FA50mm f1.4


Yes,
I have read from others that a filter is not necessary.
A lens hood was reccomended thou, A metal lens hood so can leave it on the lens with a cap on.
Instead of those rubber lens hood which have to remove before keeping your camera.

I managed to search alot of kind of metal lens hood.
But there is standard, tele & wide.
Which should i get for my FA 50?

Also, Would a hood be necessary for my kit lens as well?

The rubber hood i have is a screw in type allowing you to use filters, and the front cap to be used with the hood attached , just need to pull out and push it back down when not in use
 

For 50mm, you could use the standard lens hood (in fact slightly longer hoods also can as it is telephoto on aps-c cropped sensors, yeah, standard round hoods will do just fine). U could add a quality filter (around $50 from CS mass sales).

The two problems are that you may find a 49mm screw threaded filter rarer than say the 52mm. And for the metal hood, it's almost non-exisitent in local retail. They are easily found off the shelf in say Japan (brandless but good quality ones goes for some SGD10), or online sources (you may want venture for a nice B+W or Heliopan branded hood for like SGD50-60).

As for your kit lens, you may want to purchase the original Pentax hood for the 18-55 zooms. Zooms are abit more complicated (as in designed specifically) in terms of hood requirements and are usually petal-shaped to account for the wide ends.

Is this ok ?
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/New-Metal-Standard-49mm-Screw-in-Lens-Hood-Cap-/200470403546?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Lens_Accessories&hash=item2eacf799da
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/49-mm-49mm-Metal-Screw-Mount-Lens-Hood-52mm-Lens-cap-/250620427006?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item3a5a243afe

Where to get Original Pentax Hood?
 

 


I have a Pentax square hood just like the one in the link, clip-on type, I think it is Pentax PH-SA49. The hood comes with a very nice carrying case that you can attach to the camera strap.

Alternatively, you can get the hood for FA43 limited metal screw hood it works as well.
 

I have a Pentax square hood just like the one in the link, clip-on type, I think it is Pentax PH-SA49. The hood comes with a very nice carrying case that you can attach to the camera strap.

Alternatively, you can get the hood for FA43 limited metal screw hood it works as well.

fa 43 ltd already comes with a hood if im not wrong .

But the FA 50mm f1.4 dun have the twist in type right ? as it dosent have the grooves

the clip on type is like a lens cap but w/o the centre and has the hood coming out ?
 

FA50 do not have a thread for twist on type of hood, the clip-on type actually clip to the filter screw thread and so far it is pretty secure but have to remove the hood to cap the lens, a little troublesome at time.
 

I bought a hood for my FA50 at Mass Sale. Screw on and tested it. Good. Doesnt block anything. DIMAGE from mass sale has them. Plastic type petal hood.
 

Maybe will get this...
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/New-Metal-Sta...item2eacf799da
Is the price ok?
Or expensive?

But this is cheap mans...
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/49-mm-49mm-Me...item3a5a243afe



I dont like rectangular hoods.
Looks strange.... LOLS
 

Original Pentax rectangular hood
FA50_SqHood.jpg


Original Pentax round hood
FA50_RoundHood.jpg


Both are made of tough polycarbonate plastic. Rectangular hood is a clip-on design. Looks sharp but there is no dedicated lens cap to fit. Round screw-in design is more practical as it allows a larger diameter lens cap to be used. Frankly not worth the money new or used because the narrower field of view with APS-C sensor allows a much deeper hood to be used. With the large amount of glass on the front of the 50mm f/1.4, having a deep hood improves contrast and apparent sharpness as it cuts down veiling flare significantly.

Best hood of them all is the made in China metal ones. The one pictured on the FA 50mm is the same as the second eBay link posted by joycegian. Cheap, good, deep and has a matt black finish on the inner side and guess what... based on actual testing, even with a filter and shooting at f/1.4, there is NO VIGNETTING. The 58mm lens cap that comes free with the hood fits perfectly too. :thumbsup: The worst hood imo is a rubber one because it is only a matter of time that the rubber cracks and breaks at the folds. Had it happen so many times that it is a real waste of time, not to mention money. No real physical protection too and putting on the front cap is fiddly.

IMGP4656copy.jpg
 

Last edited:
totally agree with Dennis, The metal one is value for money. Its have a good protection and the shape and look beat other hood for FA50 any time.
 


The ebays one should be fine. They are the generic metal hoods for around $10. If you want better quality hoods, these are my top choices:

Heliopan
Very exquisite and well-crafted. Hood retains constant diameter throughout (and threaded) so you could stack hoods and retain the use of equivalent sized lens cap. (Made in Germany)

B+W
Used to be my favorite until I found Heliopan. Top notch finishing. A tag bigger then the Heliopans and does not allow the use of lens cap (which is not necessary actually). (Made in Germany)

Orginal hood for Pentax 18-55
 

Last edited:
Scorpioh, the Heliopan and B+W metal hoods have no doubt good build quality but frankly they are no better than the original Pentax lens hoods that I have used. A wide, long hood is always a better choice than a narrow, short hood. Like the Pentax hoods or third party plastic petal shaped hoods, they are just too short in depth to be really effective in shielding the front element from stray light rays that come at an angle. At US$48 for the Heliopan and US$27.50 for the B+W even before shipping, only brand fanatics or those whom money is no object would find this a good value proposition.

The made in China metal hood also has a constant internal diameter, has precision machined grooves on the inside that's painted matt black to cut down internal reflection. Quality is actually pretty good, strong yet not too heavy. Price aside, it outperforms the Heliopan and B+W metal hoods and if you do factor in the price, it easily is a must-buy.
 

Last edited:
Scorpioh, the Heliopan and B+W metal hoods have no doubt good build quality but frankly they are no better than the original Pentax lens hoods that I have used. A wide, long hood is always a better choice than a narrow, short hood. Like the Pentax hoods or third party plastic petal shaped hoods, they are just too short in depth to be really effective in shielding the front element from stray light rays that come at an angle. At US$48 for the Heliopan and US$27.50 for the B+W even before shipping, only brand fanatics or those whom money is no object would find this a good value proposition.

The made in China metal hood also has a constant internal diameter, has precision machined grooves on the inside that's painted matt black to cut down internal reflection. Quality is actually pretty good, strong yet not too heavy. Price aside, it outperforms the Heliopan and B+W metal hoods and if you do factor in the price, it easily is a must-buy.
Creampuff, you are right. I tend not to factor in economics (irrationale) when it comes to photographic equipment and accessories.
 

How about K-X Kit Lens?
What kind of hood should I use?

Standard, Tele, Wide?