Elmarit-M 24/2.8 lens hood

[biglouis]

I've just acquired this lens and it includes the impressive lens hood (impressive because of its construction).

Is it really necessary? Does the lens flare badly without it? I only ask because removal and attachment seems to me to a bit fidly.

Should I leave it permanently on or off?

LouisB

[peter_n]

Louis the lens seems to be completely impervious to flare. It should not be fiddly to put on or take off. I have a standard B+W MRC UV filter on the front of mine and and the hood goes on and off although it is a bit of a tight fit. I leave my hood on all the time - for protection. Same with all my lenses, all with UV filters & hoods. No accidents yet but better to be safe than sorry...

Fantastic lens BTW. You will love it.

[rob_x2004]

Lens might not flare, but what about the filter? Does that make a difference. I gave up on filters but with the m8 you dont really have a choice.
Louis out of interest, what reason would you have for taking the lens hood off?

[marknorton]

You will find that this type of hood quickly damages the finish of the lens if you take it on and off frequently. The metal claws in the hood wear the black anodising. I fit the hoods and leave them there.

The alternative is to try a screw in hood from the likes of Heavy Star on ebay - he has a vast array of lens accessories and with the M8, you can use a narrower hood because of the crop factor. The lens hoods are inexpensive but the ones I have bought have been painted, not anodised, so quickly show wear.

[biglouis]

Originally Posted by rob_x2004

Louis out of interest, what reason would you have for taking the lens hood off?

Convenience, really. It is large in comparison the barrel and on top of that it obscures the viewfinder, even though there is a cutout.

As Mark states, the claws on the hood do have the propensity to mark the barrel. It has become more difficult to put on and take off since adding the 'mandatory' UV/IR filter.

Thanks for all the answers. I guess I'll just leave it on, until it irritates me enough to take it off

LouisB

[marknorton]

The same hood is used for the 21mm Elmarit and the first generation Tri-Elmar, on which lens it looks ridiculous. The official hood for the second generation lens is scarcely better and I use a HeavyStar hood on both.

[peter_n]

I use a lot of heavystar hoods on my lenses and I tried a small one on the 24 and the result was serious vignetting so I reverted to the Leica hood. I use my 24 on a Bessa R4A and it obscures even more of the VF there but you get used to it.

Originally Posted by rob_x2004

Lens might not flare, but what about the filter? Does that make a difference.

My experience with a B+W MRC shooting into the sun is that the filter makes no difference.

[wizard]

Originally Posted by peter_n

My experience with a B+W MRC shooting into the sun is that the filter makes no difference.

I second your findings. Same lens, same filter (slim version), no flare at all, even when the sun shines right into the lens. I was surprised, but that's how it is.

Andy