dkCambridgeshire Posted November 19, 2016 Share #1 Posted November 19, 2016 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Recent night-time street photography photos taken using a 35-70/4 R lens in London's West End show the lens is not 'flare proof'. In some lighting situations the flare is very apparent. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Shop window display shows flare on both sides of the image. When composing this Piccadilly Circus image the flare was very noticeable in the viewfinder. There is a lot of extraneous light creeping into the lens from the Piccadilly illuminations The flare always occurred on each side of the image frame as above . However, by holding my hand to the side of the lens hood the flare could be eliminated - thus suggesting the lens hood is inadequate for this type of lighting situation. The actual lens hood is rather shallow ... The hood screws onto the lens via a 64mm or 65mm thread … unable to measure exactly. The filter thread is 60mm and the only possible alternative hood with a 60mm option is the Lee 7five … which is rather expensive and intended more for compact and APS-C cameras (I wish to use the lens with full frame cameras e.g. Sony A series and Leica SL 601). Third party hood use is further limited due to the lens front revolving when focusing thus the larger adjustable rectangular hoods are unsuitable. To avoid flare in future I decided to make a larger hood from a recycled laundry detergent sachet plastic tub …. cont'd ….. Edited November 19, 2016 by dkCambridgeshire Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Shop window display shows flare on both sides of the image. When composing this Piccadilly Circus image the flare was very noticeable in the viewfinder. There is a lot of extraneous light creeping into the lens from the Piccadilly illuminations The flare always occurred on each side of the image frame as above . However, by holding my hand to the side of the lens hood the flare could be eliminated - thus suggesting the lens hood is inadequate for this type of lighting situation. The actual lens hood is rather shallow ... The hood screws onto the lens via a 64mm or 65mm thread … unable to measure exactly. The filter thread is 60mm and the only possible alternative hood with a 60mm option is the Lee 7five … which is rather expensive and intended more for compact and APS-C cameras (I wish to use the lens with full frame cameras e.g. Sony A series and Leica SL 601). Third party hood use is further limited due to the lens front revolving when focusing thus the larger adjustable rectangular hoods are unsuitable. To avoid flare in future I decided to make a larger hood from a recycled laundry detergent sachet plastic tub …. cont'd ….. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/266627-leica-35-704-r-hood-modification/?do=findComment&comment=3152054'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 19, 2016 Posted November 19, 2016 Hi dkCambridgeshire, Take a look here Leica 35-70/4 R - Hood Modification. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dkCambridgeshire Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share #2 Posted November 19, 2016 (edited) The detergent tub was chosen because it offered a potential 'push-on' hood which would fit over the existing lens hood and could be held in place (i.e. friction fit) by by a strip of compressed foam. The interior of the hood was covered with self adhesive black velour as used by astronomers for flocking telescope tube interiors . Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Length of the hood was decided by 'trial and error' i.e. pushing back and forth until it was not visible in the viewfinder … and then trimmed using scissors . The exterior was also covered in velour to achieve a reasonably neat appearance. The recycled foam strip enabling a firm friction fit over the lens existing hood was applied using double sided tape. Initial experiments in contre jour lighting situations show the hood is effective - but I have yet to try it in a night-time street photography situation. Total materials cost was less than £1 i.e. the velour and double sided tape. Another cause of flare can be cheap lens adapters with shiny black interiors which reflect rather than absorb extraneous light. Far better to use good quality adapters with matt black baffled interiors e.g. Novoflex. Best wishes dunk Edited November 19, 2016 by dkCambridgeshire 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Length of the hood was decided by 'trial and error' i.e. pushing back and forth until it was not visible in the viewfinder … and then trimmed using scissors . The exterior was also covered in velour to achieve a reasonably neat appearance. The recycled foam strip enabling a firm friction fit over the lens existing hood was applied using double sided tape. Initial experiments in contre jour lighting situations show the hood is effective - but I have yet to try it in a night-time street photography situation. Total materials cost was less than £1 i.e. the velour and double sided tape. Another cause of flare can be cheap lens adapters with shiny black interiors which reflect rather than absorb extraneous light. Far better to use good quality adapters with matt black baffled interiors e.g. Novoflex. Best wishes dunk ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/266627-leica-35-704-r-hood-modification/?do=findComment&comment=3152065'>More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted November 19, 2016 Share #3 Posted November 19, 2016 Necessity, always the mother of invention. Good job. I've had to do the same for a 17mm Tamron lens. Since I often modify lens hoods, I keep a can of flat black spray paint handy, works for shiny interiors of adapters as well. