Lens hoods?

G80FTW

Active Member
Well, I am soon going to be looking around for new lenses for my camera but right now I am just gonna see what I can do to make my existing kit lenses maybe perform better. They are not bad by any means.

My 55-200mm telephoto came with a lens hood. I read up about it and it says:

By reducing the amount of non-essential light falling onto the front lens element, lenses can better achieve their optimum optical performance, producing more saturated images.

What exactly does this mean in terms of real life effect on image quality? I havent really shot without the lens hood on so I havent been able to see the difference, perhaps I will try that this weekend. But do they make any difference?

I noticed that this lens hood is alot bigger than the one that came with my 55-200:

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Lens-Hoods/4699/HB-24-Bayonet-Lens-Hood.html

(I know thats not compatible with my 55-200 but I was just wondering what the difference is between the lens hoods why this one is bigger than mine)
I was also looking at filters and adapters and such as well.
 

Fatback

VIP Member
I saw this video a few days ago when I found this guy on YouTube. It should pretty much explain everything you need to know. I'd also recommend checking out some of his videos. He has good tutorials, and explains things in a way that makes them easier to understand. I learned more from watching his videos the past week then I did a whole semester of photography class.

If he doesn't answer any of your questions. I'm sure me or someone else will defiantly be able too.

http://youtu.be/EwWW_cT9yx4
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
I have a lens hood for both my 18-55 and my 55-300. I use them to reduce glare and I tend to use them all the time.

I have a feeling that the HB-24 is the lens hood I may have got with my 55-300. Obviously, the wider the front element, the bigger the lens hood needs to be. The 55-200 has a 52mm thread (same as the kit lens) and the 55-300 has a 58mm thread. Careful though that you don't get a hood that's too big, because otherwise you may get some vignetting.

By the way, the official Nikon hoods are rip offs. Don't pay 40 bucks for a bit of plastic. My 18-55 didn't come with a hood, and I noticed the official Nikon one was quite a lot (£10+ I think, rip off for some plastic). I got one off eBay from Hong Kong in the end (which was identical) for about £2. Even has Nikon written on it!
 
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