Come on, I did a search on "85 lens hood" on this forum--pretty general, and I should have found something, but 0 results came up.
I just got my 85f1.2L II and the lens hood is a joke! Loose and badly mounted, it rotates with the focus ring, which is "fly by wire" and weird. I can live with the focus ring, but I can't live with the lens hood. It wobbles, rattles and generally gives the impression of being in a state of about to fall off any moment-ness. Has anyone come up with a fix for this obvious faux pas from Canon? Or is everyone who owns one of these $1700 lenses in such awe that they just ignore the problem? Geez, I can even live with the slowest focus motor on the planet (I'm glad I waited for the II version...) but the hood?
OK, I've ranted enough. If noone has a fix, I'll have to come up with one myself. Darn it.
Ah, yes! Of course, a rant such as mine deserves a "duct tape" response. I have already ordered a B&W metal 72mm lens hood and a Hoya 72mm rubber hood, so there's 2 options more expensive than tape.
If you're going to rant about such a wonderful lens and don't like the gaffers/duct tape response, how about a FREE solution . . .
. . . don't use the hood.
If you don't like electronic focus, why on Earth did you buy it? You could have saved a lot of money by getting the 85mm f/1.8, but you still wouldn't like the hood.
If you want something really nice and solid, get a Contax Metal Hood #4 with a 72/86 ring and K-84 metal cap. The Contax hood's diameter is only 3.5" (almost an inch narrower than the supplied Canon hood) but it works perfectly with no vignetting. Will post a photo tomorrow.
YES, THE HOOD FOR THE 85 1.2 IS NOT WORTHY OF THIS GREAT LENS!
Drives me crazy. I tried a rubber folding hood, (Photodiox, 72mm) It's pretty good, but I don't like the fact that it's attached to the traveling part of the lens, so it puts weight on the focusing mechanism, and that makes me nervous. So I stick with the flimsy squeeze-tab-attaching standard hood. Why oh why didn't they make a nice snug bayonet mount hood for this lovely lens? Sigh.
I actually like how nicely it attaches and comes off. That said, like you Roy, I don't like the fact that its attached to the travelling part of the lens either. That makes me nervous as well for precisely the same reason as you.
I like the hood. Easy to attach and remove. What do I care if it rotates? It's not sculpted, and the front element doesn't rotate which is what matters, if anything.
How about a generic metal screw-in hood from ebay with a 72mm thread size? I got a couple of those for my C/Y 50 and 85 manual primes and they are quite nice. There are various options available. Also rubber ones, but I donīt like those.
Well, my sarcasm about the focusing was lost on one poster. But back to the hood--it's exactly the fact that a screw on hood attaches to the front focusing element that bothers me about that solution, too. I use I dont mind that the hood is poorly attached other than the risk that it will come off--very unlikely with bayonet mount hoods, but it seems quite possible with this squeeze tab hood.
I think the gaffer tape idea sounds good. Or electricians tape as it has that nice satin black sheen to it.
I have no probs getting it into my bag - along with my 24L. The 24L is on the side, the 5d+85L is in the middle and a blower on the other side of the 85L.
gandini wrote:
Well, my sarcasm about the focusing was lost on one poster. But back to the hood--it's exactly the fact that a screw on hood attaches to the front focusing element that bothers me about that solution, too. I use I dont mind that the hood is poorly attached other than the risk that it will come off--very unlikely with bayonet mount hoods, but it seems quite possible with this squeeze tab hood.
I think the gaffer tape idea sounds good. Or electricians tape as it has that nice satin black sheen to it.
Why use your "rant allotment" on something so small? Canon has lots of other questionable decision opportunities to "stroke out" about, so use your allotment wisely.
BTW - I find the hood to be very nice, but none of my 85L's has given me any trouble using them without the hood so it's a real possibility for you too.
I like the stock 85L hood too, it's great, super fast to put on and off, plenty secure, and not on the lens elements itself (like a screw-in filter thread hood would be). I wish their other hoods were easy to put on and off like that, the speed/convenience of that is better than the bayonet-style hoods, IMNSHO.
Now then, the hood sucks, the finish is ugly rubberized black hard to keep clean, lottsa CA wide open, AF drive is snail-like, the focusing group extends past the outer barrel, MF is electronic, the lens is overweight, the rear lens element is vulnerable to damage, the lens mount index is near useless, the price is too high.....
Why on earth would anyone contemplate buying such an unmitigated loser of a lens ?
