All lens hoods are not used with every type of lens. Rather each of them has a specific use. But most of us don’t know the differences between these shapes and why they are designed in that way.
There are square, round, tulip, bayonet lens hoods available. Petal-shaped lenses go with wide-angle lenses, while telephoto lenses will come with cylindrical hoods. Again, tulip lens hoods are shorter than the round ones and have curved notches to block out light.
Let’s have a look at different lens hood shapes and their comparison below.
What Is A Lens Hood?
A lens hood is a plastic or rubber, or metal made instrument to secure the camera lens from damage and increase photo quality sometimes.
It is an optional element for the camera but using this will increase camera performance a lot. It has to be attached in front of a camera lens.
Why Use A Lens Hood?
The purpose of using a lens hood is straightforward. It mainly does two things. One is improving the photo quality, and the other is giving the lens physical protection.
It reduces stray light, which can cause a lens flare. By resisting the direct light source, it can produce visibly richer colors and higher contrast and eventually improve your picture quality.
The Lens hood also protects the lens a lot from scratches and damage.
It actually works as an outer shell of the lens, and because of that, the lens gets protected if it slips from your hands.
So, although it is optional, you obviously have to go for a lens hood for the safety of your lens and to improve your picture quality.
What Are The Types Of Lens Hoods?
There are two main types of lens hoods: cylindrical and petal lens hoods.
Lenses come with a lens hood according to their uses.
For example, cylindrical lens hoods are dedicated to those lenses that capture telephotos where fields need to have a clear view.
For a wide-angle view, petal shapes do really well. Because it is optimized in that way to reduce vignetting, we can find other shapes as well from these categories.
From the cylindrical shape type, you can find lens hoods like round or square. From petal shape type, there are lens hoods like tulip or bayonet.
Let’s see the differences among those types of lens hood.
Detailed Comparison Between Different Lens Hood Shapes
Different lens hoods are made for different purposes. Some lens hoods are perfect for close-range lenses, and some are for a wide-angle.
You just have to choose for which reason you are buying a lens and then attach the perfect lens hood for you.
Square Lens Hood Vs Round
| Features | Square lens hood | Round lens hood |
| Shape | Square shape | Circular shape |
| Position | Have to go in a particular position | You do not have to go in a particular position |
| The difference with the frame of a camera | No | Yes |
| Other names | – | Tube lens hoods |
| Blocks light properly | Yes | Sometimes fails to block for the shape |
As the name suggests, the round lens hoods have almost a circular shape. That’s why they are sometimes referred to as circular or tube lens hoods.
Round lenses don’t have to go in a particular position for this circular shape. But as the frame of a camera is rectangular, sometimes round lens hoods fail to block all flares.
To solve this problem, we have square lens hoods. You have to position this frame properly to avoid vignetting issues. Then it will be able to cut all unneeded lights and flares.
Read more about: Square Lens Hood Vs Round
Tulip Lens Hood Vs Round
| Features | Tulip lens hood | Round lens hood |
| Shape | Combination of round and square lens hoods | Round shape |
| Size | Shorter than the round ones | Longer than the other |
| Suitable for | Wide-angle lenses | Telephoto lenses |
| Other name | Petal lens hood | tube lens hoods |
Tulip is actually another name for the petal lens hood. They are a combination of round and square lens hoods.
These lens hoods are shorter than the round ones and have curved notches to block out light.
This design helps them to block all ambient light, and the notches increase their coverage area. That’s why you should use these tulip lens hoods with wide-angle lenses.
One important fact about tulip lens is that they need to be put on perfectly. If they’re rotated incorrectly, part of the hood will be visible in the photo.
On the other side, the round lens hood has a very simple design. If you use them with wide-angle lenses, they won’t be that effective.
The reason is the hood will be visible on the corners of your photos and will make the corners dark which is called vignetting.
However, they are good for telephoto lens i.e. lens with longer focal lengths. That’s because you don’t have to worry about vignetting with longer lenses.
Unlike the tulip lenses, round lens doesn’t have issues with rotating.
