I had this lens before but had to part with it for various reasons. Now I’ve managed to get my hands on the Leica DG SUMMILUX 25mm F1.4 II again—a prime lens for the MFT mount’s standard focal length range.
This fall, I’ve whimsically thought about trying to shoot around using only prime lenses. I can’t really say how far I’ll actually follow through with it.
Now, this lens is excellent—small, light, great image quality, and reasonably priced to boot. Its only real drawback is that the official lens hood that comes with it is huge and awkward-looking, which gives it a bad reputation.
That’s why quite a few people seem to repurpose the slightly smaller hood from the LEICA DG MACRO-ELMARIT 45mm F2.8, which also has a 46mm diameter. I have both sizes of hoods myself. Here are the actual items.
Honestly, with this much difference, it’s no wonder you’d think the smaller one looks much cleaner and better when attached! I considered following suit myself, but what concerns me is how much the light-blocking performance might drop in exchange for the improved looks.
So, I decided to test how much switching between the two hoods affects the image.
This is a rough, amateur real-world test. Sorry for the terrible photos—any backlit scene would do.
Large Hood
Small Hood
Looking at the upper floors of the building on the right, ghosting is noticeable in the photo with the small hood, but it’s suppressed in the photo with the large hood. It seems the size of the hood does indeed affect the effectiveness of the ghosting reduction.
I compared another example.
Large Hood
Small Hood
On a whim, no hood
I compared them by stopping down to the maximum aperture of F16 to bring out the sun rays. The camera moved slightly, so the compositions aren’t exactly identical, and since the subjects are the sun and leaves, the positions of the light source and leaves constantly shift, making a direct comparison difficult. However, it probably isn’t just my imagination – the large hood seems to be more effective at blocking stray light. With the small hood, it’s hard to tell if there’s any real difference compared to no hood at all in this photo.
So, here’s my personal conclusion after testing:
There’s a reason the genuine hood is “big and clunky.” If you want to effectively eliminate flare, don’t hesitate to use the genuine hood. On the other hand, if you’re more concerned about style, it’s probably best to accept that a small hood’s effect is more like a charm than anything substantial.
Sorry for the last photo being just a quick shot with my phone. The small hood does look better, but it’s something to think about.
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