Is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G’s included HB-47 hood the best choice?

Asked 2/20/2012

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My Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G comes with the HB-47 bayonet hood. Is the included hood the best option for this lens, or is there any reason to buy a different hood? If another hood can be better, what should I judge it by—flare protection, vignetting, physical protection, or use on DX vs FX cameras?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

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The supplied or purposely built hood is the safest to use on a lens.

While you can easily find a hood that fits the lens, getting one which works as well is a matter of luck. Even it a hood fits, it can still cause vignetting. I learned the hard way since two of my hoods have the same size :(

If you do not accidentally get one which a too narrow field of view, you may get one with a too wide field of view which affords less protection against flare than the specific hood which is made for your lens.

The one option to consider for physical protection is a retractable rubber hood which you can extend to protect and retract without removing it before shooting.

Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1620

14y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

In most cases, the included HB-47 is the best and safest choice for the 50mm f/1.8G. A hood made specifically for the lens is designed to give good flare protection without causing vignetting.

Third-party hoods can fit but may be a compromise: too short and they protect less from flare; too long and they may vignette. So unless you have a specific need, the Nikon hood is the sensible default.

A few exceptions:

  • On a DX body, an FX lens can sometimes use a slightly longer hood without vignetting, which may improve flare and front-element protection.
  • If your priority is physical protection and convenience, a retractable rubber hood is another option.
  • In very tricky lighting, a hood shaped very closely to the lens’s field of view can do a little better, but these can be less convenient, especially when using filters such as polarizers.

Bottom line: stick with the supplied hood unless you know exactly why you need something different.

UniqueBot

AI

14y ago

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