Peter Jordan Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I was in Whitby today, it is the first of the biannual "Goth Weekends". Crowded streets, plenty of people in Goth outfits happy to be photographed, dull grey sky, intermittent showery rain. Many, maybe most, photographers with big DSLRs with long zooms have the LH on backwards. Why??? In all weathers I have a LH on the right way round. It acts a crash barrier, can add a bit of contrast, and does not get in the way of my fingers turning lens rings. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just uncool?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I was in Whitby today, it is the first of the biannual "Goth Weekends". Crowded streets, plenty of people in Goth outfits happy to be photographed, dull grey sky, intermittent showery rain. Many, maybe most, photographers with big DSLRs with long zooms have the LH on backwards. Why??? In all weathers I have a LH on the right way round. It acts a crash barrier, can add a bit of contrast, and does not get in the way of my fingers turning lens rings. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just uncool?? I was out last weekend and said the same thing to my wife, there seems to be so many people wandering the streets with the lens hoods on backwards..my lens hoods stay firmly in place unless I am using my lee filter system or B & W 6 or 10 stopper as already mentioned the hood offers good lens protection against damage and flare....so maybe we are both uncool... Uncool or not my lens hood stays on the lens .... The right way round.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigzagmtart Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I usually assume the LH backward crowd either have no idea what a LH is for or maybe they just were in a hurry to shoot and forgot it. I try to be charitable and believe the second. After all my wife reminds me constantly of all the things I forget. I remember shooting in the Nevada desert in mid afternoon with briliant unforgving light and watching two youngsters charge up and fire off a dozen snaps pointing right into the sun with the LH on backward. Likely go home and buy a new camera because the one they had takes lousy pictures with all kinds of lens flare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jordan Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 I was in Whitby today, it is the first of the biannual "Goth Weekends". Crowded streets, plenty of people in Goth outfits happy to be photographed, dull grey sky, intermittent showery rain. Many, maybe most, photographers with big DSLRs with long zooms have the LH on backwards. Why??? In all weathers I have a LH on the right way round. It acts a crash barrier, can add a bit of contrast, and does not get in the way of my fingers turning lens rings. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just uncool?? I was out last weekend and said the same thing to my wife, there seems to be so many people wandering the streets with the lens hoods on backwards..my lens hoods stay firmly in place unless I am using my lee filter system or B & W 6 or 10 stopper as already mentioned the hood offers good lens protection against damage and flare....so maybe we are both uncool... Uncool or not my lens hood stays on the lens .... The right way round.. And, I forgot to say, it also helps to keep rain off the lens, especially on a damp showery day like today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Brook Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 It's a trick seasoned street photographers use to fool the public into thinking that they are just harmless fools with a dslr. The Leica used to do the job, especially as many of its users made a point of behaving like demented idiots, ducking and diving in the streets of Paris and NYC. Now everyone knows the Leica costs as much as a Golf Cabriolet (that is: second hand Golf Cabriolet). Ever see anyone shooting ducks with the lens cap on? Watch out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Mayall Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Have been seeing this for a couple of years now and have asked myself the question, the only answer i could come up with, is the hood is usually larger than the diameter of the lens, therefore it may offer better support for some people. Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I was in Whitby today, it is the first of the biannual "Goth Weekends". Crowded streets, plenty of people in Goth outfits happy to be photographed, dull grey sky, intermittent showery rain. Many, maybe most, photographers with big DSLRs with long zooms have the LH on backwards. Why??? In all weathers I have a LH on the right way round. It acts a crash barrier, can add a bit of contrast, and does not get in the way of my fingers turning lens rings. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just uncool?? I live on a tourist street in Little Italy, and I see this silliness all the time. Last summer, pointing at her LH that was in the reversed-for-storage position, I asked a woman with a D700 if she knew what that gizmo was for. She had no idea. I asked "may I," and reversed the hood and explained what its functions were. She was astonished. I see turned-around lens hoods everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nacke Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I've occationally wondered about these "Durocks" (Russian for "not very bright") but then again people take a lot of bad photos with some really good equipment.... All of my glass has hoods attached, in the direction that works, and "Duck Taped" The only time that there would be a reason to reverse the hood would be if you were using the "Pop-Up Flash" built into a camera body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPL Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Personally do not use lens hoods other than to keep rain off and also for night shots. On full frame they introduce another layer of vignetting. I prefer to manually shade the lens to increase contrast. I am however on a tripod taking my time. If I head into the streets I sometimes pop one on. If your shooting straight into the sun then there is not a lot of point having a hood on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Crean Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Are these the same people who wear a baseball hat back to front then shade their eyes with their hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpics Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I live on a tourist street in Little Italy, and I see this silliness all the time. Last summer, pointing at her LH that was in the reversed-for-storage position, I asked a woman with a D700 if she knew what that gizmo was for. She had no idea. I asked "may I," and reversed the hood and explained what its functions were. She was astonished. I see turned-around lens hoods everyday. So true. The same happened to me only last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 As a hat wearer I'm less in need of a hood. One did save a dropped lens of mine for the first time the other year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Walker Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I've also noticed many users with their hoods on back to front even on the sunniest of days.. My thought is that the lens usually come packaged with the hood this way to keep packaging small so 'certain' buyers think this is how is should be used!!! Keeps me amused...