http://ping.fm/Odmpx Digital Camera Basics – Understanding The Camera Lens Hood

A camera lens hood is a cylindrical piece of plastic, rubber, or metal that fixes over your lens to prevent light from shining directly into it. The hood can screw onto the front of the lens or some hoods are attached to the lens and can slide out like a sleeve.

When I first got my DSLR camera I had no idea what a lens hood was. I bought my camera used from a friend. It came with two lenses. One of the lenses had a hood. I never used the lens hood at first. Yes, I had a film SLR camera when I was younger and I should’ve known what a camera lens hood was, but I never used one hood then either. One day I decided to use the hood to see if it made a difference and it did. Now I use my camera lens hood most of the time.

Hoods can come in a variety of shapes and lengths. They are usually cylindrical, but they can also be square. The edge of the hood can be straight or flowered. Flowering of the edge should help prevent vignetting when the hood is on correctly. Hoods are made for each type of lens. Make sure you use the hood that was designed to be used with your lens. If you use another hood you could get problems, like vignetting...

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