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Does Oly 12-40 Need a Hood?

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Mathieu18

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I know all lenses benefit, but some need them much more than others. How does the Oly fare in this regard. Just got the lens, about to order some other stuff, wondering if I should pick up a hood. Thanks.

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My experience at the wide end with the sun or other bright light source just off frame the lens will flare noticeably and it's better to have a hood than not. The petal-style hood has its limits and as it's zoomed longer it's possible to shade the lens past what the hood provides (can be done manually when using a tripod). This is the case with any zoom hood, of course.

Compared to the 12-50 the 12-40 exhibits more flare, perhaps a product of its more complex design. I always use the hood outdoors.

Cheers,

Rick
 
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Yes.
 
Did your 12-40 not come with a hood?? Mine did.
 
Skeeterbytes said:
My experience at the wide end with the sun or other bright light source just off frame the lens will flare noticeably and it's better to have a hood than not. The petal-style hood has its limits and as it's zoomed longer it's possible to shade the lens past what the hood provides (can be done manually when using a tripod). This is the case with any zoom hood, of course.

Compared to the 12-50 the 12-40 exhibits more flare, perhaps a product of its more complex design. I always use the hood outdoors.

Cheers,

Rick
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zuikowesty said:
In addition to everything Rick said, I always use the hood for impact and scratch protection of the front element, and protection from raindrops landing on the front element in wet weather. Even indoors, I will leave the hood on, sometimes reversed if using flash to reduce shading.
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+1 to this. For a wide angle zoom this is in fact what I consider the prime function of a hood. For actual flare protection and the intermediate or longer focal lengths the hood is practically useless and I'll shade the lens with my hand (I'm often tripod mounted). But even the wide angle petal hood is good protection for both the front element and the front threads in the event of a drop or collision with something.

The JJC hood with the door for rotating a polarizer is an excellent idea! Would be even better on longer hoods for telephotos.
 
I carry my EM10 / 12-40mm with a shoulder sling type strap, where the camera hangs under the opposite arm of the shoulder strap. I find that when I attach the lens hood and let it hang naturally, it is almost guaranteed to fall off when walking around. The way the button is positioned on the hood and the angle that the lens bumps into me from the sling made it fall of 2 or three times right after I bought the lens. Luckily my girlfriend (now fiancee) always quickly spotted that it had fallen off, and I never lost it - I'll need to find a better way to secure it, but as of now, I never shoot with the hood. I would if I was using the more traditional neck strap, however.
 
It's funny such a welcome feature is so rare. Only one lens in my kit, the 35-100/2.0 has the filter access port and while I don't often use a pola with that lens it sure makes adjusting it a snap, considering the large, deep hood. (Fun fact utterly off topic: 35-100 and 300 Pro take the same filter size. Think of the savings owning both!)

Cheers,

Rick
 
Ron Evers said:
Did your 12-40 not come with a hood?? Mine did.

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Mine came with a hood but it was lost on a hike and I had to replace it and went with a cheaper alternative as Olympus hoods are sooooo overpriced!
 
brad1242 said:
I carry my EM10 / 12-40mm with a shoulder sling type strap, where the camera hangs under the opposite arm of the shoulder strap. I find that when I attach the lens hood and let it hang naturally, it is almost guaranteed to fall off when walking around. The way the button is positioned on the hood and the angle that the lens bumps into me from the sling made it fall of 2 or three times right after I bought the lens. Luckily my girlfriend (now fiancee) always quickly spotted that it had fallen off, and I never lost it - I'll need to find a better way to secure it, but as of now, I never shoot with the hood. I would if I was using the more traditional neck strap, however.
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Interesting - I carry it this way quite a lot, and have never had it come off. Mine is often quite tough to remove for reversal due to dust/grit accumulating the grooves, which may help keep it on. So splash some mud on yours, rinse it off, and it will be good to go! ;)

Just kidding, not a good idea with your E-M10.
 
but I just ordered it! Thanks for the lead. Cheers
 
mring1 said:
but I just ordered it! Thanks for the lead. Cheers
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Great. Got mine the other day. Just as good as the original but now I do not have to ever remove my hood to fuss with a CPL filter 🤗
 
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