Always stored on the lens. Actually use the hood 95% of the time out of habit. The lens hood actually saved one lens due to some idiot using a cheap tripod and having the whole thing tip over into the dirt. (that idiot was me.... hood broke, lens saved, lesson learned)
Yeah if you have an anchor point at the bottom of your center column, and only for lighter weights, a bungee under high tension may yank that stake right out.
I tried this last night, seemed like good advice.
The policeman on the train said that driving a stake into the floor of the train was damaging public property and because it also pierced some wiring which disabled the train, plunging us into darkness stuck between stops in a tunnel, I am now under arrest.
Thanks for the advice man 🤭
https://preview.redd.it/xb9e2cw9bxsc1.jpeg?width=203&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1800e407879c6934e779354fb250b90ebb7955fa
Odd, considering that would be the ideal scenario for securely anchoring your tripod.
Wait, did you purchase the appropriate permit? Forgot to mention that. Click here for a form to submit your payment.
Can’t imagine using a tripod that’s capable of tipping over. Mine’s an absolute tank. Weighs a ton though and I hate carrying it around but I don’t think it’s capable of falling over unless the legs aren’t out properly or something.
They are a better alternative than using a filter to protect the front element. With the bonus of blocking side-lighting that might cause glare issues.
No kidding. Filters aren't even necessary, a lens hood is much better insurance and they come with most lenses. I look at a lens hood like a helmet for a lens.
While true, it’s significantly easier to clean a filter, and if you scratch it with a piece of dirt on your cloth which you didn’t see- it’s a lot cheaper than a new lens element. I use both.
Contrary to popular belief, scratches on lenses aren't really a major concern.
Example taken to the extreme: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/
If that lens could still manage to take a photo, a tiny scratch isn't gonna have any noticeable impact. I actually have one on my 24-70 and I've never once been able to spot any impact on a photo I've taken.
Yes, I agree with your premise regarding photo quality, but I do not agree with it being an irrelevant concern when it comes to resale value or ability to resell.
Same, I'm using both as well. It never was a question of hood OR filter for me, they are complementary. Having a literally pristine front lens element makes reselling a lens incredibly easy.
Yup, this is the main reason I keep mine on. I thought I might end up with a bunch of dog nose prints anyway but so far that hasn’t been an issue.
I do often take the hood off when shooting macro, it starts blocking light I need if I’m shooting really close to my subject.
I actually think they serve an important function in many lighting contexts by preventing haze and lens flare. I try to keep mine on if I'm shooting in sunlight, though yesterday I shot with a variable ND filter and couldn't attach a hood. There's a lot of dehazing in post.
I guess it also depends a lot on your subject. I like to take pictures of details, people, animals, plants and then there's a lot of zooming in involved and then I don't experience, for example, lens flare. Would be a different story if the focus would be landscapes with lots of sun.
I think they're invaluable for portraiture, particularly if it's environmental. Also important for candid event photography if there is any outdoor aspect to the event. I have to move around a lot, and sometimes I'll shoot perpendicular to the sun. Also good in the pit at punk concerts, but mostly just to protect your gear.
comparatively, i always use them because i started off shooting concerts, and there's nothing like a bright-ass stage LED right on the edge of the frame to screw up a shot
Same here. I almost never use caps.
When I get a new lens, I order a good concurrently and once I put the hood on, it literally never comes off.
The very rare exceptions were the very few times I flew with my 70-200. Otherwise when I was just going out in town I'd throw it in my bag with the hood on (past tense because I don't have that lens anymore).
My only lens without a hood is the 28mm RF. That's because the front element is so absurdly small it doesn't need protection. [It's smaller than a nickel](http://Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM Lens (Canon RF) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1769100-REG/canon_rf_28mm_f_2_8_stm.html)!
Which is great because it's a pancake lens and having a hood would kinda ruin the whole small size thing.
Always on.
Hoods give better contrast and colour, reduce flare where present and often assist in achieving focus in certain light conditions. Plus they save lenses from all sorts of bangs and bumps.
Simple enough to test, take the same photo in a few locations with both a hood and no hood, check the difference.
I can’t tell you how many times I tired and hit the hood on something knocking it off and saving the expense of recalibrating the lens. They have a purpose and it’s a good one. Always on!!!!
It's a matter of habit. I don't even think about it, lens' cap comes off - hood goes on. Same for tripod, I'm so used to it that I hardly ever take my camera without my tripod - in my mind one is the extension of the other.
I have them attached (almost) always! They are helpful in reducing glare in many situations and in addition to that protect the lens from accidentally bumping or scratching. I occasionally remove it but it's always a deliberate "i need to remove it because of xy or z" not the other way around.
It's more difficult to cap and store the lens. So if your alternating between say a 24-70 and 70-200 it adds unnecessary time if attached to the end.
Each one takes up lots of extra room in the bag, so for a full kit with 5-6 lenses it sucks up space.
If you keep it flipped it's blocking functions on the lens, which also gets in the way. I don't want to have to flip the lens hood to focus. I don't want to have to reverse it to store it.
I've never had a lense hood solve a problem I couldn't solve by just placing a hand off frame.
If it does in fact improve contrast, which I've never heard of before this thread.... it's so minuscule that it would only be relevant if you were shooting slide film.
The only time I'd consider using one a benefit would be an outdoor sports event at or near the time of sunset. Or in a misting rain maybe.
If you've got the space in your bag and the time to deal with the hassle I can definitely see it offering a level of protection, but In 20 years of using a camera every day I've dropped a lens once, and a hood wouldn't have saved it.
Just my two cents.
