bayernfan Posted September 27, 2019 Share #1 Posted September 27, 2019 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) During the 90s and 2000s, it seems designing quality lens hoods was not particularly important to Leica. I thought the 12526 was bad. Well, not really "bad", just not anywhere near the standards one would expect for a $3,000 USD Summicron ASPH. I mean, it's plastic, rather cheap feeling, and features no cutout (which would certainly benefit it). At least it mounts and secures with relative ease. And then I got hands on the 12589 (a new one). We all know that it's plastic and squeaky, so I won't belabor those points. What shocked me is just how terrible it is to mount and secure. The tabs on the side are very fiddly, push too little and it won't mount, push a little too hard and guess what... it won't mount! The locking ring is unnecessarily stiff and just feels terrible to use. This is what Leica supplied with a $5,000 USD lens. I'm glad they've finally sorted it out with the latest generation of screw on metal hoods, but my lord... some of these plastic things are atrocities. Edited September 27, 2019 by bayernfan 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 27, 2019 Posted September 27, 2019 Hi bayernfan, Take a look here An Era of Bad Hoods. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Pyrogallol Posted September 27, 2019 Share #2 Posted September 27, 2019 Buy a cheap Chinese screw in hood, ones I have bought have been fine and only about £3 including postage all the way from China. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted September 27, 2019 Share #3 Posted September 27, 2019 If you can live with them, vented screw-in Chinese metal hoods come in virtually all sizes, do the job (in most cases, except wides), cost nothing and bend on impact without damaging the filter threads (in my experience, limited to a single occurrence, but a rather nasty one). Equally cheap hood caps are also available, but are particularly unattractive, DSLR-style ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 27, 2019 Share #4 Posted September 27, 2019 Another vote here for cheapo Chinese vented hoods. I swapped my big plastic v1 28mm summicron asph hood for one that will take a screw-in filter without having to unscrew the hood from the lens. Works fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted September 27, 2019 Share #5 Posted September 27, 2019 Have you ever bumped to child’s head with metal hood? I don’t mind plastic hoods after it. I’m not sure 39mm filter size 35 lens needs cut out in the hood. My Summarit 35 hood has none. Zero problems. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted September 27, 2019 Share #6 Posted September 27, 2019 8 hours ago, bayernfan said: During the 90s and 2000s, it seems designing quality lens hoods was not particularly important to Leica. I thought the 12526 was bad. Well, not really "bad", just not anywhere near the standards one would expect for a $3,000 USD Summicron ASPH. I mean, it's plastic, rather cheap feeling, and features no cutout (which would certainly benefit it). At least it mounts and secures with relative ease. And then I got hands on the 12589 (a new one). We all know that it's plastic and squeaky, so I won't belabor those points. What shocked me is just how terrible it is to mount and secure. The tabs on the side are very fiddly, push too little and it won't mount, push a little too hard and guess what... it won't mount! The locking ring is unnecessarily stiff and just feels terrible to use. This is what Leica supplied with a $5,000 USD lens. I'm glad they've finally sorted it out with the latest generation of screw on metal hoods, but my lord... some of these plastic things are atrocities. Matter of tastes. The current screw-on metal hoods don't make enough shade for the most part and in case of drop or bump they don't protect the lens as well as earlier plastic hoods IMHO. Having used all possible hoods on my 35/2 v4 and 35/2 asph for 30+ years, my favorite remains the 12526 for what it's worth. BTW the 12589 hood is not made for 35/2 but for 35/1.4 asph lenses. There is a very nice metal substitute to it (12466) but it is expensive, hard to find and doesn't offer more protection vs flare or damages than the stock 12589. Rather less so given that the 12589 has a locking ring on purpose because the earlier 12588 tended to fall off too easily. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkcampbell2 Posted September 28, 2019 Share #7 Posted September 28, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) On 9/27/2019 at 7:23 AM, Ko.Fe. said: Have you ever bumped to child’s head with metal hood? No, never, not even close... I do agree that with the high price of Leica lens they should at least be kid safe. 🤕Cheers, jc Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted October 1, 2019 Share #8 Posted October 1, 2019 Am 27.9.2019 um 14:59 schrieb lct: There is a very nice metal substitute to it (12466) but it is expensive, hard to find... Yes it is nice, though "expensive" might be a gross understatement. You could get a little factory for chinese hoods for the same amount. Since the 35mm Summilux shares it with the 28mm Summicron the burden is lightened: 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! 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/301908-an-era-of-bad-hoods/?do=findComment&comment=3829208'>More sharing options...
