Newbie question.. what's the difference with those lens hoods?

[kwang0429]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3Dphoto%26field-keywords%3DCanon%252520ES-71%252520II%26store-name%3Dphoto/002-5671485-0037659

I am looking for a lens hood for my 50mm 1.4 and I saw a flower type and the regular type on the above link... I was wondering what's the advantage having a Flower shape lens hood comparing to the regular one? thanks.

[zebedeu]

I'm no expert, but here's my take on it:
The lens hood serves as a way to protect your lens from stray light as much as possible without entering the lense's field of view.
You'll notice that your pictures are wider than they are tall i.e. they're not square, which means that if you're trying to cover the lens as much as possible without having the hood obstuct the frame, you're allowed to have a longer hood at the top and bottom than on the sides.
That's where the flower-like pattern comes from, in essence the hood obstructs the lense's field of view, it just never gets recorded on film (or the sensor).

Some lenses have rotating front elements, that's why not all hoods are flower-shaped.
Hope that helps.

[Citizensmith]

I think the petal hood may be an error. Probably just got the wrong photo attached to it. Notice they both have the same designtator - ES71 II. The difference in price is likely to be because they are coming from different suppliers. As you'll see if you check a few other places, the ES71 II is not a petal hood.

[kwang0429]

I think the petal hood may be an error. Probably just got the wrong photo attached to it. Notice they both have the same designtator - ES71 II. The difference in price is likely to be because they are coming from different suppliers. As you'll see if you check a few other places, the ES71 II is not a petal hood.
cool, that's exactly what I thought, thanks!

[ijohnson]

The petal hood looks WAY cooler.

And what zebedeu said.