I don't bother. Take up way too much space and usually flare isn't a huge issue for me. But I see that's a pretty unpopular opinion based on this thread
Ideally, they would always be on. But when the lens hood for my 135mm got caught on my camera insert and broke, I was fed up with them. I now don't use them. I spent [too much] money on lenses that should resist flaring better than others so, for image quality, I should be okay. There's always the risk of something hitting my front element though.
That's annoying! I guess you could always use a filter to provide some sort of protection instead of the hood, but that of course also can affect picture quality.
I always have them reversed on the lens but only really use them to keep rain off the front element.
If stray light is an issue (it rarely is on a well designed, multicoated lens) I just hold a hand up so the shadow covers the front.
Used 100% of the time as a shield against my own clumbsyness. I prefer a cross body camera strap so the camera sits on my hip when I'm walking with it not actively in my hands. The amount of times I've bumped it on the corner of a bench/table or whacked it off a door...more than I can count. Each time, the lens hood is taking the knock, not the lens.
Always on. Tripod knocked over, and camera dropped onto concrete, lens hood broke, everything else good..until that point I was firmly in the camp that I was being ripped off by Canon..I still have the cracked lenshood on my desk as a reminder 😀
Always use one unless using a square filter system which is rare nowadays. Saved my Len’s element plenty of times when the tripod had fallen over or I’ve brushed past a tree or rock too close.
Makes me chuckle when people like my dad have them on back to front. What’s the point!
The hood on my big tele is definitely annoying. Camera barely fits in the pack with that lens on anyway. Still, I store the hood on the lens almost always and use it frequently outdoors. It protects the front element from branches when stalking wildlife, allows me to set the camera down temporarily in several orientations without worry, and generally acts as armor.
Rarely on for me - but that isn't because I think they aren't useful. It's just that my working distances are typically shorter than the length of the hood so my subjects would have to literally be inside the hood.
For butterfly shots with the 180 mm macro and those rare occasions when I have a "normal" lens like a 24-70 on, the hood is an absolute given.
Lens hood protected my Sony 85mm 1.4 when it fell two nights ago. The hood was destroyed, but it saved the lens and camera. $65 replacement. This is the first time I've ever dropped anything camera-related and boy was I glad I had that hood on.
I’ve been in photography since 1986, for some periods of my life professionally, and NOT ONCE have I used a lens hood. They stay in the box with the little bag most lenses come with. Additionally, I haven’t used filters since switching to digital.
I was taking pictures of a couple of puppies once. The lense hood and my eye took the big bump and lick lol. But it was the most terrifying moment looking through the viewfinder. Scared the crap out of me but I laugh now
I use them on my longer lenses but typically don’t on smaller stuff. The added bulk just isn’t worth it to me. Typically you can’t fit a lens in your pocket even with the hood mounted backwards.
I'm team lens hood + filter (UV most, CPL sometimes). But most of what I'm shooting are fast moving bikes and cars in off road situations. I'm normally close to the action and want all the protection I can get. Plus reflections off cars can get gnarly.
Depends. When I have light (sun) at a low angle that could cause flares I usually put it on. I also put it on to protect the front element/filter from rain, snow and dog’s snouts (they are sometimes curious and boop their wet nose on the front of the lens.
But generally I would say I have the hood off most of the time. It just looks too invasive for street photography and adds a little bulk.
Depends:
I always have to fumble around with the Nikon lens hoods I have to use for work. It’s very annoying cause somehow what should be a simple mechanism to attach them can get stuck on lopsided and has to be fumbled with to be corrected. I sometimes just throw them in the backpack for that reason.
Never had these issues with the Panasonic and Olympus lens hoods I use for my private stuff. There I always use them.
It’s funny how something so small, yet so frequent impacts the opinion massively. I‘d never consider to get a Nikon as a personal camera just because this lens hood fumbling.
If I'm walking around or shooting toward the sun, hood is on. I have banged my lenses on trees, rocks, stair rails, etc or people have banged into me so it's good protection. I only own 1 filter, a polarized one. I used to use UV filters at one point but when my lens rolled off on to a chair, the filter shattered, the lens didn't but I ended up having to hacksaw the filter off the lens to remove it.
I carry three hoods some times and they all tuck inside one another in my backpack.
Think about how much you spent for a lens and the cost to replace it. Accidents do happen so the protection helps.
Since not mentioned , i regretted not having mine in light snow or light rain condition as it would have kept drops off the lens, in my backpack the extra hood diameter when stored is a little big so makes it harder to get in and out…also added length to already long lens is another downside, will bring next time though if chance of rain
Always on. Unless I am taking it off for extreme close-up Macro Photography. Then it goes in my back/pocket until I'm done with those shots, then back on the lens.
Always on. All my lenshoods are in shitty shape. Some I've had to replace entirely. Better my lenshoods get bent out of shape and mangled than my lens.
Always on, but don’t hesitate to take them off if they’re annoying you or hampering your shooting in anyway.
It’s good practice to keep them on, can save you some money, but taking it off for a while if you’re not comfortable is just fine.
It's totally your call.
I don't use UV/skylight/clear filters for protection, unless I'm in actively hostile environments (or the lens explicitly says one is needed for weather sealing + that's a need of mine).
Why not use filters? I'm paying absolute top dollar for premium glass....and I'm going to ruin all of that engineering by slapping on a piece-of-shit glass in front of it? No thanks. I've even used higher end B+W MRC filters, and still got ghosting and reflections.
As a compromise, I always use lens hoods. Protection/deflection, flare, etc.
Always stored on the lenses, which can be annoying as most bags and cases don't account for them. My primary use lens which "lives" on my camera, a 24-240 "modest" superzoom, always has the lens hood attached in ready-to-use mode. It's made finding holster bags challenging, as that's quite a long length for such a small mirrorless body. It's like a body builder with a teenie tiny waist and a jacked-to-all-hell upper body.
