Lens Hood: Why, When, How

[dimitrz]

Thanks Fletch and Ken

1) Forgot to ask should we avoid hood if the sun is behind us since then the hood might throw a shadow like when we use a flash with a hood.

2) Whats the point in using hood during golden hour since then we don't have any harsh or stray light ( correct me if I am wrong)

My Hood is a screw on type which can be screwed on to the CPF, and if I need to rotate the CPF all I need / or can do is rotate the hood itself ( that's why I asked that positioning question )

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by dimitrz

Thanks Fletch and Ken

1) Forgot to ask should we avoid hood if the sun is behind us since then the hood might throw a shadow like when we use a flash with a hood.

2) Whats the point in using hood during golden hour since then we don't have any harsh or stray light ( correct me if I am wrong)

My Hood is a screw on type which can be screwed on to the CPF, and if I need to rotate the CPF all I need / or can do is rotate the hood itself ( that's why I asked that positioning question )

If you keep your hood on all the time you are making images,you are protecting your lens, and more importantly,achieving better contrast in your images.The only time you would need to remove the hood would be for if you were using the on-board flash,which is a waste of time, anyway. Ken

[dimitrz]

Thanks that was helpful

[rediguana]

Originally Posted by dimitrz

1) Forgot to ask should we avoid hood if the sun is behind us since then the hood might throw a shadow like when we use a flash with a hood.

Don't forget the sun isn't the only light source that may be illuminating the lens - even of off frame. Car headlights, streetlights, reflected sunlight off glassy buildings. I don't think the direction of the sun really matters. If you're able to use the hood - use it!

Originally Posted by dimitrz

2) Whats the point in using hood during golden hour since then we don't have any harsh or stray light ( correct me if I am wrong)

Its still entirely possible to stray light unless you are taking photos in a completely non-light emitting environment - complete blackness If there is light, there is some form of stray light that will be outside the frame being imaged, but that is still incident upon the lens and hence may cause some form of light artefact.

Quite simply, a hood greatly reduces the 'risk' of unimportant light falling on the lens and leaving some trace (e.g. flare, ghosting etc) and at the same time will likely improve the contrast of the image.

[fletch]

Originally Posted by dimitrz

1) Forgot to ask should we avoid hood if the sun is behind us since then the hood might throw a shadow like when we use a flash with a hood.

2) Whats the point in using hood during golden hour since then we don't have any harsh or stray light ( correct me if I am wrong)

1) Try it and see if you can get the hood to cast a shadow. When shooting with the sun behind the hard part is keeping the shadow created by your head out of the shot! The lens hood doesn't really factor.

2) Arguably the hood is more usefull in the golden hour, the low light will be more likely to be directly hitting the lens even without the sun in frame. It definately won't have any detrimental effects.

As ken said the only time I can see when a hood would be a problem would be when using the pop up flash. Otherwise just keep it on.

[dimitrz]

Thanks Rediguana Thanks Fletch

[amberlynn]

Yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For clarifying my questions, expanding on them, and the answers.

[midnightsoiree]

Noob Question here

which is better the straight connical hoods or the petal ones?

[rediguana]

Originally Posted by midnightsoiree

which is better the straight connical hoods or the petal ones?

My understanding is that the type of hood is tied to the focal length range of the lens. The wider the lens goes, the more likely you'll have a petal hood (and the shorter it becomes), and the longer you go the more likely it will be a straight conical section - especially if it is a long prime (and of course it will become longer). Also, zooms are more likely to have a petal design to accommodate the wider end of their zoom range. With zooms it is a case of the 'lowest common denominator' - in that hoods are limited by their widest focal length. E.g. a hood for a 28-135mm lens may not be as effective at 135mm as a hood for a 135mm prime, because a compromise needs to be made to ensure that the hood is not in the frame and causing vignetting at 28mm. This may be partly why primes can deliver better contrast, as they have an ideal lens hood, where as zooms have to make compromises in their hood design to try to accommodate a range of focal lengths. Of course hood design is also inherently tied to the internal design of the lens as well.

[inlina]

I have been considering getting hoods for my lenses but wasn't sure of the pupose. I currently use UV filters as protection (some of the stuff I shoot is in a dusty environment so they limit getting dust on the front element and the need to clean too often).

Does anyone have an example of hood vs non-hood shots? I am intrigued by the concept of better contrast.

CG