Alternate Canon lens hoods

This article began in July 2003 just talking about about using non-standard hoods on the Canon EF 17-40mm/4 L USM lens, but has been updated multiple times adding more and more information about alternate hoods for other Canon lenses.

It was last updated in mid-December 2006.

EF 17-40mm/4 L USM lens

To recap: the EW-83E hood that is standard for the EF 17-40mm lens (and the EF 16-35mm and EF-S 10-22mm) is very wide, and will not easily fit in lens pouches/etc. If you're using this lens on a 1.6x-crop-factor camera (i.e. those that take EF-S lenses, plus the older D30/D60/10D) the EW-83E does not provide adequate protection against flare. You can use different models of EW-83* hoods (designed for different lenses) to achieve a much better result. Of course, when you use the 17-40 or 16-35mm lenses on 1Ds or 5D bodies you'll need to fall back to the original EW-83E.

The original article was prompted by my discovery that the EW-83D hood (intended for the EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM) was a good fit. In fact the newer EW-83J (intended for the EF-S 17-55mm/2.8 IS USM) is even better (it has "flocking" on the inside to further cut down on reflected light, provides even more shade, and has a better grip on the bayonet mount).

For a long time I used an EW-83D, but when it was damaged in an accident in September 2006
I replaced it with an EW-83J.

Other options include the EW-83H hood (intended for the EF 24-105mm/4 L IS USM).

Using alternate hoods is not just a solution for this lens, it's also possible with others (it's mostly only wide-angle lenses that it's important for).

EF 28-135mm IS USM lens

I have used the EF 28-135mm/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens since 2000 and had been aware for a long time that the default EW-78BII hood was not the optimal match for 1.6x cameras. The wear-and-tear on my EW-78BII over 5 years eventually wore it out, and it no longer kept a solid grip on the lens. So in early 2006 I replaced it with the EW-78C (designed for the EF 35mm/1.4 L USM) and have been very happy with the result!

On the right is an illustration of the differences between the hoods.

As the hood does not come included with the lens (unlike with 'L' lenses) there seems to be little excuse to not purchase the EW-78C if you're going to be using the 28-135mm IS lens with the 1.6x bodies. An alternate hood is a very cheap investment that can only help your images!

Many other lenses have similar options, and I have not been able to test them all. Thankfully other photographers have reported the results of their own testing.

In the following table, those entries with question marks have not been tested yet. If you have any updates for this table please comment on this post.

Lens	Standard hood	1.6x (D30/etc)	1.3x (1D)
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM	EW-83E	EW-83J EW-83H EW-83G EW-83D EW-83DII	EW-83H EW-83G? EW-83D EW-83DII
EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM	EW-83CII	EW-83H? EW-83D? EW-83DII?	EW-83II?
EF 17-40mm f/4L USM	EW-83E	EW-83J EW-83H EW-83G EW-83D EW-83DII	EW-83J EW-83H EW-83G EW-83D EW-83DII
EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM	EW-83J
EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM	EW-83II
EF 24mm f/1.4L USM	EW-83DII
EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM	EW-83H	EW-83J	EW-83J
EF 28mm f/2.8	EW-65II	ES-65 ET-65I/II
EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM	EW-78BII	EW-78C EW-78II?	EW-78C EW-78II?
EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM	EW-83G
EF 35mm f/1.4L USM	EW-78C
EF 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6L USM	EW-78II
EF 35mm f/2	EW-65II	ES-65 ET-65I/II	ES-65 ET-65I/II
EF 50mm f/1.8 Mk.I	ES-65	ET-65I/II	ET-65I/II

Where there's a "?" in the above table, make sure you test the hood on your lens and camera before purchasing it, to make sure that it physically fits and that there is no vignetting. Of course I can offer no guarantee that any of this will work for you: all I can do is let you know what's worked for other people. If you have any updated information please let me know so I can update this table.