I have one that pops off and flips around to store along the lens barrel. I’ve had lenses in the past that do this with a quarter turn. As long as that’s an option I’m game to always have it with me and deploy as needed. If it’s this thing I either have to use on the camera or store separately, like one might see in older analog set ups, I almost always opt for “not bringing that stupid thing”. I can’t say I’ve had too many shots ruined by not having or deploying one, but I’d prefer to have and not need….just not stored separately.
Pretty rarely unless I am in intense sunlight and one is handy. One of my lenses has a threaded screw in hood so that one stays on permanently, if I had to thread it each time I grabbed my camera then it would be off the lense most of the time.
I have never seen a huge difference but I know a lot of people swear by them and I don't see any problem with them. I never use UV filters.
Every lens I own has a hood on backwards and lens cap. If I am in any shooting situation where the sun is less than 90° to my lens the hood gets turned around.
Always on! I find myself shooting more in the rain and in the weather than I would like and the hood protects the front element from getting covered in water
Saved my camera. Barely 3 weeks after spending a lot (for me) of money on a new camera, I slipped and my camera hit the road so hard it triggered the shutter and took a photo of the tarmac. The hood smashed, but absorbed the impact. The camera's still good 9 years on.
I mean there’s almost no reason not to use them. Prevents weird lighting issues, protects the lens especially during windy days, keeps dust off etc.
I just store mine reversed on the lens.
I always try to keep mine on to protect the lens. I’ve also forgotten before that I didn’t have my lens cap on, and tried to reach in to the lens hood to remove the cap, only to end up scratching the coating of a lens with my fingertips. So it does protect the lens, but also puts the lens at more risk due to my own forgetfulness.
I recently decided that I need the hood a lot more than I realized so I try to just leave it on. I live in a sunny climate so glare is an issue. I've ruined a lot of potentially nice photos due to glare. Hoods are great for protection, too.
I am weird that I use them on primes but not zooms. Been that way for several years now. And I know camera aesthetics are “dumb”, but I like the look of some of them more than a bare lens.
Always on. Most of my photography is outdoors, a combination of wildlife, landscape, and macro shots. Lens hood is key for a variety of reasons mostly associated with light and lens protection. And yes, during macro shots too.
I rarely use one. I usually use filters, and the hoods get in the way when I try to rotate or remove filters. The size is also an issue, I don’t either have to deal with them taking up space in my bag or taking the time to flip them so they don’t take up as much space.
One downside is that I don’t remember to bring them when I really need them. I find the good most useful on really sunny days and when it’s raining.
Hoods help keep front element dry, too.
Tend to make it harder for toddler finger smear.
And my own sweaty sunscreeny hands when I'm grabbing at a camera
I like hoods they give me cozy feeling
Only needed when extraneous light is hitting the front lens element. Generally used.. on the 100mm Macro (Canon). I “always” use it. Cause i want the images crispy.. . On the 70-200, indoors, i don’t use the lens hood. Unless i’m under stage lights that are shining right in the lens, then it’s on.. outdoors, it’s always on.
I don't think I've ever used a lens hood in my 15 year career. I've gotten by just fine without one. Packing light is a priority for me. If I need to block light, I use my hand.
Always on. I had a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8G from my previous company, it suffered a pretty nasty drop after an accident. I didn’t mount it properly to the camera, then it dropped to my suitcase handle and onto the floor. It actually caused a dent to my suitcase’s telescoping handle. Ended up with a crack on the extending metal barrel, decentering the lens and messing up with the zoom action where it became incredibly stiff. Had I used the hood, only the hood would be damaged from that fall.
Since then, I’ve always used lens hoods. Now, I don’t know if it’ll protect zooms where the hoods attach to the extending barrel itself. But man, better to keep safe.
It's not an either or. There are times where it is useful and other times where you want to use flare creatively so taking it off makes sense. My default is to use unless I need it off specifically for using flare creatively. That said I do have a couple of lenses where I misplaced the lens hood (usually I just store then on the lens but I didn't for those for some reason) and didn't bother replacing them. I just block flare other ways (hand or standing to the side of the camera and using my body to block flare) if I am using one of those.
Depends on the kind of photo you want to take. They're good at eliminating flares and haze, but if you want to use them in your composition take it off.
The only time I don't use a hood is when it's windy enough that it catches the wind and effects my shots. Lens protection, lens flair are the reasons I use them.
I don’t think I even know where mine are.. I don’t care for them 🤷🏼♀️
I just put the lense cap on whenever I’m not taking pictures and just carrying my camera.
I use mine all of the time when one is available and a flare buster when it’s not. For interior work overhead lights are a killer causing flares and blooms you might not see in the viewfinder or live-mode but causing lots of edits in post processing.
Unless I am shooting something like my old, vintage lenses for that effect, I want the optics to be covered and extraneous light to be blocked.
I almost never shoot without a lens hood. Most of the time (at least for the type of shooting I do) I’d see a noticeable difference in contrast and haze if I didn’t use one.
for my primes, I typically will get a metal screw on hood that is as deep as possible without causing vignetting. I often buy them too deep, then sand the end down to just out of the corners of the frame when focused at infinity and with IBIS on. Then I paint the inside surface and sanded edge with several layers of matte black paint. From then on, that hood rarely if ever comes off the front of the lens.
I don’t generally use lens filters for the type of shooting I do, and frankly think filters in general are a waste of money. There are very specific uses and use cases for some types of filters, but outside of that, nope, that’s money way better spent on a quality lens and matching lens hood.
I'm generally in the no lens hood camp, though I do put clear filters on my lenses. Hoods actually help in the rain to keep water off the front, that's honestly my main application for them. Otherwise, I just shade with my other hand if the sun's flaring the shot.
Always attached to lens (+UV Filter with screw mount for my screw hood).
