Lens shade or just using the hand

[Tin Can]

I am guilty of buying those cheap Chinese screw-on hoods. And using them!

49mm hood fits my 150 and 210 mm lenses, plus is threaded to fit my old Pentax filters.

I don't know how they ship from Hong Kong to my door with USPS for a total delivered price of $5.00!

It fits in my shirt pocket.

Maybe it does nothing, but it makes me feel better...

+1

That said, I do carry a small Voss "filter holder" with barn doors on it. It folds up into a 3-inch square is less than 1/4-inch thick folded. This I use when I have the time, especially when sunlight is striking the front element of the lens. I don't think these are made anymore, but they appear used from time to time. I like that it clips on quickly with a spring clip and is fast to set. I have a compendium that I've never used just because it's too heavy and bulky to carry into the field. If someone came up with a lightweight compendium that was easy to mount and adjust, I'd likely be a customer. Till then, it's the Voss barn doors.

And, I use the darkslide propped over the lens a lot as well.

Best.

Doremus

[Brian Ellis]

Hand is fine if all you want to do is keep direct light from striking the lens. But if you want to shield the lens from indirect diffuse light, e.g. the kind of light you get on a cloudy but bright day, a compendium shade will do that while your hand won't. The problem with the only compendium shade I owned (Linhof) was that it was kind of cumbersome and time-consuming to put on and take off so I had a tendency not to use it.

[Heroique]

...Would love to learn more about Lee hoods for LF camera, very interesting option, especially the ones with filter holder included.

The wider compendium of the WA version certainly makes life easier the wider your lenses are, and the greater your movements.

This becomes even more important when you use a filter holder. If you use a holder, the shade is designed to slide into the holder’s outer-most slot. This pushes the shade out in front of the lens – more so than if you were using just the shade by itself. The more filters in the holder, and the greater your movements, the more the shade tends to get in the way. My widest lens is 110mm (on 4x5), so this isn’t a common problem with most of my landscape shots, but often, I do find myself working close to the limits w/ small to moderate movements. Being able to tailor each compendium corner is a great help.

When using the shade by itself (on an adaptor ring), you can rotate it to match your GG orientation. When it’s on the holder, you can’t rotate the shade, but you can rotate the holder. I think Lee makes an adaptor that allows you to turn the shade independent of the holder, but I imagine that pushes the shade out in front even more.

[Joseph Dickerson]

For illustration, here’s the shape of Lee’s wide-angle (non-slotted) version.

It’s very flexible and a joy to shape. ;^)

-----
Countless times have I discovered better light that came right after, or soon after the light I was chasing in a hurry. I can thank my Lee compendium for slowing me down to recognize moments like this. I can also thank it for causing me to miss the best light. One mental habit that’s good to break is believing the fleeting light you see, or anticipate, will not improve even more a little later. You win some, you lose some, no matter what your shading habits are.

Same unit I use in the field except mine fits a Cokin P filter holder, although in the studio I use a Sinar bellows and rod set up. However, if the light is really changing rapidly I revert to using my hat. Wish I knew 50 years ago that wearing hats caused baldness...

Heroique, how can you use your hand when it's all sticky from the apple fritters at Cinnamon Twisp?

JD

[Heroique]

Heroique, how can you use your hand when it's all sticky from the apple fritters at Cinnamon Twisp?

That’s a great, practical tip for all who use their hands in Washington state – take your shots in N. Cascades NP before you go to the bakery in Twisp, not after.

[wiggywag]

The wider compendium of the WA version certainly makes life easier the wider your lenses are, and the greater your movements.

This becomes even more important when you use a filter holder. If you use a holder, the shade is designed to slide into the holder’s outer-most slot. This pushes the shade out in front of the lens – more so than if you were using just the shade by itself. The more filters in the holder, and the greater your movements, the more the shade tends to get in the way. My widest lens is 110mm (on 4x5), so this isn’t a common problem with most of my landscape shots, but often, I do find myself working close to the limits w/ small to moderate movements. Being able to tailor each compendium corner is a great help.

When using the shade by itself (on an adaptor ring), you can rotate it to match your GG orientation. When it’s on the holder, you can’t rotate the shade, but you can rotate the holder. I think Lee makes an adaptor that allows you to turn the shade independent of the holder, but I imagine that pushes the shade out in front even more.

Should I go for wide angles adapter rings, or will standard do fine? Im thinking of buying the wide hood with 2 filter slots in it.

[Heroique]

Should I go for wide angles adapter rings, or will standard do fine? I’m thinking of buying the wide hood with 2 filter slots in it.

Here’s an image to help – the ring underneath is the plastic (but high quality) regular ring; the one resting on top is the metal (aluminum) wide angle ring. I use both – the plastic ring for my 150 and 240, the metal WA ring for my 110mm. I think the metal version is worth the extra money no matter which lens you use, but both work well. (Remember to think through how to manage GND filters with the slotted hood.)

[drew.saunders]

Should I go for wide angles adapter rings, or will standard do fine? Im thinking of buying the wide hood with 2 filter slots in it.

For my 80mm, the wide angle adaptor ring is necessary. For my 120, it's mostly necessary, and for my 135, it's not necessary, but the 120 and 135 are the same filter diameter, and I tend to take one or the other, so the 135 gets used with the wide angle ring. Eventually, I'll cough up for a 2nd ring.

[Tony Karnezis]

Will my images benefit from using a compendium/lens shade compared to only using my hand? I use both multicoated and single coated lenses, but no uncoated.

Consider this article by Robert Zeichner, a member of the forum.

http://razeichner.com/RAZP_large_pix/Shade_pg_1.html

He made pairs of 4x5 B&W negatives using either a round rubber lens hood or a barn door shade (no negs using his hand as a shade or without a hood), on both modern multicoated lenses and older single coated lenses, photographing a variety of subjects under different lighting conditions. He then developed and printed the negs similarly such that any difference in outcome could be attributed to the type of hood.

His conclusions: In almost every case, the barn door hood resulted in increased tonal range, approaching between 1/2 and 1 full contrast grade, particularly with single coated lenses, but also noticeable with multicoated lenses.

I'm guessing a round lens hood is a more effective shade than your hand. So if you think your images could benefit from increased tonal range, then it's probably a good idea to give a barn door hood a try.

[Tin Can]

Tony,

Thanks for the link to Robert's outstanding article and test. It sure will influence my hood use going forward. I particularly like that his article included sources and part numbers. Makes it easy for us.

I met Robert Zeichner last January for a few minutes, a very dedicated photographer.

Thanks Robert and Tony!

Consider this article by Robert Zeichner, a member of the forum.

http://razeichner.com/RAZP_large_pix/Shade_pg_1.html

He made pairs of 4x5 B&W negatives using either a round rubber lens hood or a barn door shade (no negs using his hand as a shade or without a hood), on both modern multicoated lenses and older single coated lenses, photographing a variety of subjects under different lighting conditions. He then developed and printed the negs similarly such that any difference in outcome could be attributed to the type of hood.

His conclusions: In almost every case, the barn door hood resulted in increased tonal range, approaching between 1/2 and 1 full contrast grade, particularly with single coated lenses, but also noticeable with multicoated lenses.

I'm guessing a round lens hood is a more effective shade than your hand. So if you think your images could benefit from increased tonal range, then it's probably a good idea to give a barn door hood a try.