Are Lens Hoods Wrecking Your Photos In Cold Weather?

[Tim Mayo]

This video from Steve Perry is worth a watch if you are shooting in cold weather but your gear has been kept in a warm place.

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

I saw that on his forum and asked if he'd tried opening hatch on the 100-500mm to see if it made a difference. His response was, "It's just easier to take it off", which honestly pissed me off a bit, if only in the name of science. If the heat from the lens is causing this (which it appears to be) I'd posit that opening that hatch should allow at least some to escape immediately and at least reduce it to some extent, if not potentially eliminate the problem. I would have tested it myself but the day it came out is the day I arrived in Florida for 2 weeks.

Any intrepid folks in cold areas want to try it?

 

[Tim Mayo]

Any intrepid folks in cold areas want to try it?

Good idea about the hatch, but perhaps too small to make a difference? I'd try it but it's a toasty 6° here today.

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

Good idea about the hatch, but perhaps too small to make a difference? I'd try it but it's a toasty 6° here today.

Sure, it's small. But it's adjacent to the front of the lens, which is what Steve believes holds the heat that then exits through the hood. It not only creates a release but could effectively allow a flow of air through the hood that would prevent it from collecting in the front. For me it's definitely worth a test. If I was home this weekend would be perfect to test, but the long range forecast says if I'm going to test it when I get back then it'll have to be first thing in the AM on the 27th.

If anyone is wanting to test I'm thinking the following. Put the camera on a tripod aimed at a sign or book or something that you can clearly tell is fuzzy or not. Then:

1. Shoot a couple images with the hood door closed and see if you have distortion. If so...
2. Open the door, wait 10 seconds, shoot again. Wait another 10, shoot again.
3. Remove the hood and shoot again.

 

[Hali]

I would have gone out to try it today, but it was a toasty 41F here in New England so no go for me. I will give it a try the next cold day.

 

[PhotoJim58]

This video from Steve Perry is worth a watch if you are shooting in cold weather but your gear has been kept in a warm place.

Just happened to watch this a few days ago and did a little experiment. Shooting out a bedroom window into the cold outside, the bird I was shooting had a soft like focus on the eye, even though eye detect was locked on. Tried this multiple times with same results.
After removing the lens hood, bingo, sharp eyes.

 

[MikeZ]

That's curious. Were you shooting through the window glass or was the window open? Was there a significant temperature differential between the bedroom and the outside? The original premise of this issue refers to heat differential induced by the hood. This is getting interesting as your findings may suggest otherwise.

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

Just happened to watch this a few days ago and did a little experiment. Shooting out a bedroom window into the cold outside, the bird I was shooting had a soft like focus on the eye, even though eye detect was locked on. Tried this multiple times with same results.
After removing the lens hood, bingo, sharp eyes.

I've done this out of my open office window in the winter and not experienced it, but when I do it's generally with a wider focal length. Depending on how far out the window you lean I expect that the heat exchange from the room into the outdoors might factor in as well, but if taking the hood off cleared it up then probably not.