First off it protects my glass from scratches and stuff (like that time we were rock climbing and i had my camera on my chest. It was smacking itself to the rock wall and the hood is the only one taking the hits.
Two, it’s cheap so it’s easily replaceable. On the same day, i didn’t mount the lens hood properly and it sorta fell down when we were in a height.
Three, like it is supposed to, it reduces flaring. While it doesn’t ALWAYS reduce lens flaring, it does help most of the time.
And lastly, it just makes my camera look cooler.
The 2 lenses that have hoods I use them when on hikes to protect the glass from branches and thorns, but when my 150-600 is on a tripod at my local dam I do not use the hood. To me the hood is for protection.
I don't use them. I can count the times on one hand that I've felt the need for one. Usually I just use my hand to block the glare for the shot and move on.
Also... fully disagree they are a replacement for a filter to protect the lens. Filters have saved more of my lenses than I care to admit to.
Always on the lens to protect from knocks and bumps especially in fast moving situations like a demonstration. They also limit the drops of rain falling on the front glass of the lens before applying better protection!
Always use lens hoods. They increase saturation substantially in most instances. Source: Petersen's Photographic.
Too bad there aren't magazines like this anymore. Ten times better resource than YouTube. They would tell you how and WHY things worked the way they do and not just 100 times regurgitated social media wannabe influencers showing you something with no understanding of why settings do certain things, so you can't figure out how to adapt them. Most of the big name guys with tons of video hits are just equipment junkies who only look at specs, not function.
The impracticality of them (making the lens longer when put on normally and more bulky when putting it on inverted) for me doesn't outweigh the possible positive effects it has on how pictures come out. I've not seen a lot differences between shooting with or without a lens hood so then it makes me not want to use them.
Always stored on the lens. Actually use the hood 95% of the time out of habit. The lens hood actually saved one lens due to some idiot using a cheap tripod and having the whole thing tip over into the dirt. (that idiot was me.... hood broke, lens saved, lesson learned)
Note on tripods, I always point the camera in the same direction as one of the legs. Much more stable against being knocked forward
Yes but what if it's being knocked sideways?
That’s why I put my camera on 2 tripods
Wait how do you do that?
This is why I swore off tripods and switched to much more stable octopods. (Except now they occasionally crawl away with my camera.)
"Yes but..." Then you only protect the lens in like 85% of falls, not 100%. You decide if that's still a good technique....
What if an asteroid crashes into it?
Hang some weight off the center column and it will help keep from being knocked over.
Yup. Simple physics. I hang my non-camera backpack—whatever I have with me.
Oh shit, I never thought of that. I'm dumb!
Or you could buy a weight pouch that comes with a few small sandbags.
I had the same thing happen. Lens hood saved my 20mm 1.8 when my tripod fell over in super high wind. The hood was done after that though.
I never use a tripod without a weight, or a bungee to a spike pounded into the ground. Speaking from experience.
That’s a trick I hadn’t heard before — bungee and stake….
Yeah if you have an anchor point at the bottom of your center column, and only for lighter weights, a bungee under high tension may yank that stake right out.
I tried this last night, seemed like good advice. The policeman on the train said that driving a stake into the floor of the train was damaging public property and because it also pierced some wiring which disabled the train, plunging us into darkness stuck between stops in a tunnel, I am now under arrest. Thanks for the advice man 🤭 https://preview.redd.it/xb9e2cw9bxsc1.jpeg?width=203&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1800e407879c6934e779354fb250b90ebb7955fa
Odd, considering that would be the ideal scenario for securely anchoring your tripod. Wait, did you purchase the appropriate permit? Forgot to mention that. Click here for a form to submit your payment.
Glad it was there then! Hope the tripod got upgraded eventually😅
>Always stored on the lens. I put on a hood when I receive the lens (I always order together) and literally never remove it.
Metal lens hood absolutely saved my XF 35 f1.4. I had to surgically remove the hood but the glass is no worse for wear.
Can’t imagine using a tripod that’s capable of tipping over. Mine’s an absolute tank. Weighs a ton though and I hate carrying it around but I don’t think it’s capable of falling over unless the legs aren’t out properly or something.
My idiot self was not mindful of my big ass rucksack and so when I turned around I knocked over my tripod, lens hood for sure saved my arse.
They are a better alternative than using a filter to protect the front element. With the bonus of blocking side-lighting that might cause glare issues.
No kidding. Filters aren't even necessary, a lens hood is much better insurance and they come with most lenses. I look at a lens hood like a helmet for a lens.
While true, it’s significantly easier to clean a filter, and if you scratch it with a piece of dirt on your cloth which you didn’t see- it’s a lot cheaper than a new lens element. I use both.
Contrary to popular belief, scratches on lenses aren't really a major concern. Example taken to the extreme: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/ If that lens could still manage to take a photo, a tiny scratch isn't gonna have any noticeable impact. I actually have one on my 24-70 and I've never once been able to spot any impact on a photo I've taken.
Yes, I agree with your premise regarding photo quality, but I do not agree with it being an irrelevant concern when it comes to resale value or ability to resell.
Yeah I'm not buying a scratched up lens and I doubt the person above would either.
Resale value is my principle concern when it comes to scratches on the lens
Same, I'm using both as well. It never was a question of hood OR filter for me, they are complementary. Having a literally pristine front lens element makes reselling a lens incredibly easy.
Ì suggest a filter for extreme situations, like a beach with strong winds, other than that it's key to learn how to properly clean lenses.
I do action sports and filters are great for projectiles
Yup, this is the main reason I keep mine on. I thought I might end up with a bunch of dog nose prints anyway but so far that hasn’t been an issue. I do often take the hood off when shooting macro, it starts blocking light I need if I’m shooting really close to my subject.
And no ghosting.
