Customer Reviews

Canon EW78BII Lens Hood for EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Canon SLR Lens

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Hoods offer several benefits to the photographer. Primarily the hood shades the lens from stray light that may result in an unwanted discoloration or hazing of the image, or the appearance of lens flare. Shading your lens helps improve contrast and image quality. A hood is not required to eliminate these problems, as any item used to shade the lens will provide the same protection from stray light. The hood is convenient in that it is built to offer protection while ensuring that it will not inadvertently find its way into your image.

Photographers often state the protective abilities of a hood as a reason to have one. This hood being a solid petal shaped offers limited protection from keeping moisture and wind blown debris off the from lens element. When in place, the hood can protect the lens from impacting solid objects. Being shallow and petal shaped, this type of protection is also limited. Even if the protection is limited, replacing a damaged hood is usually cheaper than repairing the lens and easier to replace.

This hood is manufactured for the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom and normally is not included with the lens when sold new. Amazon often suggests purchasing one with your lens, and is worth considering.

Since the hood is wider than the lens; it can easily be stored attached in a reverse position. This doesn't add to the length of the lens, but does make it wider by about an inch. An inch may not seem like a lot, but in a tightly packed camera bag, it is huge. This lens itself isn't unusually wide so the extra inch may not be a problem.

While the protective benefits exist, they are secondary and limited. I find the impact the hood has on my image quality to be the more convincing reason to use a hood. Considering the impact on image quality and the low cost as compared to my other camera equipment (except for a lens case), purchasing a hood is money well spent.

PROS:
Improves contrast and image quality
Reduces lens flare problems
Offers limited protection to the lens

CONS:
Takes up more space in your camera bag to store with the lens

Pros:
- Reduces flare and ghosting when shooting in bright light.
- Helps protect your lens from dirt and scratches.
- Somewhat protects the lens in case of a fall. Better to break the hood than the front element.
- Makes you look more like you know what you are doing and helps keep others from carelessly walking in front of you.

Cons:
- Will increase lens movement in windy situations, kind of like a sail on a boat.
- Takes up more room in your bag, even when reversed they still add to the diameter of the lens.
- People take more notice of you, will help to blow your cover if you are trying to keep a low profile.

I just recently got this lens hood and took it out to a park to try it out. I thought my EF 28-135 took good shots before... I was pleasantly surprised at the results of using this relatively cheap add-on. In a bright environment lens flare can be present in a subtle way, taking out some shadow depth and "bleaching" out a shot. This hood helps prevent that and really had an impact on my shots.

The hood itself is well built, made of high end plastics and the inside has a soft fabric coating to absorb light and protect your lens. It locks onto the front of the lens quickly and is easily removed when not wanted. You can also use this hood in conjunction with a lens filter, so you don't have to compromise between the two.

Again, you can't beat the bang for buck value here.

This lens hood does it jobs as advertise. Many good points: Block light, Sturdy construction, felt liner for anti-reflect, look good, ...
One very bad point: If the Circular Polarized Filter is to use, then there is a serious problem to rotate the filter if this lens hood is attached.
Canon make this hood. Canon make the Circular Polarized Filter for this particular lens too. Canon did not think the combination of these two together in their design.

I've had quite a few hoods, but this was my first "genuine" Canon hood (my previous lenses had been Sigma lenses).

First: do you need a hood? Instead, ask yourself: do you shoot outside, ever? If the answer is 'no', then you likely won't need the hood. If the answer is 'yes' then you will need the hood or to jerry-rig something equivalent (tip: a blackened index card and a rubber band can take the place of a hood in a pinch, and is much easier to apply than holding your hand out to shade the lens).

Second: build quality. There's not much to a hood. It just needs to cast a shadow, and, honestly, it's not hard to design something that does that. The "trick" to a hood is that it can be easily applied to a lens (because you don't want to stow your lens away with the hood extending beyond the front element). Canon's lens hood mount is different from, say, Sigma's (Canon hoods have two interlocking tongue/groove sections instead of three as with the Sigmas), so your third-party hoods won't work here. Where the Canon hood shines, compared to Sigma's own hoods and a third party hood I bought for my other Canon lens, is build quality. This is a single-piece hood. There is no flimsy attachment between the hood proper and the manufacturer-specific mount ring (obviously, because Canon dosn't need to support other manufacturer's mounts). The anti-reflective "velvet fuzz" coating on the inside adds an extra touch of class to the device.

Overall, it's not hard to fill the role of a hood, functionally. Canon really went the extra step here, delivering a high-quality tool which takes secondary aims (durability, reflections from shiny black plastic) into account.

You will likely want a hood for your lens. You owe it to yourself to get the Canon hood here.

As I stated in my review of the 28-135mm IS USM lens, this Lens Hood is a must. Surprising, the quality of the hood surpasses its relatively inexpensive price.

The interior felt tended to pick/up some unwanted debris, but I found a good Oral B tooth brush (no floss needed) to fix the problems. Hey, we live in a filthy world!

The only real negative I will mention: not one Camera store in NYC stocks the Lens Hood. There I was with a piece of cardboard in my hand trying to block out the sun - looked real Photo 101. I recommend getting the Lens Hood if you plan on purchasing the 28-135mm while on vacation, etc.

Original lense hood is worth of money compared to cheaper copies. Difference is in inner surface of the hood. Black velvet will not reflect light at all. If you are not picky with that feature, go for cheaper ones.

I couldn't give this product lower than 4 stars because it does exactly what it advertises it does, protects your lens and helps shield unwanted light. I also could not give it 5 stars since I don't know what kind of crack Canon smokes to charge their customers as much as they do for a ring of plastic? Not a good way to build brand loyalty.

I can't say much to argue the point that some others have mentioned about a cheaper version (from another manufacturer) being just as good as this model. I own only Canon lenses and I have always purchased genuine Canon Lens Hoods for them. This Canon EW78BII is a perfect fit for the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras. The hood seems pretty well made (although it is plastic), installs easily and fits perfectly.

I have only shot a few pictures since installing this lens hood, but I can honestly say that it offers a bit of improved contrast and definately cuts back on stray light hitting the lens. I particularly like the petal shape of this hood, vs a typical cylinder shape found on most larger zoom lens hoods. I have shot a handful of pictures using a flash, and there is no vignette shading anywhere on the photos. This is a wonderful feature, since it looks as though the hood will not need to be removed for indoor/flash photos. As far as protection goes, I don't know as though this hood will prove to be much of a lens saver. Still, every little bit of added protection helps. As others have pointed out, this hood WILL increase the amount of kit storage space in your bag, but if reversed at least it does not add extra height to the lens.

Overall I would recommend this lens hood, for improved picture quality, reduction of lens flare, and for some minor protection to the lens itself. I do agree that Canon has overpriced this lens hood, but what doesn't Canon overprice? All in all it is a well built, solid investment.

I've used lens hoods on all of my lens since I first started doing pro photography almost 30 years ago. I feel the hoods protect the front of the lens. I also always have a UV filter on my lens, which would also protect the glass, but I feel the hood would go a little farther in protecting the lens from bumps and falls. This petal shaped hood for the Canon 28-135 lens will protect the glass and help keep stray light off my subject.I've alway used Canon hoods on my Canon lens. True, they cost a little more, but they are made so well, I think it's worth it.