Read more about: Tulip Lens Hood Vs Round
Bayonet Vs Tulip Lens Hood
| Features | Bayonet lens hood | Tulip lens hood |
| Structure | come screwed up in front of the lens house in different shapes | Combination of round and square lens hoods |
| Rate of protection | Less | More |
| Adjustments | Less | More |
Bayonet lens hoods are basically a type of lens hoods that are named because of their set-up characteristics.
It actually comes up bundled with high-end lenses and cheap camera accessories for low budget camera lenses.
You can arrange this lens hood according to your needs and control the shadow and light glare and have a good picture.
But the main priority of a bayonet lens hood is to protect your lens in the very first place.
On the other hand, a tulip lens hood is cleverly designed to have a clear but high framed picture. It has a short hood with curved notches.
For this, you can easily block out lights but can still preserve the high framed wide-angle picture.
Tulip lenses are actually adjustable and can produce good quality pictures than others with a decent rate of protection. Again, there are some bayonet lens hoods which is tulip-shaped, but they are not that much adjustable as tulip lens hoods.
Read more about: Bayonet Vs Tulip Lens Hood
Which Lens Hood Should I Buy?
Most of the time, you don’t have to think about the lens type at all. That’s because every lens comes with only one hood, which is compatible with it. And that hood type is optimized for that lens i.e. goes with its focal range and other features.
If you lose the hood or need a new one, you just have to check the model number of the hood, which can be attached to the lens.
However, as I’ve mentioned that you’ll get petal-shaped lenses with wide-angle lenses, while telephoto lenses will come with cylindrical hoods.
Some Recommended Lens Hoods
This one is suitable for Fujifilm X100V camera as the Original Fujifilm lens cap can be mount onto the lens. The non-glare matte finish prevents reflections and stray light.
This one is suitable for telephoto lens, standard lens and wide-angle lens. It can reduce the interference light to enter the camera lens and protect the camera lens. It also comes with 52mm Camera Lens Hood Square Protector Accessory Kit.
This set is compatible with all 58mm lenses as it is known as 58MM Tulip Flower Lens Hood, 58MM Collapsible Rubber Lens Hood, Premium MagicFiber
This one is suitable for Nikon HB-N106 Bayonet Lens Hood for 18-55mm AF-P & 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR AF-P DX. It can protect lens and block stray light from entering lens.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
u003cstrongu003eWhat is best shape for lens hood?u003c/strongu003e
The shape of the lens hood depends on the requirements of the lens. However, the cylindrical lens hood generally works well and gets the job done. For the prime or telephoto lens, this lens hood will completely block stray light.
u003cstrongu003eWhat are the different types of lens hoods?u003c/strongu003e
There are mainly two u003cstrongu003etypes of lens hoodsu003c/strongu003e: u003cemu003ecylindrical and petal lens hoods.u003c/emu003eu003cbr/u003eCylindrical lens hoods are dedicated to those lenses that capture telephotos where fields need to have a clear view. For a wide-angle view, petal shapes do really well.
u003cstrongu003eDoes lens hood shape make a difference?u003c/strongu003eu003cbr/u003eYes, the different shapes work for different lenses.
Tulip lens hoods have curved notches to block out light. And the notches increase their coverage area. On the contrary, you can’t use a round lens hood with a wide-angle lens as the hood will be visible on the corners of your photos and will make the corners dark which is called vignetting.
u003cstrongu003eWhy are some lens hoods petal-shaped?u003c/strongu003e
Petal-shaped hood is also known as tulip lens hood. Since these hoods are shaped as tulip with a combination of round and square lens hoods, the hood is named as this way.
Conclusion
Lens hood is one of the most considerable things about your camera. You may have a very expensive camera set up with high-end lenses.
But if there are no lens hoods, your pictures will not be that much brighter, colorful or clear, and the lens can be damaged.
The article discusses various lens hood shapes and why they are used. If you’ve read the article, you’ll be able to point out the differences and avoid having the wrong type of lens hood the next time.
Have a good time with your photography!