Do I really need a Lens Hood?

Lens Hoods have 2 main advantages:

1. Lens Hoods shield yours lens from direct sunlight or other bright lights that might fall directly on the lens and in turn, cause flare. By reducing the contrast and creating flare, your pictures will have much richer colors and deeper saturation. Flower shaped lens hoods are often used on zoom lenses as a normal lens hood will block the field of view on certain zoom settings.

2. Lens Hoods also protect your lens. As the hood does project from the lens, it does make the actual lens difficult to reach. This helps reduce the accidental fingerprint on the lens or even the accidental drop which could result in the need to replace the lens. And if you are a serious photographer, you know how expensive that is!

The only time you do NOT want to use a Lens Hood is when are you are shooting Macro or when are you are shooting using the on-camera flash. In these cases, the Lens Hood can obstruct your shot.

Check out the latest Canon Lens Hoods here and the latest Nikon Lens Hoods here.

Here is an interesting video on Lens Hoods by Jared Polin

Image by: nlewis039