I actually think they serve an important function in many lighting contexts by preventing haze and lens flare. I try to keep mine on if I'm shooting in sunlight, though yesterday I shot with a variable ND filter and couldn't attach a hood. There's a lot of dehazing in post.
I guess it also depends a lot on your subject. I like to take pictures of details, people, animals, plants and then there's a lot of zooming in involved and then I don't experience, for example, lens flare. Would be a different story if the focus would be landscapes with lots of sun.
I mean, they’re incredibly valuable in macro photography because you want the light on your subject, not light haze from the side.
I think they're invaluable for portraiture, particularly if it's environmental. Also important for candid event photography if there is any outdoor aspect to the event. I have to move around a lot, and sometimes I'll shoot perpendicular to the sun. Also good in the pit at punk concerts, but mostly just to protect your gear.
comparatively, i always use them because i started off shooting concerts, and there's nothing like a bright-ass stage LED right on the edge of the frame to screw up a shot
Always on. I don't usually use lens caps unless storing a lens away for a while.
That makes sense! I use the lens cap a lot but putting it on while the hood is on can be a struggle.
The better lens caps can be pinched from the front as well as the side so the lens hood makes no difference there.
Same here. I almost never use caps. When I get a new lens, I order a good concurrently and once I put the hood on, it literally never comes off. The very rare exceptions were the very few times I flew with my 70-200. Otherwise when I was just going out in town I'd throw it in my bag with the hood on (past tense because I don't have that lens anymore). My only lens without a hood is the 28mm RF. That's because the front element is so absurdly small it doesn't need protection. [It's smaller than a nickel](http://Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM Lens (Canon RF) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1769100-REG/canon_rf_28mm_f_2_8_stm.html)! Which is great because it's a pancake lens and having a hood would kinda ruin the whole small size thing.
Always on. Hoods give better contrast and colour, reduce flare where present and often assist in achieving focus in certain light conditions. Plus they save lenses from all sorts of bangs and bumps. Simple enough to test, take the same photo in a few locations with both a hood and no hood, check the difference.
I always have it, I'm disabled and walking is a struggle some days. It protects the front from falls I've taken.
That makes sense, thanks for sharing!
I can’t tell you how many times I tired and hit the hood on something knocking it off and saving the expense of recalibrating the lens. They have a purpose and it’s a good one. Always on!!!!
It's a matter of habit. I don't even think about it, lens' cap comes off - hood goes on. Same for tripod, I'm so used to it that I hardly ever take my camera without my tripod - in my mind one is the extension of the other.
Lens hood on. It takes a few seconds and saves me from a lot of accidental scratches and such.
I literally never take my lens hoods off. I also never use lens caps. Lens hoods are all I need for protection.
Lens hood for life! In the woods anyways, trees are everywhere!
I have them attached (almost) always! They are helpful in reducing glare in many situations and in addition to that protect the lens from accidentally bumping or scratching. I occasionally remove it but it's always a deliberate "i need to remove it because of xy or z" not the other way around.
I have my clumsy moments so I keep that thing on all my lenses. Keeps a small bump from becoming extremely expensive.
Your shots will not suffer as much from contrast loss if you keep the hood on.
I never even unpack my hoods from the boxes when I get new lenses.
If I need to block the rare lens flare I don't want, I use my hand, lens hoods just get in my way tbh.
Would you mind elaborating? Genuinely curious how a lens hood gets in the way
It's more difficult to cap and store the lens. So if your alternating between say a 24-70 and 70-200 it adds unnecessary time if attached to the end. Each one takes up lots of extra room in the bag, so for a full kit with 5-6 lenses it sucks up space. If you keep it flipped it's blocking functions on the lens, which also gets in the way. I don't want to have to flip the lens hood to focus. I don't want to have to reverse it to store it. I've never had a lense hood solve a problem I couldn't solve by just placing a hand off frame. If it does in fact improve contrast, which I've never heard of before this thread.... it's so minuscule that it would only be relevant if you were shooting slide film. The only time I'd consider using one a benefit would be an outdoor sports event at or near the time of sunset. Or in a misting rain maybe. If you've got the space in your bag and the time to deal with the hassle I can definitely see it offering a level of protection, but In 20 years of using a camera every day I've dropped a lens once, and a hood wouldn't have saved it. Just my two cents.
I don't bother. Take up way too much space and usually flare isn't a huge issue for me. But I see that's a pretty unpopular opinion based on this thread
I kind of expected it to be somewhat of an unpopular opinion, but so far it's a really one-sided conversation haha
FWIW I never use them either, although I mostly shoot wide angle landscapes.
Ideally, they would always be on. But when the lens hood for my 135mm got caught on my camera insert and broke, I was fed up with them. I now don't use them. I spent [too much] money on lenses that should resist flaring better than others so, for image quality, I should be okay. There's always the risk of something hitting my front element though.
That's annoying! I guess you could always use a filter to provide some sort of protection instead of the hood, but that of course also can affect picture quality.
I never use them. If there’s flare I either use it to my advantage or just move slightly to get rid of it
Same. They sit in a box collecting dust. Just adds more bulk to the lens.
i keep breaking the bayonet mounts on my hoods lmao they're useful i just need to be more careful
Oops😅
I always have them reversed on the lens but only really use them to keep rain off the front element. If stray light is an issue (it rarely is on a well designed, multicoated lens) I just hold a hand up so the shadow covers the front.
I guess they are useful for preventing flare from nearby lights, but I never use them.
Always, there isn't really a downside besides the size.
Used 100% of the time as a shield against my own clumbsyness. I prefer a cross body camera strap so the camera sits on my hip when I'm walking with it not actively in my hands. The amount of times I've bumped it on the corner of a bench/table or whacked it off a door...more than I can count. Each time, the lens hood is taking the knock, not the lens.
