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I was just wondering how often do you put your lens hood?

I know it is a fact that using a lens hood will minimize lens flare, which occurs when bright light reflecting inside the camera and optics causes spots and streaks of light to appear in the photos. It also adds an extra protection from accidental impact.

For me, I don't use the lens hood that often unless I am shooting directly into the sun!

Shooting directly into the sun would invalidate a lenshood anyway

Perhaps not when shooting "directly" into the sun

I guess my questions is: Do you only use the hood in extremely bright sunshine?

I hardly use it because it always get in the way. Also, if you use your built-in flash of your camera, would the hood cause a strange shadow?!?

I use mine if the sun is very high in the sky, say between 11:00 am and 2 pm. And yes, the hood may throw a shadow with on board flash - depends on the lens and hood. But if you're using flash then I'm guessing the sun isn't high in the sky (except for fill flash).

I tend to use lens hoods most of the time.
can help reduce stray light, but also to give me added protection from sticks and things which might otherwise hit my filter or front lens element.

I have taken shots with the kit lens and internal flash and found that the flash is blocked a bit from the lens barrel. hood fitted or not.

I would normally have an external flash fitted and therefore this isnt a problem to me.

Steve

I use mine mainly for protection of the lens since i usually bump my camera around quite alot, the lens hood is always on even at night

Lens hood is your friend, my lens fell onto my hood but instead of a broken peice of glass at the front I just had a scuffed lenshood.

I have never taken mine off apart from when i use a polorizer filter, you cant adjust the filter with it on very easily at all.

Technik wrote:Perhaps not when shooting "directly" into the sun
I guess my questions is: Do you only use the hood in extremely bright sunshine?

No. It's recommended that you use a hood when there's the possibility that a light source not in the frame strikes the front element of the lens at an obtuse angle. This can cause lens flare and/or reduce optical contrast inside the lens.

I normally shoot with the lens hood on even if there is little chance of the above occurring - the lens hood can save accidental damage to the front of your lens - it's saved my kit lens from destruction once so far (but need a new hood).

This article covers oblique angle flare in more detail (and with a diagram).

The lens hood supplied with the Nikon 18-70DX will cause visible flash shadows when the lens is used @ 18mm, and remains visible up to around the 24-30mm mark.

D.

Technik, Here are some more answers that might help you - to a thread that I started almost a year ago...

http://www.dslrusers.net/viewtopic.php?t=3972

Always. For me, it serves the purpose most people buy "protective" UV filters for - ie. preventing damage to front lens element. I figured if it provided mechanical protection to my lenses and has the potential for improved image quality, what's the harm?! If I don't have it on I'll still have to lug it around in my camera bag, so either way I'm carrying it.

Also I think the application of a reversed lens hood may have saved the life of my 18-70 once. (Lesson learnt: lenses aren't supposed to be bounce on asphalt)