Canon's "matte" lens hoods.

[Ellen Schmidtee]

I do.. that's why they're scratched up.. Maybe it's gear OCD but I like them to stay "new-like" for as long as I can.. however, once it's been scratched.... it's like a green light to "not care"..

Heh, it's the same when you buy a new car (or different one).  You pray not to get any dings or scratches, but once it happens then the worrying is over and you don't care as much.

I've read an article once about a car manufacturor that sold cars pre-scratched, so owners wouldn't worry to begin with. It didn't catch.

[pwp]

When I see a new "ding" on a lens hood, I usually think, oh good, that's a hit that my lens didn't get. Lens hoods do way more than stop flare. The strong flexible plastics used by Canon make the hoods brilliant shock absorbers.

As Barack Obama, the Pope, Ansel Adams & Queen Elizabeth always say, never leave home without your lens hood. How do they put it again? Always wear protection...

PW

[Razor2012]

When I see a new "ding" on a lens hood, I usually think, oh good, that's a hit that my lens didn't get. Lens hoods do way more than stop flare. The strong flexible plastics used by Canon make the hoods brilliant shock absorbers.

As Barack Obama, the Pope, Ansel Adams & Queen Elizabeth always say, never leave home without your lens hood. How do they put it again? Always wear protection...

PW

Lol exactly, better to be safe than sorry.   

[Old Shooter]

I can completely understand "L"-ding-phobia! I paid more for one "L" lens than my first car cost!

[JEAraman]

To be honest I had to purchase a new 3rd party hood for my 24-70 before selling it.. Had the buyer seen how the hood was broken .. let alone scratched.. i'm sure he wouldn't have bought it

I did, however, tell him that it had been through a bit of action and he "tested" it before finalizing the payment.

Not to go too far off topic.. I just think I still prefer the newer matte hoods that show "less" wear and tear on them.. If anyone knows where I can find 3rd party ones , for the (85mm1.2) it would be great.

thanks for all the comments...

[TexPhoto]

You can find 3rd party hoods on ebay that are much cheeper and near identical.  Quality is not as high, but your original hood can stay home on a shelf and look good.

[JEAraman]

For my 24-105 hood, I actually took time to sand the exterior using sand paper, and spray painted it using matte black paint for some 10 layers. Looks better than original because it matches the camera body's matte style. Oh yeah! Gotta do this for all my hoods!

Interesting Idea.... you mind posting a pic of that?