Lens Hoods

A lens hood is a simple, inexpensive accessory that can have a dramatic effect on the quality of your images. While hoods have a few uses, their principal function is to shield the front element from stray light hitting it from the sides. A strong light source that’s located at an angle to the lens will create unwanted reflections between the internal elements, which in turn cause lens flare.

Lens flare is generally understood to mean visible light artefacts in an image – which aren’t always a bad thing, and in some contexts can look quite appealing. However, the term can also refer to a pronounced glare across the entirety of an image, which reduces its contrast and leads to an overall washed-out look.

Attach a hood onto your lens when you’re next shooting on a bright day, and this effect will be dramatically reduced. The contrast and tones of your image will be stronger, with more vivid colours and no lens-flare artefacts obscuring your subjects. Not bad for a screw-on piece of plastic or metal!

Lens hoods aren’t necessary in all situations. However, the fact that they are lightweight, inexpensive and take up little space in a kit bag means there’s no reason not to have one with you. In the right situation, a hood can mean the difference between a striking, punchy image and a hazy, washed-out mess.

Hoods have a number of other uses. Some photographers leave them on all the time as they are a simple form of lens protection. A hood will shield the front element of a lens from rain and snow, and also lessen the likelihood of you accidentally planting a big old fingerprint on there while handling the lens (no shame, we’ve all done it). Also, if the worst happens and you accidentally drop the lens onto hard ground, a hood puts a layer of protection between the front element and the impact. A dented hood is immeasurably preferable to a cracked lens.

Lens hoods come in two main varieties – petal-shaped and cylindrical. Petal-type hoods are designed to fit standard and wide-angle zoom lenses, as their cut-off corners lenses prevent the edges of the hood from appearing in the frame when the lens is fully zoomed out. Cylindrical hoods are designed for prime and telephoto lenses, where the fixed and/or narrow field of view makes this less of a concern.

Something that’s important to be aware of is that hood/lens compatibility is quite specific. A hood needs to fit the precise circumference of the front of a lens, and this varies from model to model. There’s no generic “Canon” hood that fits all that manufacturer’s lenses. While there are some hoods from manufacturers that will fit a few of their lenses, hoods that fit just one specific lens model are quite common. Make sure you double-check the precise full name of your lens and the model name of the hood with which it is compatible – this is easy to verify with some quick googling.