Fuji LH X100 lens hood

In the continuation of my slow but inexorable backslide into the Fuji camera gear universe, I recently picked up a secondhand lens hood for my X100T. Although it was a bit on the expensive side, I figured the construction would be of higher quality and more natural looking (in keeping with the traditional charm of the camera itself).

Construction and fit

The lens hood system comprises two pieces, and adapter which threads onto the front of the base lens; and the hood itself, which cleverly twists and locks onto flanges on the edge of the adapter.

The adapter itself adds a bit of space in front of the lens, which means it becomes safe to use a filter (whereas one otherwise needs a spacer to use a filter).

The adapter and any filters do add some slight margin to the camera body, but the hood itself changes things entirely; once the hood is installed, the camera is no longer slim enough to adroitly slip into a pocket book or commuter backpack. While the extra bulk somewhat reduces the extreme portability of the camera, the tradeoff is generally worthwhile, especially because the hood screws on and off easily enough.

Performance

There’s not much to say here; the hood works as advertised, and is particularly useful in two not-uncommon shooting situations:

1. Any shooting on or near reflective environments (e.g. the open sea), where glare and reflections may be an issue. (Sure, a polarizing filter could help here as well, but a polarizing filter isn’t always handy or desirable.)
2. Light rain

I took this lens hood on a recent vacation, and I got a lot more utility out of it than I was expecting. Whereas previously, the slightest drizzle would put the damper on my shooting, the lens hood gave me confidence to keep shooting until I got the shot I wanted (or the rain started really pouring). And, an unexpected boon, the hood makes me less inclined to “wrap” my fingers right onto the lens and leave a nasty smudge.