Yet another lens shade / compendium thread

[torger]

I use a tech camera for backpack / hiking field work (landscape) and so far I have not use any lens shade. When I have needed it I have hand-held some object to shade the lens. My hand-holding skill is however a bit limited and I often end up with images that have the shading object in the frame.

There seems to be two general options, either a flag on a flexible arm, or a compendium. The compendium seems superior in the way that it can shade reflections from the ground and walls etc too. However, most (all?) compendiums seems to be big and bulky hard to carry, and I would guess that the cases when a flag is not really enough are really really rare.

But then to find a good portable flexible arm + flag does not seem to be that easy. Many of them seem rather bulky, and unnecessary long and heavy arms. Something that fits into the hot shoe I think should be enough.

"Flare buster" seems to be an option but hard to get in Europe and have that large ugly logotype with silly name which does not look good together with my Linhof Techno . Another option is the Ebony lens shade. Is there more of these lighter/smaller types?

 

[cly]

At the moment I use something like this:

FourByFive: Alpa Max, my funny camera of choice

(= Manfrotto 819-1 and a Manfrotto Nano Clamp)

The drawback is it's weight: about 350g. But I have no idea if you can attach it to Linhoff.

I tried one of those flexible arms (e.g. Wimberley Professional Photo Gear - The Plamp) but found it next to impossible to get the flag into a definite position. It's flexibility is a problem, in particular if it's windy.

Chris

 

[Don Libby]

I started out using a hand or hat to shade the lens before moving to a flare buster to free up my hands. As good as the flare buster is it wasn't perfect for my needs but I kept using it. Then Cambo came out with their lens shade and I ordered one of the first to be hatched from the factory (lacks a filter holder). While not perfect it is nevertheless much better than anything else I've used. Folds flat when not in use and is lightweight enough not to break my back when packing into a spot along some distant lake.

Just my 2¢ worth here.

Don

 

[torger]

Thanks for the tips. It seems like Ebony lens shade is what fits me best, smaller lighter than a heavy duty flexible arm, and seems to be able to stand up against some wind unlike lightweight flexible arms.