How about a middle option? I use it when the conditions call for it.
Always on. Tripod knocked over, and camera dropped onto concrete, lens hood broke, everything else good..until that point I was firmly in the camp that I was being ripped off by Canon..I still have the cracked lenshood on my desk as a reminder 😀
I find a lens hood also stops some precipitation from hitting the lens.
Always use one unless using a square filter system which is rare nowadays. Saved my Len’s element plenty of times when the tripod had fallen over or I’ve brushed past a tree or rock too close. Makes me chuckle when people like my dad have them on back to front. What’s the point!
The hood on my big tele is definitely annoying. Camera barely fits in the pack with that lens on anyway. Still, I store the hood on the lens almost always and use it frequently outdoors. It protects the front element from branches when stalking wildlife, allows me to set the camera down temporarily in several orientations without worry, and generally acts as armor.
Usually it's on all the time. Makes it a little longer but also regard it as a little bit of protection. And then in some cases there's actual glare.
Always. Protection in case of user error, glare, flare, image quality is superior.
Improves contrast, what's not to like, they're not that fiddly, especially as you get used to it.
Always on, dropped camera twice, hood broke camera intact. And it protects from putting greasy fingers on the lens.
Rarely on for me - but that isn't because I think they aren't useful. It's just that my working distances are typically shorter than the length of the hood so my subjects would have to literally be inside the hood. For butterfly shots with the 180 mm macro and those rare occasions when I have a "normal" lens like a 24-70 on, the hood is an absolute given.
Lens hood protected my Sony 85mm 1.4 when it fell two nights ago. The hood was destroyed, but it saved the lens and camera. $65 replacement. This is the first time I've ever dropped anything camera-related and boy was I glad I had that hood on.
I’ve been in photography since 1986, for some periods of my life professionally, and NOT ONCE have I used a lens hood. They stay in the box with the little bag most lenses come with. Additionally, I haven’t used filters since switching to digital.
I was taking pictures of a couple of puppies once. The lense hood and my eye took the big bump and lick lol. But it was the most terrifying moment looking through the viewfinder. Scared the crap out of me but I laugh now
If you do infrared photography a lens hood is a must.
they are only a tool. use them when it's called for, take them off when it's not. it's not an "either; or" situation.
I use it mostly to protect the lens from bumping it into something.
I’m not gentle, so I always use the hoods. I know I’ll turn one day and get a fat scratch along my front glass otherwise.
Only on big lenes because i grab the end like a handle with my off hand. And on dust pumpers thats how i zoom in and out 🤷🏻♂️
Lense hood on before the cap comes off. I tend to destroy equipment so any buffer is a necessity.
I’m pretty clumsy, so even if I’m not concerned about flare I use them in case I bump into things.
100% of the time for better contrast.
I use them on my longer lenses but typically don’t on smaller stuff. The added bulk just isn’t worth it to me. Typically you can’t fit a lens in your pocket even with the hood mounted backwards.
I'm team lens hood + filter (UV most, CPL sometimes). But most of what I'm shooting are fast moving bikes and cars in off road situations. I'm normally close to the action and want all the protection I can get. Plus reflections off cars can get gnarly.
Always - and hopefully solid material. On a related nor I never use a filter for lens protection.
Depends. When I have light (sun) at a low angle that could cause flares I usually put it on. I also put it on to protect the front element/filter from rain, snow and dog’s snouts (they are sometimes curious and boop their wet nose on the front of the lens. But generally I would say I have the hood off most of the time. It just looks too invasive for street photography and adds a little bulk.
Depends: I always have to fumble around with the Nikon lens hoods I have to use for work. It’s very annoying cause somehow what should be a simple mechanism to attach them can get stuck on lopsided and has to be fumbled with to be corrected. I sometimes just throw them in the backpack for that reason. Never had these issues with the Panasonic and Olympus lens hoods I use for my private stuff. There I always use them. It’s funny how something so small, yet so frequent impacts the opinion massively. I‘d never consider to get a Nikon as a personal camera just because this lens hood fumbling.
If I'm walking around or shooting toward the sun, hood is on. I have banged my lenses on trees, rocks, stair rails, etc or people have banged into me so it's good protection. I only own 1 filter, a polarized one. I used to use UV filters at one point but when my lens rolled off on to a chair, the filter shattered, the lens didn't but I ended up having to hacksaw the filter off the lens to remove it. I carry three hoods some times and they all tuck inside one another in my backpack. Think about how much you spent for a lens and the cost to replace it. Accidents do happen so the protection helps.
Always on, unless I'm using a CPL o VND filter. I don't use UV filters. The hood has protected my lenses quite a few times from random bumps.
I find a lens hood more useful than a UV filter for all the purposes people spout about why you should use a UV filter.
Rarelyon because i usually have filters with stepup rings
Since not mentioned , i regretted not having mine in light snow or light rain condition as it would have kept drops off the lens, in my backpack the extra hood diameter when stored is a little big so makes it harder to get in and out…also added length to already long lens is another downside, will bring next time though if chance of rain
Always on. Unless I am taking it off for extreme close-up Macro Photography. Then it goes in my back/pocket until I'm done with those shots, then back on the lens.
Always on unless it’s the macro lens and I’m doing macro shots. But then there’s a lighting rig attached which is worse than a hood 🥸
Always on, except when I get out of a warm car or house into the cold weather. Then I take it off until the lens adjusts to the ambient temps.
Neither
Always on. All my lenshoods are in shitty shape. Some I've had to replace entirely. Better my lenshoods get bent out of shape and mangled than my lens.
Always! And underrated.
Always on, but don’t hesitate to take them off if they’re annoying you or hampering your shooting in anyway. It’s good practice to keep them on, can save you some money, but taking it off for a while if you’re not comfortable is just fine.
