirt off, rain off, and to keep the glass from rubbing against dirt and sand impregnated camera bags when carried and stored. A lens needs at least a little bit of protection. My 28-50 Tri-Elmar has a 'hood', a filter ring with the glass removed, which is enough to protect it. It doesn't have a flare problem, really, but it needs a bit of protection. 

My 50 Noctilux f/1, vII, doesn't need a hood because flare is a non-issue and the glass is recessed enough. The 50 Summicrons (I don't know about the Apo) need flare protection, so the best hood is the biggest that doesn't get in the way of shooting. Most teles don't come with hoods that are long/tight enough, so I usually get a better hood or buy a better one and grind away the parts that would obstruct light gathering with a Dremel tool. but I pretty much always put a hood on a lens. 

Shooting LF for years teaches you a lot about hoods (compendiums). Paying upwards of $1000 for a compendium system for a Sinar in the 80's made perfect sense.

If you like putting a 'protective' filter on everything, which I don't care for, you might look into the recently announced sapphire and Gorilla glass filters announced by a company called Novo out of Korea. They might actually protect, and they're multicoated too, of course.

Henning



On 2015-03-21, at 9:12 PM, Jayanand Govindaraj <jayanand at gmail.com> wrote:

> Actually, the best use of a lens hood is protection against knocks and
> falls. It takes the brunt of the damage, and generally saves the lens. Good
> insurance...
> Cheers
> Jayanand
> 
> On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 11:41 PM, Aram Langhans <leica_r8 at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> I rarely use lens hoods for a variety of reasons.  I am speaking of my
>> Nikon lenses
>> 
>> take up too much space
>> interfere with operation of polarizing filter, unless you have such a lens
>> hood like Oly that allows for it.
>> Tend to get loose.
>> Not really very effective at blocking the direct sunlight when shooting
>> towards the sun.  A well placed hand is better.
>> Really useless on a zoom, as they must be small enough to not block the
>> wide, so when using the longer focal lengths they are really way too small
>> to be of any use.
>> 
>> My only use is when  it is raining, it will keep the front of the lens
>> dryer.
>> 
>> Aram
>> 
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> From: "Sonny Carter" <sonc.hegr at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Friday, March 20, 2015 9:27 AM
>> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] This is a fun and maybe image saving website....
>> 
>> Dante asks, "Are lens hoods actually useful with modern lenses?"
>>> 
>>> IMO, lens hoods are often most useful in the camera bag, so you don't need
>>> to cap both ends of the lens to protect it.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Mar 20, 2015 at 10:41 AM, Dante Stella <dstella1 at ameritech.net>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Plus the laser or inkjet printer in your backpack? :-)
>>>> 
>>>> Are lens hoods actually useful with modern lenses?
>>>> 
>>>> Dante
>>>> 
>>>>> On Mar 20, 2015, at 10:33 AM, Frank Filippone <red735i at verizon.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> http://www.lenshoods.net/
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> This is a site for printing outlines of lens hoods on paper.  You then
>>>> cut
>>>>> them out, fold and glue them together, and apply to your lens.
>>>>> 
>>>>> While not for Leica, yet, it is an interesting idea if you lose your >
>>>> hood
>>>>> during a trip, and have no way of getting a factory replacement.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Cost:  A piece of paper/plastic/cardboard.  Plus probably a piece of
>>>> tape.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> You must give the guy credit for thinking outside the box.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Frank Filippone
>>>>> 
>>>>> Red735i at verizon.net
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Regards,
>>> 
>>> Sonny
>>> http://sonc.com/look/
>>> Natchitoches, Louisiana
>>> 1714
>>> Oldest Permanent Settlement in the Louisiana Purchase
>>> 
>>> USA
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 


Henning Wulff
henningw at archiphoto.com