Lens hood

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A lens hood used on the Canon EF 70-200mm lens. Note that from this angle none of the glass lens surface is visible, as the line of sight is blocked by the lens hood.

Canon lens with and without hood

In photography, a lens hood is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare.

The geometry of the lens hood can vary from a plain conical section (much like a lamp shade) to a more complex cut sometimes called a flower, petal or tulip hood (as shown in the picture), which prevents the hood from blocking the field of view of the lens and producing vignetting. Flower shaped lens hoods are most often used on zoom lens as a normal lens hood may block the field of view on some zoom settings.

Lens hoods are more prominent in telephoto lenses because the field of view has a smaller viewing angle than of wide-angle lenses. For wide angle lenses, the length of the hood (away from the end of the lens) cannot be as long as those for telephoto lenses because of the viewing angle.

A matte box is a larger device that essentially does the same thing and also mounts in front of the lens, but usually includes adjustable fins called French flags. These can be moved and adjusted to reduce lens glare. A matte box is an important device for quality photography and film making.

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