Lens hoods are they necessary and...

[Spots]

how can the cost be justified? I mean I just ran across the lens hood for the 600mm and it cost $577 at B&H...of course I realize that the lens itself is over 7 grand but still! You would think Canon would throw in the hood after spending that much!!! And another thing I know that that little piece of plastic didn't cost nearly that much to manufacture so how can they justify about a 500% markup profit??

Sorry for the rant but I had to ask
Spots

Here's the link in case you think I'm nuts

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=CAET160&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=186977

[Keiffer]

I totally agree with you, I think all lenses are rip offs, especially when you buy a so called "L" lense and it's not calibrated correctly. I understand this with the inexpensive ones but if I were to lay out a couple of grand on a lense(which comes from sand! something we have alot of on this planet) and then they want to stick it to you with a hood that cost more than my existing lenses I think is just highway robbery. But thats just my opinion.

[Jackal]

$577 for a piece of plastic that probably took a few minutes for a machine to create?

That's pure genius!

[ddelallata]

just make one yourself with a plastic bucket (a cream/white colored plastic bucket). :)

[Angel_LCD]

You would think Canon would throw in the hood after spending that much!!!

My L lenses has always included the hood:) So I will assume that it does the same on the 600mm also:)

[Spots]

Angel_LCD that is good to know...so the hood/price I saw advertised is the price of a replacement hood?

Jackel you're right--that is pure genius! Especially since it probably cost about a buck fifty to manufacture lol

[Angel_LCD]

Probably replacment hood yes :) I bought one for the 70-200 2.8L and that costed me about 35$ here in Norway :(

[IanC_UK]

Both my 17-40L and 100-400L came with the lens hood, i believe all the L lenses do, so as suggested above, probably just the cost of replacement ! (big hint, dont lose or break one if you get it !!!! :confused:)

[karusel]

Ah, well, I can tell you a few things. The cost of raw plastic material is about a buck, not sure about the fabric piece on the inside, but it has to be cheap also, however the fabric has to be glued to the plastic perfectly with no wrinkles or any flaws and someone has to do that, that does cost a few bucks. The largest cost derives from the costs to manufacture it, he metal mold (I hope it's the right expression) still, I would say it couldn't cost less than $4.000, and you have to take into consideration, that not very many of those hoods are sold. The stores add about 30% so the minus-the-store would be about $400, the dealers take their cut too, not sure how much, say 5%, the hood needs to be transported to US from Japan, add the import tax, the item is pretty rare so it's pretty much specifically ordered which sort of increases the price. Factory price about $300. It is a nice piece of plastic. :D

[merrrrjig]

I dont think it is a plastic hood! Ive used a 300 f/4 L and it had a metal hood built into the lens!

[Dante King]

300 f/4 has two variants if I remember correctly, one with a built in hood and another with a mountable type.

Canon defiantely includes a hood with the 600mm. Wish they would with all their lenses. Think it goes like this. L= hood. Non L= Hood if over $900. Sheesh!

[tim]

L lenses include the hood, few break them, so making and stocking spares would be expensive.

[ssim]

All of my lenses have come with lens hoods. I have the 500 f4 and the lens hood for it (and the 600 which I've seen but not bought) is not your typical molded black plastic. It is made of metal and is lined on the inside with a fine felt material. Is it worth 577.00, probably not but if you have an upmteen thousand dollar lens you will definitely replace the lens hood if it needs to be. There is too much glass there to be damaged without it.

Canon (and every other retailer in the world) will charge what the marketplace will bear. Holy cow, you're charging me 2000.00 for doing my wedding pictures, isn't that a little excessive. After all you are just using a digital camera and you don't have the cost of film. See where I'm going with this.

I have invested heavily in L glass and don't regret it for a moment. Canon has been most gracious about calibrating my lenses to my body (camera that is). All in all I would say that I am pretty happy with Canon.

[xuxu1]

All of my lenses have come with lens hoods.
My 28-135IS USM did´nt come with a lens hood. I had to buy one seperatly. :evil:

You girls and guys over in the US stop complaining about the high prices for hoods! :oops:

We here in EU countries (good old Europe) pay way higher prices (not only for lens hoods) due to very high taxes. We have to feed a lot of (EU) officials up there in Brussels (Belgium) and they cost a fortune. :evil:

ED

[Bob_A]

The 600mm f4L certainly comes with a hood:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=186153&is=USA&addedTroughType=search

I doubt very much that Canon sells more than a handfull of replacement hoods for this lens or even 600mm f4's for that matter, which accounts for the high price for this bit of plastic. Any time you make a widgit with extremely low volume, the price per unit is going to be unusually high.