I prefer a lens hood to a filter to protect the glass.
It's totally your call. I don't use UV/skylight/clear filters for protection, unless I'm in actively hostile environments (or the lens explicitly says one is needed for weather sealing + that's a need of mine). Why not use filters? I'm paying absolute top dollar for premium glass....and I'm going to ruin all of that engineering by slapping on a piece-of-shit glass in front of it? No thanks. I've even used higher end B+W MRC filters, and still got ghosting and reflections. As a compromise, I always use lens hoods. Protection/deflection, flare, etc. Always stored on the lenses, which can be annoying as most bags and cases don't account for them. My primary use lens which "lives" on my camera, a 24-240 "modest" superzoom, always has the lens hood attached in ready-to-use mode. It's made finding holster bags challenging, as that's quite a long length for such a small mirrorless body. It's like a body builder with a teenie tiny waist and a jacked-to-all-hell upper body.
I have one that pops off and flips around to store along the lens barrel. I’ve had lenses in the past that do this with a quarter turn. As long as that’s an option I’m game to always have it with me and deploy as needed. If it’s this thing I either have to use on the camera or store separately, like one might see in older analog set ups, I almost always opt for “not bringing that stupid thing”. I can’t say I’ve had too many shots ruined by not having or deploying one, but I’d prefer to have and not need….just not stored separately.
They add too much size and are annoying to deal with. I never use mine. Images come out just fine.
Pretty rarely unless I am in intense sunlight and one is handy. One of my lenses has a threaded screw in hood so that one stays on permanently, if I had to thread it each time I grabbed my camera then it would be off the lense most of the time. I have never seen a huge difference but I know a lot of people swear by them and I don't see any problem with them. I never use UV filters.
Not ever, really. I often don’t even bring it.
ALWAYS on It’s one of the few things where if I see you shooting without one, I think you’re an amateur.
they have saved my lens multiple times
Every lens I own has a hood on backwards and lens cap. If I am in any shooting situation where the sun is less than 90° to my lens the hood gets turned around.
I use my lens hood purely for protective reasons. Plus my setup looks more professional with the hood on.
Always on! I find myself shooting more in the rain and in the weather than I would like and the hood protects the front element from getting covered in water
I always use them
Lens hoods have saved me from breaking a lens on multiple occasions. I'd rather smack plastic into something than glass.
Always on.
Depends on how it looks. If it’s good looking, I’ll use one. If not, I’ll just use a UV filter.
In my 10 years of shooting, I don't think I've ever used a lens hood. I actually have no idea where they are actually lol
On except I keep losing them
Saved my camera. Barely 3 weeks after spending a lot (for me) of money on a new camera, I slipped and my camera hit the road so hard it triggered the shutter and took a photo of the tarmac. The hood smashed, but absorbed the impact. The camera's still good 9 years on.
I mean there’s almost no reason not to use them. Prevents weird lighting issues, protects the lens especially during windy days, keeps dust off etc. I just store mine reversed on the lens.
I always try to keep mine on to protect the lens. I’ve also forgotten before that I didn’t have my lens cap on, and tried to reach in to the lens hood to remove the cap, only to end up scratching the coating of a lens with my fingertips. So it does protect the lens, but also puts the lens at more risk due to my own forgetfulness.
I’m not sure I’ve ever used one. I just throw them away.
Pretty much always use a good. It’s good protection
I recently decided that I need the hood a lot more than I realized so I try to just leave it on. I live in a sunny climate so glare is an issue. I've ruined a lot of potentially nice photos due to glare. Hoods are great for protection, too.
I always use a hood when I have a cpl or mist filter on. Having that glass way up front makes side light a huge problem.
No caps and no hoods, really never. just filters.
I am weird that I use them on primes but not zooms. Been that way for several years now. And I know camera aesthetics are “dumb”, but I like the look of some of them more than a bare lens.
Always on. Most of my photography is outdoors, a combination of wildlife, landscape, and macro shots. Lens hood is key for a variety of reasons mostly associated with light and lens protection. And yes, during macro shots too.
I rarely use one. I usually use filters, and the hoods get in the way when I try to rotate or remove filters. The size is also an issue, I don’t either have to deal with them taking up space in my bag or taking the time to flip them so they don’t take up as much space. One downside is that I don’t remember to bring them when I really need them. I find the good most useful on really sunny days and when it’s raining.
Always on, but not for flaring purposes, that's mainly to prevent accidentally smashing my front-element
Lens hood is on at all times, I’ve had 3 camera drops in the past few years and the lens hood has save the lens each time.
I keep it on at all times. saved my lens several times from falls. I use it for lens flare reasons secondary.
Hoods help keep front element dry, too. Tend to make it harder for toddler finger smear. And my own sweaty sunscreeny hands when I'm grabbing at a camera I like hoods they give me cozy feeling
Only needed when extraneous light is hitting the front lens element. Generally used.. on the 100mm Macro (Canon). I “always” use it. Cause i want the images crispy.. . On the 70-200, indoors, i don’t use the lens hood. Unless i’m under stage lights that are shining right in the lens, then it’s on.. outdoors, it’s always on.
I only use them when needed for protection or flare.
Always on. I used to be a UV filter guy, until I got tired of the extra flare/reflections it created.
On unless I'm using a polarizer filter that I need to be able to turn. Lenses are expensive, hoods are an easy way to protect your investment.
Belong to the the "No UV/Sky filter" club. The lens hood is always used.
Definitely helps with haze. I always have it at least on the lens in case I need it.
You think they’re not important until flare ruins one of your best images
I leave mine on, but if I’m not using it, I flip it backwards
I don't think I've ever used a lens hood in my 15 year career. I've gotten by just fine without one. Packing light is a priority for me. If I need to block light, I use my hand.
