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Kind of a snob question :)


dennersten

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Heavystar are cheap and work just as well.

 

For one produced by leica, model 12504 might be a good choice, it is an alternative for the Summicron 35 (which has the same hood as your elmarit). I've never used one on a 28mm so I can't be sure it doesn't cause mechanical vignetting, but it really shouldn't.

 

You can always paint your current hood with black enamel so it looks like the black paint of your M6 body...

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Heavystars are also less efficient and protective as they provide little shade, they are not solid at all and they can ruin the filter thread of the lenses in case of drop or bump. Also filters cannot be screwed into the Heavystar hoods, at least mine, which means that you have to screw the hood onto the filter, which can cause vignetting.

The regular plastic Leica # 12525 is IMO the best hood one can find for the Elmarit 28/2.8 asph as well as both Summicrons 35/2 asph and v4. The 12504 is certainly nicer but less efficient and not solid enough to provide significant mechanical protection to the lens. At least it is a clip-on hood which doesn't endanger the filter thread of the lenses contrary to screwing hoods like Heavystars.

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Sorry, my experience with Heavystar hoods is the opposite of yours. His metal hoods are very well made, certainly stronger than plastic Leica hoods, fit excellently and have exactly the same dimensions as Leica hoods or better.

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Leica haven't screwed their metal hoods into filter threads for half a century at least if memory serves. A Zeiss or Schneider screw-in hood did cost me a lens barrel in the past. Lesson taught. The only screw-in hoods i've been using since then are rubbers, metals for external hood threads... and Heavystars to have a clue on what i'm talking about.

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Some years I ago I looked for a smaller replacement hood for my 28 Summicron asph. I ultimately settled on a Leica 35 Summilux hood, but in the interim bought one from Heavystar. The quality was decent...nothing to write home about...but the protection and coverage was not close to the Leica hood.

 

Perhaps I ordered the wrong Heavystar, but it had been recommended by others here. I'll stick with Leica.

 

Jeff

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Without wanting to be argumentative or belabor the point, the new Summarit lenses have metal screw in hoods and sell for about 10 times the price of the Heavystar!

WTF??? :eek:

 

I was in the Leica Shop in London last month and purchased a demo 35mm Summarit. They tried quite hard to sell me the Leica lens hood, it was about GBP110.00. I happened to have a Heavystar hood attached to my 40mm Summicron in the camera bag, which we compared to the Leica hood. Other than that the Leica hood is rectangular and cumbersome while the Heavystar is circular there’s no obvious difference in the quality of the metal. Maybe the paint on the Leica will last longer? In terms of fitting they both screwed into the front of the lens with the same ease and with about the same amount of turns. I agree that the Leica hood because of its size will be more efficient, however I'm not sure that it will make a really significant difference.

 

For the record I’ve had nothing but problems with the plastic Leica hoods both on my 24mm Elmarit & 28mm Summicron. The hood separated from its retaining ring which clips over the lens. There are 4 tiny screws which attach the ring to the hood. Without even excessive use, these screws stripped or came off leaving the hood dangling from 1 or 2 screws off the front of the lens, completely useless. I repaired the hood myself by replacing the screws with small rivets. I eventually stumbled onto these 3rd party hoods here in the Forum.

 

It all boils down to whatever works for you......

 

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Edited by michali
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...the new Summarit lenses have metal screw in hoods and sell for about 10 times the price of the Heavystar!...

Will be much more expensive if one of your filter threads is ruined by those things. As i said above, Leica hoods do not screw into filter threads. Summarits have external threads for that.

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...I’ve had nothing but problems with the plastic Leica hoods both on my 24mm Elmarit & 28mm Summicron. The hood separated from its retaining ring which clips over the lens. There are 4 tiny screws which attach the ring to the hood. Without even excessive use, these screws stripped or came off...

We were discussing about the 12526 hood which has no screw at all. It is used currently on Summicron 35/2 asph and Elmarit 28/2.8 asph. It is almost the same as the 12524 hood of the Summicron 35/2 v4 from the seventees. The only significant difference is the 12526 has more pronounced nubs so as to grip its hood cap # 14043.

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We were discussing about the 12526 hood which has no screw at all. It is used currently on Summicron 35/2 asph and Elmarit 28/2.8 asph. It is almost the same as the 12524 hood of the Summicron 35/2 v4 from the seventees. The only significant difference is the 12526 has more pronounced nubs so as to grip its hood cap # 14043.

 

Full agreement with you here.

Plastic hoods are more functional imo than metal hoods. And snap-ons (that stay on) are uncomparably better than screw-in ones.

Because they are also shock absorbers and protect the lens. That's why Canon, who started that is right imo.

The five newest Leica M wide-angles have prettier lens-hoods, but the one for the 2.8/28A is unsurpassed for the given reasons.

A square hood or one with the corners cut out is better suited for a lens hood's main purpose than a round one.

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