[Dante King]

My 28-135IS USM did´nt come with a lens hood. I had to buy one seperatly. :evil:

You girls and guys over in the US stop complaining about the high prices for hoods! :oops:

We here in EU countries (good old Europe) pay way higher prices (not only for lens hoods) due to very high taxes. We have to feed a lot of (EU) officials up there in Brussels (Belgium) and they cost a fortune. :evil:

ED

I dont mind the prices, I mind the fact that unless you buy L, you need to make a sepearate purchase. I had a 10-22 for a while and could not get a hood. That pisses me off more than paying above the lens price for one. Hey canon, read my lips: GET WITH IT AND INCLUDE HOODS WITH ALL YOUR LENSES AND ALTER YOUR DAMN PRICE TO DO IT IF NEED BE!!!

[robertwgross]

how can the cost be justified? I mean I just ran across the lens hood for the 600mm and it cost $577 at B&H...of course I realize that the lens itself is over 7 grand but still!

Have you got that lens? No, I didn't think so.

Why the ranting?

That specific lens hood is not priced on cost-based pricing. Read up on market-based and value-based pricing.

---Bob Gross---

[joeseph]

Ah yes lenshoods... I was thinking about them only yesterday. Glorious sunshine, new camera (that only intermittantly locks up) And wide angle lenshoods that are only marginally useful.
Resulting in either of the following:
http://joebloggs.servebeer.com/potn/IMG_0488-800.jpg
or worse (don't laugh - this could be you!)
http://joebloggs.servebeer.com/potn/IMG_0490-800.jpg

Note to self: order EW-83DII @NZ$81 and throw the EW-83E in the tide.

[Rob612]

My 28-135IS USM did´nt come with a lens hood. I had to buy one seperatly. :evil:

You girls and guys over in the US stop complaining about the high prices for hoods! :oops:

We here in EU countries (good old Europe) pay way higher prices (not only for lens hoods) due to very high taxes. We have to feed a lot of (EU) officials up there in Brussels (Belgium) and they cost a fortune. :evil:

ED

Ditto on everything :(

[Rokkorfan]

The hood for the 600mm is manufactured not from plastic, but from carbon fibre, for lower weight and impact resistance. As a result it is a very expensive item to replace, but yes it does come with the lens.

The comments earlier about the stocking cost of such a low volume item are to the point, but it is also pertinent that Canon probably figure that if you can afford thousands for a lens, and subsequently break or lose the included hood, you can probably afford $577 for the replacement. ie. Canon probably make 100% markup on a $35 hood, and 100% markup on a $577 hood.

All canon L series lenses come with hoods. Normal lenses do not, because Canon knows that 90% of amateurs will never use a hood, and the chance to lower the cost of the lens new by selling the hood seperately means that the lens compares more favourably from a cost perspective with third party offerings.

Best regards,

Antony

[buze]

And the hoods are also designed to be the cheapest possible to manufacturate. When I see the hood of the 70-300 DO I cringe. I mean, petal hoods are designed to be shorter! This hood is really a disgrace, designed to be FAT to accomodate the FAT lens when returned; thing is, I'd rather have a hood do it's job and be the correct size instead of something that looks like a flowerpot lens extention.

[karusel]

ssim, they're calibrating the lenses to your camera body? What does that mean...? Since you've got 4 cameras, that is. And how does that go, do you use warranty for that or do you have to pay?

[ddelallata]

The hood for the 600mm is manufactured not from plastic, but from carbon fibre, for lower weight and impact resistance.

If it is carbon fiber, then it is worth every penny. This is a very strong,yet light material.....practically indestructable. Hooray for Canon for using top quality materials!

[Tom W]

I'm not quite sure that the lens hood for the 600 mm f/4 lens is plastic. I think it's metal, like some of the other super-telephoto hoods. And it is included with the lens, so this is a replacement.

CDS would have an idea of its construction - I think he has the 500 mm lens which is of similar construction.

[bachscuttler]

just make one yourself with a plastic bucket (a cream/white colored plastic bucket). :)
And paint a red stripe around it ;)

[robertwgross]

ssim, they're calibrating the lenses to your camera body? What does that mean...?

Canon can take your unknown lens and calibrate it to their standard camera body. Or, they can take your unknown camera body and calibrate it to their standard lens. After that, then just about any combination of lenses and bodies should work fine.

---Bob Gross---

[Bob_A]

I'm not quite sure that the lens hood for the 600 mm f/4 lens is plastic. I think it's metal, like some of the other super-telephoto hoods. And it is included with the lens, so this is a replacement.

CDS would have an idea of its construction - I think he has the 500 mm lens which is of similar construction.

It's not plastic, and is made of carbon-fiber with a Rayon pile lining.

[Tom W]

It's not plastic, and is made of carbon-fiber with a Rayon pile lining.

Well, that clears that up. Haven't handled one, being financially restricted to the 77 mm filter size category of lenses so far. :)