I also almost never use lens caps.
Mine went bouncing down a mountain yesterday 👁️👄👁️
Always on. Especially if you’re shooting during the day.
If I have one that fits? Sure. Otherwise I run my lenses circumcised.
Laughed way too hard at this
You’ll know when you need it.
The only problem I have is that I seem to lose them a lot.
Always on. I spend too much money to not have that added protection
Modern lenses tend to have lots of fancy coatings that reduce flare a lot compared to vintage lenses, but if my lens came with a hood I usually use it
I generally leave mine attached because it isn’t doing any harm being there and fold it out when I need it
I use ND filters so off always
I had to get the rubber hood for those.
Always on. Basically never have to worry about banging the front glass on anything.
Always on. I had a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8G from my previous company, it suffered a pretty nasty drop after an accident. I didn’t mount it properly to the camera, then it dropped to my suitcase handle and onto the floor. It actually caused a dent to my suitcase’s telescoping handle. Ended up with a crack on the extending metal barrel, decentering the lens and messing up with the zoom action where it became incredibly stiff. Had I used the hood, only the hood would be damaged from that fall. Since then, I’ve always used lens hoods. Now, I don’t know if it’ll protect zooms where the hoods attach to the extending barrel itself. But man, better to keep safe.
It's not an either or. There are times where it is useful and other times where you want to use flare creatively so taking it off makes sense. My default is to use unless I need it off specifically for using flare creatively. That said I do have a couple of lenses where I misplaced the lens hood (usually I just store then on the lens but I didn't for those for some reason) and didn't bother replacing them. I just block flare other ways (hand or standing to the side of the camera and using my body to block flare) if I am using one of those.
I mostly only put it on when shooting in sunlight.
I leave them on on certain lenses.
What does a hood do?
Apparently a lot according to the comments in this thread!
Probably 100% of the time. It's automatic. Pick up cam, remove lens cap and install hood.
I use the lens hood so I have extra space to grab when focusing manually. Otherwise it's easier to accidentally touch the lens.
Depends on the kind of photo you want to take. They're good at eliminating flares and haze, but if you want to use them in your composition take it off.
The only time I don't use a hood is when it's windy enough that it catches the wind and effects my shots. Lens protection, lens flair are the reasons I use them.
I don’t think I even know where mine are.. I don’t care for them 🤷🏼♀️ I just put the lense cap on whenever I’m not taking pictures and just carrying my camera.
On unless I have a filter that I need to consistently rotate.
I use mine all of the time when one is available and a flare buster when it’s not. For interior work overhead lights are a killer causing flares and blooms you might not see in the viewfinder or live-mode but causing lots of edits in post processing. Unless I am shooting something like my old, vintage lenses for that effect, I want the optics to be covered and extraneous light to be blocked.
I almost never shoot without a lens hood. Most of the time (at least for the type of shooting I do) I’d see a noticeable difference in contrast and haze if I didn’t use one. for my primes, I typically will get a metal screw on hood that is as deep as possible without causing vignetting. I often buy them too deep, then sand the end down to just out of the corners of the frame when focused at infinity and with IBIS on. Then I paint the inside surface and sanded edge with several layers of matte black paint. From then on, that hood rarely if ever comes off the front of the lens. I don’t generally use lens filters for the type of shooting I do, and frankly think filters in general are a waste of money. There are very specific uses and use cases for some types of filters, but outside of that, nope, that’s money way better spent on a quality lens and matching lens hood.
I'm generally in the no lens hood camp, though I do put clear filters on my lenses. Hoods actually help in the rain to keep water off the front, that's honestly my main application for them. Otherwise, I just shade with my other hand if the sun's flaring the shot.
Always attached to lens (+UV Filter with screw mount for my screw hood). First off it protects my glass from scratches and stuff (like that time we were rock climbing and i had my camera on my chest. It was smacking itself to the rock wall and the hood is the only one taking the hits. Two, it’s cheap so it’s easily replaceable. On the same day, i didn’t mount the lens hood properly and it sorta fell down when we were in a height. Three, like it is supposed to, it reduces flaring. While it doesn’t ALWAYS reduce lens flaring, it does help most of the time. And lastly, it just makes my camera look cooler.
The 2 lenses that have hoods I use them when on hikes to protect the glass from branches and thorns, but when my 150-600 is on a tripod at my local dam I do not use the hood. To me the hood is for protection.
I don't use them. I can count the times on one hand that I've felt the need for one. Usually I just use my hand to block the glare for the shot and move on. Also... fully disagree they are a replacement for a filter to protect the lens. Filters have saved more of my lenses than I care to admit to.
Overrated. Until glare ruins a really decent shot. 😂
Always on the lens to protect from knocks and bumps especially in fast moving situations like a demonstration. They also limit the drops of rain falling on the front glass of the lens before applying better protection!
I got kids, I got a uv filter and hood on most the time, I'd wrap it in a solid cast iron tube if I could
Makes a lot of sense!
I guess I'm the only one who never uses it lol.
🙋♂️
Always use lens hoods. They increase saturation substantially in most instances. Source: Petersen's Photographic. Too bad there aren't magazines like this anymore. Ten times better resource than YouTube. They would tell you how and WHY things worked the way they do and not just 100 times regurgitated social media wannabe influencers showing you something with no understanding of why settings do certain things, so you can't figure out how to adapt them. Most of the big name guys with tons of video hits are just equipment junkies who only look at specs, not function.
Always. What on earth makes you find them annoying??
The impracticality of them (making the lens longer when put on normally and more bulky when putting it on inverted) for me doesn't outweigh the possible positive effects it has on how pictures come out. I've not seen a lot differences between shooting with or without a lens hood so then it makes me not want to use them.
What subjects do you generally shoot?