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I see people shooting with their Nikon cameras, with the little plastic covers still on the screen on the back of the camera... which must be like looking through a dirty windscreen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Baker Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Back-to-front hoods is nothing new. We did this in the 80s when they suddenly grew and their designs more laughable. Personally, I used to store it on the barrel backwards to decrease the lens' prominence while still accessible when needed. Actually, I rarely use them at all now. Lost many of them in grass/sand/water anyway. Have a good week out there in the middle-lane. Rgds, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Brook Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 As a hat wearer I'm less in need of a hood. One did save a dropped lens of mine for the first time the other year. I have sometimes been threatened by hoods when out and about, so for me a backwards hat makes a lot more sense than a forward hood - to hide my camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Lowe Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I suppose one reason for having the hood backwards is if you are using a polarising filter - difficult to adjust with the lens hood on the front (well, it is on my camera), and you may as well store it backwards on the lens as anywhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abiyoyo Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I suppose one reason for having the hood backwards is if you are using a polarising filter - difficult to adjust with the lens hood on the front (well, it is on my camera), and you may as well store it backwards on the lens as anywhere else. Yes, at least it was in my case being impossible to move the Cir Pol with the hood in its right position. Other case for me to have it backwards, now that I do not longer use the Cir Pol, is being lazy. If I use the EF 70-200mm with the hood forwards and 1 minute later I have to change the lens with my 16-35 and put it back to my bag I do have to change the hood backwards to fit in the bag. Of course if I have the sun in front of me I put it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Are these the same people who wear a baseball hat back to front then shade their eyes with their hand? The turned-around baseball cap seems to have disappeared into fashion history here in NYC, Phil. Also, I was in a nice Chinatown dim sum restaurant yesterday and noticed that I was the only one wearing my Yankees cap indoors . . . so that does not seem to be the style anymore either. (I took it off.) I am fairly amazed at some of the reasoning behind forum members' ways of dealing with lens hoods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dov makabaw Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 The only time that I shoot with the lens hood in the storage position is when I am using a circular polarising filter with the sun behind me. Otherwise I use for protecting the glass. dov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Is it because the lens comes new in its box like that and the buyer knows no better? It certainly makes zooming awkward (and manual focus impossible (but then the numpties won't be doing that) on most of the lens I have (I always use hoods, and the right way round). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Brook Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 On a more serious note (I hadn't realised this was a serious topic of concern - more fool me). I'm with Richard on this: there is absolutely nothing wrong with having the hood the wrong way round in a public place. DSLR zooms are nasty looking enough, far too heavy and conspicuous. I hate them, and prefer, whenever possible, just to have an old-fashioned prime, 35mm if full FX, 24mm for FX cropped to 5:4 (which, in my view is a much nicer and more elegant format). The hoods only go on one way and they are made of real metal. Stopped down to 5.6 on a D800 these lenses give me fantastic resolution, and make shooting a lot more decisive - no farting about going in or out until whatever it was has gone and will never return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I was in Whitby today, it is the first of the biannual "Goth Weekends". Crowded streets, plenty of people in Goth outfits happy to be photographed, dull grey sky, intermittent showery rain. Many, maybe most, photographers with big DSLRs with long zooms have the LH on backwards. Why??? In all weathers I have a LH on the right way round. It acts a crash barrier, can add a bit of contrast, and does not get in the way of my fingers turning lens rings. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just uncool?? Peter, I was there Friday and Saturday, by lunchtime it`s shoulder to shoulder in the narrow streets; and that`s just the photographers! If they all had lens hoods attached they`d be clashing like rutting stags. With so many agency and news togs in Whitby for the Goth weekend, it`s nice to make a sale via Alamy news: one yesterday in The Star i`m told, also had sales from the two Goth weekends last year via Alamy news. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K8inLA Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I keep mine on outdoors to avoid bumps, bangs and weather. If it had been a sunny day, I would put it down to trying to shoot fashionably overexposed shots with lens flare, but on a rainy day, I would just attribute it to lazy camera care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Phillips Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I also keep a lens hood on to protect against knocks and weather, but store the camera in my bag with the hood reversed. Once or twice I've grabbed my camera out of the bag as it is, to start shooting immediately and the reversed hood has completely got in the way. I can't access the zoom and the damn thing catches on my fingers while I'm working. It's never stayed reversed for long. Don't these people find it a problem? I'd far rather take a couple of seconds to fit it correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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