Lens Hood

Good morning all my friends I have a Tamron lens 70 x 300 and it is very large,with it there is a lens hood which is at least 70% the length of the actual lens,I know that the hood offers some protection,does this interfere with the amount of light that enters the lens especially at this time of the year when the light is at its minimal ,I know that this is my second question but feel that it might help other members as well as yours truly,Thank you

 

Hi Woo, I hope all is well with you. Using a Lens Hood does have the advantage of preventing lens flare which can happen when shooting at an angle from the Sun. There is a school of thought that says Lens Hoods are okay for prime lenses but not quite so advantageous for zoom lenses. The reasoning for that is with a fixed focal [prime] lens the hood helps reduce reflected light, but with a zoom lens the curve of the hood can allow light in sooner than if the lens was fixed although not that significantly unless you're pointing upwards and near to the Sun.
However, I have as you know a reasonable collection of lens from Prime to various Zooms and most of them, particularly the Zooms came without a lens hood. I did a bit of research about two things....Filters and Lens Hoods and found a mixed stream of thought on both subjects. But one of the things said about using a lens hood, particularly with Zooms, is that it does help contrast and saturation giving you a better image, as well as reducing lens flare. I tried a lens hood with a early bought zoom lens [a Tamron 28-70mm f3.5-4.5 zoom lens] which I use for macro and general shots and to my mind it did improve the image. I have therefore bought lens hoods for all the lens that didn't have any when I bought them and use them on the lens all the time. There are choices regarding Lens Hoods as to what they are made of such as Metal, Plastic or Rubber.
I have found that, for me, Rubber Lens Hoods are more satisfactory and work well but it is a personal choice like so many things. So I would recommend using a Lens Hood for preventing lens flare, improving the contrast and saturation in the image and also as a protection to the lens.
I'm not sure if your lens already has a UV filter attached, Woo, but I would also recommend that if not you get one for it. It will protect your lens from being scratched and also eliminate the need to clean the actual lens with the risk of damaging the coating on it and all you need to do is clean the filter which is a lot cheaper to replace should you scratch it.
I'm also not sure which model your Tamron 70-300mm zoom lens is as there are two, one taking a 58mm filter and the other a 62mm filter. Your Lens Hood will just screw just onto the filter so that you can use both.

 

Good afternoon Armandll my friend many thanks for your informative and most helpful post it is very much appreciated

Its the 62mm filter and I will certainly do as you advise and will purchase a UV filter and always use the lens hood

 

It's a seriously good lens, Woo, and deserves being pampered and looked after

 

Armandll ,is it best to go for the dearest UV filter and will it interfere with the sharpness of my images at all.Thank you

 

Hi Woo, Well, I use UV filters on all my lenses with the option of being able to use a polarising filter when I want to. In my opinion a good UV filter will not affect the resolution or clarity of the images you take and hopefully some of my posted images support that.
The names to look for are Hoya, Kood, Kenko, and Tiffen and can range from £5.50p upwards for a 62mm UV filter and price is no assurance of quality as we all know. I would suggest a Kood 62mm UV filter [around £9.99p] or a Tiffen 62mm UV filter [at around £14.99p]..........and I'm betting that if you bought all 4 of the brands I have mentioned you wouldn't be able to tell the differences in the images you took.

 

Thank you Armandll I will give you a rest now and will order either a Kood or Tiffen on line,and thank you for all your help my friend

 

You're more than welcome, Woo, that is what GC is all about!!

 

Good Scrungee evening much appreciated and thank you

 

Scrungee has a good point there, Woo. But I've bought rubber Lens Hoods for all the lenses that didn't have them except for the 24mm and 28mm wide angle lens which required a more dedicated Hood. The advantage, for me, is that after use I pull the rubber hood cup gently backwards over the lens barrel to make it easier to store and so far I haven't had a problem. But as Scrungee points out it's when you leave a lens packed away for a good while that you may get a problem.
All my lenses that are not in use get put in a zipped plastic bag with a silica gel pack enclosed in it and put into a larger rigid plastic box. I've got a feeling knowing how much you like photography and that you use your camera quite a lot that you shouldn't have a problem.

 

Hi Steve, good to hear from you. One of the things I love about the Photographic world is the differences of opinion in the use of accessories, filters, film or digital, monochrome or colour, post processing or not, the use of HDR etc, and nothing more is guaranteed to produce Red faces and high blood pressure Some of the Photographic Forums discussions can get quite heated when the different schools of thought "debate" matters!!

However, I hope you will forgive me if I disagree with:

Filters by the very fact that they on screwed on the the front of the lens do protect the lens from dust, dirt, water droplets and finger prints when accidently touched by an incautious photographer. They will also stop a camera lens being wiped with a dirty cloth pulled out of the pocket of a photographer or even the T-shirt the person is wearing........and I have seen that happen a few times!! They will not protect a lens from being dropped, nor is it expected of them. If a lens is dropped hard enough to shatter a filter then it's probably been dropped hard enough to damage the lens anyway.

The difficulty with that is some lens caps aren't secure enough or the photographer, being human, will lose it after taking it off, which is why there is a thriving trade in replacement lens caps.

There are always going to be differences on how we take photographs and the equipment we use, thank goodness. But taking basic steps to lessen the risks of damage to the front lens of an expensive lens such as fitting a UV filter must be a good thing. Here's some comments from Photographic Magazines and some professionals.


"UV—Typically, this filter is very pale yellow to virtually clear. In the past, UV filters helped protect your image from the negative effects of atmospheric ultraviolet radiation. But thanks to the improved high-tech coating on today's lenses, these filters don't have much impact on image quality at lower altitudes. Some effect may be noticeable at high altitudes, however. Their primary use today is to protect the lens itself.

Skylight—Light pinkish in color, this filter can help correct the slight blue cast from shooting outside under a blue sky. Some photographers see benefits for their landscape photography. I don't recommend this filter for portraits because it can affect skin tones.

Haze—This is essentially another name for a UV filter.

The above filters were very popular in film camera lenses. But with digital cameras, we can now counteract the mild effects of UV light with the white balance settings in our cameras. So, even though UV and skylight filters do have some mild filtering effect, they are primarily used as protection filters.

I recommend that you use a high-quality, multi-coating glass filter if you want protection for your lens."

"UV filter improves color reproduction and eliminates blur caused by ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet light is invisible to the eye and highly prevalent when shooting in hazy weather, mountainous regions, coastal areas and areas with very clear air. UV filters are colorless and does not require any extension of exposure time. It is recommended that UV filters are permanently mounted on the lens as a protective filter"

"There are two types of protection to consider.

Firstly, protection against damage caused by rough handling or dropping the lens/camera - I doubt if anyone has done a proper scientific study of this, but personal experience suggests that a mishap that damages the filter will probably also damage the lens. I have seen no good evidence that the presence of a filter significantly reduces the chances of seriously damaging the lens."
Secondly, protection against dust, dirt, smears and scratches on the front element of the lens - The presence of a filter on the lens certainly protects the front element, as the dust, dirt, smears and scratches get on the filter instead. Which is preferable?

The filter is flat and easily removed, which makes it much easier to clean. Also, if it does get scratched, or gets so dirty that it is too difficult to clean thoroughly, then it typically costs much less to replace than the lens."

Regarding Lens Hoods I agree, Steve, that they are not there primarily to protect a lens but to reduce the chance of lens flare. However, I have found the soft rubber lens hoods that I use do soften any taps or knocks with undergrowth when I'm poking a lens at an insect or flower when using macro.