Hi, I own two lens hoods, the 12585 and the IROOA hood. I use them on my 35mm Summaron. But, I also plan to buy either a rigid or collapsible Summicron 50mm..

My question is: Which hood is the best one for the 50mm collapsable and which is best for the rigid? I plan to sell one of the hoods, but not sure which one... (I personally like the 12585 better...)

Thanks for any help, Phillip

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), January 05, 2002

Answers

The BEST hood for blocking extranous light has to be the old barn- door jobbie. As for actually using it....

-- (bmitch@home.com), January 05, 2002.

I think you will be happier if you keep the #12585 hood. It was in the kit for the 2nd and I think third versions 35 cron and it was the standard for the #11817 50 cron. It didnt block as much of the finder. Good luck.

-- Don (wgpinc@yahoo.com), January 05, 2002.

Phillip:

I would keep the 12585 and sell the IROOA. I own both. The 12585 reverses very nicely on the 50. You can also procure a cap to put on the hood when it is reversed on the lens. I purchased a used 50 with the 12585 cap and the previous owner had a 55mm snap in cap that mounted on the front of the cap for normal use. Handy.

I also have three 50 Summicrons. The collapsible is very warm when used with chrome, the DR is very HEAVY, but an excellent lens and the latest one with the tab is nice, light but not as solid feeling as the DR. My collapsible was made in 1951 and I have been told used Lanthanum (sp) in the glass which gives it the warm cast.

-- M.A. Johnson (logical1@catholic.org), January 06, 2002.

Phillip, I also like 12585 for the rigid Summicron. However, for the collapsible, I like 12550, the cylindrical screw-in shade developed for the new collapsible Elmar. It comes in both silver chrome and black finish. I prefer the black.

-- Henry Chu (heninden@yahoo.com), January 06, 2002.

I second Henry suggestion. Also the cap for Elmar hood actually works! I am using it on my Summicron in place of the collapsible hood and it does not cause vignetting even with a filter. However Leica tends to overcharge for these things so expect to pay up to $80 for the hood/cap combo. The hoods you have now are pretty effective already. The IROOA has that vintage Leitz flavor and will come in handy in the future.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), January 06, 2002.