[samski_1]

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.

---

I would like to purchase a hood for my 100-300mm zoom and would like to know which style (petal or circular) is better suited. Is there are particular depth the hood needs to be for a zoom of this size? Would a cheap collapsible rubber one do the job?

Sam

[Nowhere Matt]

I have an inexpensive, collapsable rubber hood that I will use on my Pentax F 100-300mm. Seems to work well. I also have a rubber hood for use on a 70-210 that functions well. However I cannot give ideas towards the different design advantages and disadvantages.

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

I recommend a hood like this one - it is made of metal and is very solid. They are made in China and I've seen them available from other sellers, so you can look for a seller close to you that carries them.

The petal hoods are only meaningful for wide-angles, which are more vulnerable to vignetting. For telephotos, you just want a circular hood.

[Ira]

I recommend a hood like this one - it is made of metal and is very solid. They are made in China and I've seen them available from other sellers, so you can look for a seller close to you that carries them.

The petal hoods are only meaningful for wide-angles, which are more vulnerable to vignetting. For telephotos, you just want a circular hood.

I'm looking for a seller of hard metal lens hoods like this, but for the OP, this linked listing is incorrect and giving erroneous information:

58 is for the filter diameter only, what size it screws into. However, the depth/length of this linked hood is worthless for my 24mm Vivitar with that same 58 thread, because forget about simple vignetting--I would lose 1/4 of my frame.

So the screw-in spec is one thing, but the LENGTH of the hood has to work with your lens's focal length.

For example, I just bought a classic/original Takumar hood for a 135mm. I can use it on 135, 150, and way and beyond.

But I can't use it on a lens that's LESS than 135, because, for example, on a 50mm with a wider field of view, the interior surface of the hood would become part of the picture.

[samski_1]

the LENGTH of the hood has to work with your lens's focal length.

This is what I was referring to when I asked for comments about the depth required for a hood. Is there a measurement required from the lens to the tip of the hood for a given focal length - in this case a 100-300mm zoom?

Thanks for your replies so far.

[Ratmagiclady]

I'm looking for a seller of hard metal lens hoods like this, but for the OP, this linked listing is incorrect and giving erroneous information:

Well, if I'm reading the OP's intent right, this (the 58mm tele hood) should work OK on a 100-300, especially on a digital sensor. (I'm speaking anecdotally, basically, Samski, but you should be pretty safe there. There are a few variables about it: essentially it has to do with angle of view and how wide the actual element being covered is, as well as the diameter of the hood. )

Definitely isn't going to work on a 24mm of the same filter size, though: you'd need something less deep. (If you're looking, Ira, this seller carries just about everything in S&W hoods, which I favor when I can't find round hard plastic. Looks like he has a couple of styles of wide ones, even. They're good quality for the money, probably as much as you'd need (Occasionally a finish blemish turns up, but they're usually actually kind of pretty. We used to stock the brand in a store where I worked, a long time a go. He's a good seller, too. Cause he stocks this brand, he's pretty much my go-to-guy for hoods and step rings. )

For the OP: Petal hoods usually aren't the way to go for teles: if so, the only one you'll likely find that's good is one made by the lens' manufacturer for that lens: most aftermarket petal hoods are made quite short. If you like the idea of a rubber one, the kind sold as three-position ones are probably the only ones deep enough to provide good coverage for a longer lens.

They can be convenient except that they tend to be kind of big in diameter, which is a drawback for me because I usually like to carry my lenses front-down in bags. I have one for a rather hood-fussy wide to-tele zoom which I actually call 'The Front Porch' (it's a much bigger size than you're looking at, but you actually can't see me when I'm shooting behind it. Really does the job well, though, for that sort of lens. )

I'd choose the metal one for that 100-300, though, nice and deep.

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

I'm looking for a seller of hard metal lens hoods like this, but for the OP, this linked listing is incorrect and giving erroneous information:

No, I'm not giving erroneous information. The OP asked for a hood for a 100-300 lens. I linked to that particular page for several reasons:

- I purchased several hoods from that seller and I am happy with their build and with the seller's service
- I linked to that hood because it's a "tele", not because it has 58mm filter thread
- That hood is the one I'm using on my FA 100-300 f/4.7-5.8 lens on DSLRs. I think it should work on full-frame too, but I only checked it on film with a 200mm lens. I did use a similar hood on my 50mm on APS, so I'd be really surprised if it wouldn't work at 100mm on a film camera.
- the seller has hoods for other filter sizes and for other focal lengths

If you're looking for hoods for other lenses, here's some additional information that migh help you choose:

That line of hoods comes in three varieties: wide-angle, standard, and tele - they only differ in length, with teles being the longer and wide-angles being the shortest - also, all are circular models. I'm not sure exactly what focal length ranges they're each appropriate for and on APS cameras you can use "tele" hoods on lenses that are not teles, so it matters whether you want the hood to work on APS or on 35mm. You might want to consider getting a "standard" hood with a wide-angle over 28mm on APS, or a "wide-angle" hood if you're going to use such a lens on film.

I mostly bought "tele" hoods, but I didn't test at which focal length they become inappropriate on APS/FF. If you tell me a focal length you're interested in, I can try to test if a tele hood will work with that.

Also, a nice thing about this seller is that he also offers hoods with caps, so you can keep them permanently on the lens. The hood will still accept filters, but they'll be of the next larger filter size.

Finally, a word of warning on metallic hoods in general - don't screw them too tight, or they might get stuck. These hoods in particular are pretty solid and they're not made of a metal that you can easily bend.

Hope this helps.