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobitybob Posted December 3, 2016 Share #4 Posted December 3, 2016 I've noticed this with mine on a few occasions and did look at making an alternative hood as it's unique size/fit means its hard to replace. Fortunately I noticed, that unlike most lens hoods this version is made from two parts held together by three small screws, it should therefore be possible to remove the original hood part and replace it with a wider or longer (depending on when you were seeing the flare) version modified to fit the original screw part of the hood. I measured the thread at 64mm and plastic versions with thread of this size are available on sites like eBay. As they are plastic the thread could be easily removed and the hole left widened slightly to allow it to fit over the original thread and then be retained with the screws. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share #5 Posted December 3, 2016 (edited) I've noticed this with mine on a few occasions and did look at making an alternative hood as it's unique size/fit means its hard to replace. Fortunately I noticed, that unlike most lens hoods this version is made from two parts held together by three small screws, it should therefore be possible to remove the original hood part and replace it with a wider or longer (depending on when you were seeing the flare) version modified to fit the original screw part of the hood. I measured the thread at 64mm and plastic versions with thread of this size are available on sites like eBay. As they are plastic the thread could be easily removed and the hole left widened slightly to allow it to fit over the original thread and then be retained with the screws. Thank you Bob. I had not noticed the three screws on the thread anulus of the original hood - on mine the screw holes have been filled - presumably with wax - thus the actual tiny screws are under the wax. So yes it should be possible to remove them and attach the anulus to a larger hood. My home-made hood tended to fall off occasionally because the foam did not always grip tightly onto the original hood - so I've made a Mk II version Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! This utilises an SRB 82mm threaded 105mm diameter wide angle hood - which has been extended by 12mm by securing (gluing) another section of detergent tub onto the front after first covering same with self adhesive valour. The detergent tub is conical so there's a matching 105mm-ish section where its diameter matches that of 105mm diameter SRB hood. To attach the WA hood's 82mm thread to the lens' female 65mm* hood thread, requires stepping rings. I'm using 82mm to 77mm, plus 77mm-67mm … and have ordered a 67mm to 65mm from Russia - the only source found offering 65mm stepping rings. The 12mm extension length was ascertained by trial and error i.e. by gradually cutting back to a length which does not cause any vignetting at small apertures. I measured the OEM Leica lens hood attachment thread as 65mm* … but if as you state it's 64mm will have to source another 67mm to 64mm stepping ring … or remove the annulus from the original hood and screw it onto another plastic anulus secured onto the 82mm hood. I do not have any 64mm or 65mm diameter filters or accessories to check the actual diameter of the lens' outer hood thread. This might appear to some to be a lot of effort but once secured properly it will enable flare free imaging in those situations where there are a lot of extraneous nocturnal illuminations e.g. fairgrounds, city centres, seafront promenades, and particularly London's West End where there's a wealth of interesting night-time subjects. Unfortunately the lens' 60mm filter thread cannot be utilised to attach an accessory hood because at the 70mm zoom setting the lens front is pulled inside the lens mount - thus anything attached of wider diameter compromises focusing. The lens' original Leica hood is rather too small to be effective in all situations - but it was designed to be reversible which enables easy storage. Best wishes dunk Edited December 3, 2016 by dkCambridgeshire 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! This utilises an SRB 82mm threaded 105mm diameter wide angle hood - which has been extended by 12mm by securing (gluing) another section of detergent tub onto the front after first covering same with self adhesive valour. The detergent tub is conical so there's a matching 105mm-ish section where its diameter matches that of 105mm diameter SRB hood. To attach the WA hood's 82mm thread to the lens' female 65mm* hood thread, requires stepping rings. I'm using 82mm to 77mm, plus 77mm-67mm … and have ordered a 67mm to 65mm from Russia - the only source found offering 65mm stepping rings. The 12mm extension length was ascertained by trial and error i.e. by gradually cutting back to a length which does not cause any vignetting at small apertures. I measured the OEM Leica lens hood attachment thread as 65mm* … but if as you state it's 64mm will have to source another 67mm to 64mm stepping ring … or remove the annulus from the original hood and screw it onto another plastic anulus secured onto the 82mm hood. I do not have any 64mm or 65mm diameter filters or accessories to check the actual diameter of the lens' outer hood thread. This might appear to some to be a lot of effort but once secured properly it will enable flare free imaging in those situations where there are a lot of extraneous nocturnal illuminations e.g. fairgrounds, city centres, seafront promenades, and particularly London's West End where there's a wealth of interesting night-time subjects. Unfortunately the lens' 60mm filter thread cannot be utilised to attach an accessory hood because at the 70mm zoom setting the lens front is pulled inside the lens mount - thus anything attached of wider diameter compromises focusing. The lens' original Leica hood is rather too small to be effective in all situations - but it was designed to be reversible which enables easy storage. Best wishes dunk ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/266627-leica-35-704-r-hood-modification/?do=findComment&comment=3160115'>More sharing options...
