Lens Shades

[Scott Rosenberg]

good day...

i fully comprehend the benefits of using a good lens shade to eliminate stray light entering the lens. however, is it necessary to use to large, bellows-type compendium shades to effectively accomplish this? other types of shades i've seen used are:

-a piece of mat board on a goose neck -a darkslide -a hand -a hat -a rubber shade that collapses onto itself -a metal shade

i think the first four are rather ineffective, as they only shade a small portion of the circumference of the lens. if the large compendium shades are the only way to go, i'll eat the weight and make room in my backpack. however, if a near identical improvement can be made with the smaller rubber shades or the metal shades, that would be a much better solution for the way i photograph.

in case it matters, i'm using a 110xl, 150 sironar-s, 240a, and next either a 300m or 360 t-ed.

thanks, scott

[Ernest Purdum]

Which lens you're using makes a huge difference. Lens shading for a long lens is easy, but arranging shading for your 110XL on larger formats without the shade becoming part of the picture may be difficult.



The big advantage of the compendium is the ability to use as much shading as possible without intruding into the image space. In using a lens with a much bigger image circle than your format size this keeps a lot of excess light from entering the camera and causing a loss of contrast, or worse, spuious images or flare.



Muxh depends on the sort of scenes you photograph and how much you use your movements. If you take landscapes and use little movements, you can probably use collapsible or metal lens shades on your longer lenses and you'll be fine. If you are shooting exterior architecture and use big movements, a compendium will be your best friend. For portraiture and interior work in general, placement of your lighting is more important than shading.



In using your 110XL, you will probably find it necessary to analyze each setup to see what shading is needed and possible. Look through cut corners on your groundglass to see what can be done.

[jantman]

The first four are based on the idea of a "French Flag" (or, in these days, perhaps a "Freedom Flag"). It's a piece of matte black metal/plastic/other stuff held on a gooseneck or articulated arm. They're more commonly found in studios, used to shield the lens from one specific light source. They can also be used in the field. If I forget to bring my lens shade, I use a darkslide or hat, placed as a flag on the sun side of the lens.

Rubber shades are nice, they're quick to setup, you can keep them on the lens, etc. And they're harder to lose and cheaper to replace.

Personally, I only use rubber shades on my 35mm stuff, they're light and small. For MF and LF, I use Cokin filters (P-series) and have the Lee compendium shade for the filter holder. It fits all of my MF and LF lenses, from the widest to the longest. I can bend one side a bit more to get a little more shade. And it stores almost flat.

[Leonard Evens]

I improvised lens shades for my Toho FC-45X from black cardboard. They fit on the front standard. I made two which suffice for my lenses from 75 mm to 300 mm. They are light, fold up easily for transport, and as far as I can see do everything a lens shade should do. And they are pretty inexpensive. They probably do take a little longer to set up than an expensive compendium shade would, but I only use lens shades when I really need to. With subject lit from the back or side, it is often not necessary.

[Scott Rosenberg]

thanks for all the great advice. in my own searching, i came across a very useful article, especially for those using their hand, dark slide, or hat as a shade. it's a very easy read and can be found here:

http://www.vanwalree.com/optics/lenshood.html

not wanting to lug around the compendium hood, i think i'll first start with collapsible rubber hoods and do some comparison shots with those, no hood, and a bellows-type set-up fashioned out of a box or mat board. if i see conclusive proof that the extra shading from the bellows type set-up is beneficial, i'll eat the weight and pick one up. otherwise, i think i'll stay with the smaller, lighter, collapsible type.

thanks again, scott