I was thinking of adding a 24 or 28 to my R kit and was suprised at the lens hood design of the newer lenses. They look like a waste of plastic.They don't extend past the front element enough,and i would think if you fitted a filter it would probably stick out past the hood.

-- Tim (timphoto@ihug.com.au), August 11, 2001

Answers

The hood for the 24 is the same as it has been since its inception in 1974. It certainly protrudes well past any filter, plus it will accept series filters itself. The hood for the latest 28 protrudes about 1cm past my B+W UV filter. I liked the hood on the earlier 28 better, but the 48mm filter size on that lens was a pain. Also, though the earlier 28 was an excellent-performing lens, the newer version requires less stopping down in the close range for good corner sharpness.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), August 11, 2001.

Thanks for that Jay.

-- Tim (timphoto@ihug.com.au), August 11, 2001.

Tim: I hate the lens hood on the 24mm- it bayonets over the outside of the lens & will reduce the painted surface on the lens to a scratched mess in no time. I am actively looking for a screw-in replacement shade. Good luck Dante

-- Dante M. Torrese (dmt2@columbia.edu), August 12, 2001.

I've used the bayonet-on shades on several R lenses and a couple M lenses for many years and have not seen any wear on the mounts as a result. On Hasselblad CF lenses, yes, but not on the Leicas. If you want to try a screw-on shade for the 24 your best bet is a 60-62 step- up adaptor and a generic rubber "wide angle" shade in 62mm. Personally I find those don't do much shading. The OEM Leica shades are really designed to give the maximum shading with no vignetting.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), August 12, 2001.

For the record, I love the built in shade on my 28mm R. I have never had any problem with flare and it is an excellent lens. Mind you, the old 28mm with the separate hood was excellent too, but the filter size was a pain. Mind you I am exception in this forum - I much prefer built-in hoods and would go out of my way to buy a lens which has one built-in.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), August 13, 2001.

I agree with you Robin I also would choose a lens with built in hood over one without but on some lenses i don't think they are as good.Eg I have a Noct with built in hood and my mate who i borrow some lenses off has one with the seperate hood.His hood is a lot wider and longer than mine and would definately be more efective.I find if i am traveling with a lens that has a removable hood then i keep it in place a don,t use the lens cap. I like the new style slip on covers for the square M hoods but the one on my friends 24mm does not click down fully.His 35 asp (older one) has a clip on one which is much better.Only small things but they do influence me when buying.

-- Tim (timphoto@ihug.com.au), August 14, 2001.

Tim

I think you are right - clip ons are usually more effective - but what a pain. With my 40mm Rokkor, I don't use a lenshood except for a step up ring and never noticed any problem. One advantage of reflex cameras is that you can see flare in the viewfinder and can take measures to avoid it, on an r/f this is not possible.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), August 15, 2001.