Bobitybob Posted December 3, 2016 Share #6 Posted December 3, 2016 (edited) Just to be on the safe side checked the measurements again and, you are indeed correct I got the OD of the hood thread at 64.8mm using a digital vernier gauge. However, thinking about this, if you use the inner part of the original hood then it doesn't matter what size the thread of the replacement part is as all is needed is a hole of the appropriate size. I've just measured mine with again with the digital gauge and the hole would need to be 66mm with enough material before the hood starts to form to allow for the screw holes centres being at 68mm. Not sure how you would be able to measure this without actually having the replacement to hand so this may rule out getting something from the internet. With all of this in mind I'm sure your idea of using the various step up rings and modified WA hood is probably the easiest solution. I also noticed as you say that "Unfortunately the lens' 60mm filter thread cannot be utilised to attach an accessory hood because at the 70mm zoom setting the lens front is pulled inside the lens mount - thus anything attached of wider diameter compromises focusing". However with a filter fitted distance is minimal so if you use a filter you may be able to get a 60-62 step-up ring and use a 62mm WA hood. A collapsable rubber one would allow you to shorten it for the 35mm range and extend it for 70mm. Edited December 3, 2016 by Bobitybob 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_j Posted January 3, 2021 Share #7 Posted January 3, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) Great minds think alike. I have done just this for my recently acquired 35-70 and mentioned it to dunk who sent me a link to this thread. It isn't enough just to use a 60-62mm step-up ring, a bit more clearance is needed. This is provided by a 60mm B&W filter which has a female thread at the front. With this spacer barrel movement is unimpeded. The rubber hood can be used fully extended from about 45-70mm without vignetting. With half extension it's good down to about 38mm, 35mm requires it to be fully folded back at which point I don't think it is really doing much. Incidentally, picture is taken on a Leica lensed Huawei phone to comply with forum rules. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/266627-leica-35-704-r-hood-modification/?do=findComment&comment=4111153'>More sharing options...
Simone Rosset Posted February 3, 2021 Share #8 Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) Hi, I'd like to expand the post asking something similar. I just bought a Leica Vario 35-70 f4 , I'd like to find a way to use filters on it (variable nd and polarizing). I already have some 77mm filters so the best solution for me would be to find a way to use them on this lens. Do anybody know what is the best way to adapt the filters to this lens? The main problem is that zooming in, the lens is pulled inside the lens mount, so the possible solutions that I think about are: - using the B&W 60mm clear filter to add space and then put step up rings to 77mm (does the B&W filter create enough space?) - using the 64mm/65mm (?) hood thread to attach step up rings and attach the filters to it. - using a step down ring from 60mm to 58mm and use this size of filters (worst case scenario because I'd have to buy a new set of filters) I'm using the lens with a super 35 sensor camera so I think avoid vignetting should be easier. Do anybody have an experience about any of these solutions or know which is the best way to do it, thanks Simone Edited February 3, 2021 by Simone Rosset Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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