Lens hoods

Frequent readers of my blog will know that I like to tinker with lens hoods. Here is a summary of some of the lens hood solutions I like.

Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 pancake

This lens does not come with a hood at all. While a hood is probably not much needed from a stray light perspective, I still like to put a hood on my lenses for protection against objects accidentally touching the front lens element.

My favourite solution is to put a 46mm to 37mm step down ring as hood. This gives some basic protection of the front lens element, while keeping the overall package compact.

I've checked that there is no extra vignetting caused by the step-down ring.

In addition, you'll need a 37mm front lens cap. Both can be gotten from various auction sites for about US$10 in total.


This lens features a traditional focus mechanism, in which the whole lens assembly moves back and forth. Adding extra weight to this assembly is generally not a good idea. However, the step-down ring doesn't add that much weight. Less than a glass filter would, anyway.

Another solution is to get a 46mm metal screw in hood designed for Leica Summicron:

While this hood looks stylish, I think it adds too much bulk. Besides, you might not be able to fit the front lens cap inside it.



Panasonic Leica Lumix DG 45mm f/2.8 1:1 macro

This lens does come with a hood, however, I am sad to say that I find the hood completely hideous:

This hood does look stylish, and reminds me of the older Leica hoods. However, it is much too wide, and could have been used for a wide angle lens. But this lens is a short tele. So the hood does not do a good job of keeping stray light out.

I prefer a hood that is a narrow as possible, while still not inducing any extra vignetting. I found the solution I like by adding three extra elements to the front lens thread: First a 46mm stand off ring (glassless filter), then a 46mm-37mm step-down ring, and finally, a 37mm-28mm step-down ring:

I was almost a bit surprised when I verified that this combination does not add any extra vignetting. But the front lens element of the 45mm macro has a rather narrow diameter, so I suppose it makes sense.

This "hood" does not add any extra diameter to the lens, which is good. In addition, you'll need a 28mm front lens cap. Such a cap is pretty inexpensive.


Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8

In a move which has annoyed quite some fans, this lens is not sold with a hood included. There is a hood you can buy from Olympus, which fits in to the bayonet mount. However, it is quite expensive.

I bought a collapsible rubber hood for screwing into the 37mm front threads. It works great:

This rubber hood cost me US$13, including shipment from China.



Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 pancake

Just like the 20mm pancake, this lens does not come with a hood. Again, I've used the same solution as with the 20mm pancake lens: A 46mm to 37mm step down ring as hood:

In this case, I had bought a grey ring by a mistake, so I had to paint it black with enamel paint. No big deal.


This lens features internal focusing, so I am not afraid of putting some extra stuff onto the front lens thread.

Panasonic Lumix G 45-200mm f/4-5.6 Mega O.I.S.

This lens does come with a hood, and I think the hood is very well designed:

The only problem I can see, is that it is awkward to insert and remove the front lens cap.

I still changed this hood, since it was a tad bit too long for my camera bag. I got a 52mm screw in metal hood:

This alternative hood is probably not as good for protection, but is is more practical to use, and it's easier to add the front lens cap after use.



Other lenses

The kit zoom lenses generally have well designed hoods, and I see no reason to replace them.

Home made stand off ring

A stand off extension ring is a ring for attachment to the filter threads of a lens, and allows for mounting something further away from the lens. It has the same diameter threads on the outside as on the inside.

This kind of ring has many uses. One can be to offset an attachment to the Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens. Mounting a step up ring to the Lumix 20mm is not advisable, since it will cause the lens to jam when powering down. The front lens assembly is withdrawn into the chassis when powering down, which will cause anything wider than a normal filter to jam. But using a stand off ring between the lens and step up ring solves this problem.

Stand off rings are uncommon, and can even be pretty expensive. What's far more common and inexpensive, though, are UV protection filters. These can be bought from various auction sites at a small cost. You can remove the glass from these, and what remains is a stand off ring.

Here is an example UV protection filter:

Let's break the glass off it:

Be sure to use eye protection, and gloves. I used gloves then breaking the glass, but not in this illustration photo. Note that I put the ring into a plastic cup, to avoid having the shattered glass flying all over.

Breaking the glass takes a surprising amount of force. The round shape of the glass makes it extra strong. This is the reason why airplane windows are rounded: A rectangular shape is much weaker, especially in the corners. Hitting the glass towards one side may be an easier way to break it.

Once broken, remove the shattered remains:


It turns out that the glass was held in place with a threaded locking ring. Unscrewing this ring would have released the glass, without having to break it! Anyway, this was a cheap filter, so no harm done.

What I have now is a stand off ring, used to mount front lens accessories at an offset from the lens.

Here is an application of a stand off extension ring. A 52mm screw in hood is attached to the Lumix 20mm f/1.7 Pancake lens. As the lens has 46mm front filter threads, a step up ring is needed. However, connecting a step up ring directly to the lens is a bad idea due to the jamming risk discussed above. Using a stand off ring between them solves this problem.

Of course, attaching all this stuff to the moving front assembly of the lens is not a good idea. If you want a hood, it is better to use a light, low profile one.