ChicagoMatthew Posted October 1, 2019 Share #9 Posted October 1, 2019 Anyone have a link for these cheap hoods? I need one for my 28mm elmarit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSS Posted October 1, 2019 Share #10 Posted October 1, 2019 1 hour ago, ChicagoMatthew said: Anyone have a link for these cheap hoods? I need one for my 28mm elmarit. I bought mine on eBay. eBay no longer has that purchase info. There are many sellers, look for a high rating. The last time they were less than $2 each including shipping. I bought a silver one for about $4 as I recall I also own the Leica 12504, 12585 and 12586 clip-on hoods and hoods for the MATE and 21/2.8 Asph. For 39mm and 43mm threaded lenses I use the cheap ones. I 2 occasions they saved my lens as they crumpled much like a modern car. I grabbed a 28/2.8 Asph by the Leica clip-on hood and the lens fell. $300+ later it was good as new. Yes I know better, just a bad grab. The screw in China cheap lens hoods are great for this lens as it is very short and you can make a bad grab with this lens as I did. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayernfan Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share #11 Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) edit. can delete this post. Edited October 2, 2019 by bayernfan Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted October 2, 2019 Share #12 Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) On 9/27/2019 at 2:23 PM, Ko.Fe. said: Have you ever bumped to child’s head with metal hood? I don’t mind plastic hoods after it. I’m not sure 39mm filter size 35 lens needs cut out in the hood. My Summarit 35 hood has none. Zero problems. I fully agree, not only for the child’s head but also as a shock absorber for the lens if it should fall somehow, for instance on a stone floor. It will save your filter screw-thread more often than with a metal hood. Btw another thing which does not correspond with the price of their lenses are the rubber hood-caps from Leica, which are very prone to loss. The times that I, my children or my wife had to return on our path to collect the rubber cap or people coming after me to return it, are countless. Falling under the seat of your car or between the seat and the mid-console is also a nice one Edited October 2, 2019 by otto.f Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted October 2, 2019 Share #13 Posted October 2, 2019 Best place for current hood caps is the lens box to me but i would let them in the bag at least. It's the way newbies like truly yours used to use the rare hood caps we had in the eighties. They were made for hoods reversed for transportation, not to use them during shootings. BTW there was no hood cap for the Summicron 35/2 v4 then. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted October 2, 2019 Share #14 Posted October 2, 2019 The Summicron 35 iv has a hood that protects reasonably well against flying mud, never thought of needing a cap. The metal hoods of the last decade stand wide open. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted October 2, 2019 Share #15 Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, otto.f said: The metal hoods of the last decade stand wide open. +1 but there was (and still is IINW) a hood cap to use them in reverse position for transportation. Edited October 2, 2019 by lct Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted October 2, 2019 Share #16 Posted October 2, 2019 12 hours ago, RSS said: I grabbed a 28/2.8 Asph by the Leica clip-on hood and the lens fell. $300+ later it was good as new. Yes I know better, just a bad grab. The screw in China cheap lens hoods are great for this lens as it is very short and you can make a bad grab with this lens as I did. Screw-in metal hoods are great if you don't drop or bump your lenses. Otherwise they can damage the filter thread of the lenses to the point that filters cannot be used anymore on them. A way to reduce that risk is to screw the hood into a filter if the latter has an internal filter thread, which is the case of several Leica filters, not all of them though. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted October 2, 2019 Share #17 Posted October 2, 2019 5 hours ago, otto.f said: I fully agree, not only for the child’s head but also as a shock absorber for the lens if it should fall somehow, for instance on a stone floor. It will save your filter screw-thread more often than with a metal hood. Btw another thing which does not correspond with the price of their lenses are the rubber hood-caps from Leica, which are very prone to loss. The times that I, my children or my wife had to return on our path to collect the rubber cap or people coming after me to return it, are countless. Falling under the seat of your car or between the seat and the mid-console is also a nice one I just use hood and filter. And close aperture. I only touch hood cap twice, on purchases and on sale 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stein K S Posted October 4, 2019 Share #18 Posted October 4, 2019 On 10/2/2019 at 11:16 AM, lct said: Best place for current hood caps is the lens box to me but i would let them in the bag at least. It's the way newbies like truly yours used to use the rare hood caps we had in the eighties. They were made for hoods reversed for transportation, not to use them during shootings. BTW there was no hood cap for the Summicron 35/2 v4 then. +1 When receiving a new lens, a filter is put on... and both lens caps and hood caps are immediately put away in their boxes. No cap I have ever seen can be trusted to stay on in any way anyway. PS: my 35/2 v4 late nineties came with a hood cap... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted October 4, 2019 Share #19 Posted October 4, 2019 1 hour ago, Stein K S said: my 35/2 v4 late nineties came with a hood cap Did you buy the lens new? Just curious. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stein K S Posted October 4, 2019 Share #20 Posted October 4, 2019 20 minutes ago, lct said: Did you buy the lens new? Just curious. Yepp 😊 But again... rather useless as the way this «rubber» cap is supposed to stay on, is entirely insufficient with two small «tabs» only to hook on to the outside of the hood. But as said... even if it worked I would not care to use it... 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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