Which Affordable Compendium Hoods For ARCA 6x9?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Large format photography : One Thread

I'm looking for the compendium hood to use with my arca swiss FC6x9 and I find that arca hood is too expensive. I'm interested in LEE Hood and wonder if I can use TOYO compendium hood for 45A with my arca. I think TOYO is better than LEE because it can be fliped upward to access shutter and filter. So I would like to hear some suggestions from you. If you think there are other alternatives, please let me know. Thanks.

FYI, my kit contains 45 - 75 -135 lenses. I use it with 67/612 roll film exclusively.

-- Wisawa S. (aperture@newmail.net), July 23, 2000

Answers

I don't have the Lee hood so this is conjecture. I do have the Lee foundation kit though.

There are two types of hoods. One type has a single filter slot and mounts to an adapter ring that screws into your lens. Another type mounts to the front of the foundation filter holder (which mounts to the lens adapter ring). You should have full access to filter insertion and shutter controls in either case.

-- BRad Evans (bevans@best.com), July 23, 2000.


After facing a similar dilemma myself I purchased a Lee Proshade 84. This is a self-supporting bellows shade designed to fit into the Cokin P adapter. It has it's pro's and con's:

I cannot use a standard threaded filter with the cokin filter adapter attached.

Although it adjusts quickly, there's no scale for each focal length. I set the lens to the smallest aperture I sighted backwards through the lens along a corner of the lens shade. I then collapsed the shade until I could see the ground glass corner. As I extend out the shade after attaching on a lens, I "measure" extension along my index finger.

With an adapter ring on each lens in my kit, I can swap the shade, filter adapter & any "P"-compatible filters all at once.

One of the best features is the price. They can be had for about $65 from B&H.

An aside: Since I am an engineer in my "day job", I designed a rail- mounted compendium hood for my 4x5 Arca Swiss for about $60 in parts. A kindly machine shop made the parts au gratis. I personally think bellows lens shades are grossly overpriced for what you get.

-- Ted Brownlee (omfbh@aol.com), July 23, 2000.


TED,

Can Your proshade 84 be used with wide angle lens without vignetting? Since my wide lens is 45mm for 612, this is my concern. And I don't sure either if standard lee hood will cause vignetting with my widest lens. Any comments would be appreciated.

-- Wisawa S. (aperture@newmail.net), July 23, 2000.


In 4x5, I use the standard Lee hood with lenses over 90mm. The wide angle Lee hood works with lenses 90mm or wider. For 6x12, you pretty much need the same horizontal coverage as 4x5, so I believe the above would hold. For 6x7, you *might* be able to get by with the standard hood for all but the 45mm. The Lee hoods work OK. My biggest problem is that the shades aren't really designed for lenses which allow (sometimes substantial) movement. To keep from vignetting, you end up pointing the shade in the direction of movement by compressing that side of the shade. The result is your not getting as much shading of the lens. Almost all the shades on the market work in a similar way.

-- Larry Huppert (Larry.Huppert@mail.com), July 24, 2000.

If you think that the 45A hood is an affordable option, then I don't even want to know what that Arca hood costs!

I almost posted a question here asking if there were a more affordable option to the Toyo 45A hood.

I finally got a used but like-new 45A hood for half the B&H price, but it still seemed like an awful lot of money for a small bellows!

-- John H. Henderson (jhende03@harris.com), July 24, 2000.



You may be pushing it to use the Lee hood with a 47mm lens with 6x9 format. the Lee attaches to the outer slot of the Cokin filter holder, so it's a ways out from the lens. I use this setup primarily on my Bronica system, where my widest lens is 50mm on 645 format. I have a Busch Pressman 6x9, but haven't used it in quite awhile. A Lee filter holder my work if you only use one set of slots to keep the profile low. the new Cokin X-pro size may also work, but I don't know if Lee has built a shade to fit it yet.

Now that you've got my curiosity up, I am going to find the specs. on the 47mm lens & compare the angle of view with my setup. I do know that there's a bit more room to fiddle with.

-- Ted Brownlee (OMFBH@AOL.COM), July 24, 2000.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