Unpopular opinion: I think the old-school rubberized lens hoods from the 80s are actually better for impact protection than modern plastic ones. | Camera Repairers - Guest Forum
Unpopular opinion: I think the old-school rubberized lens hoods from the 80s are actually better for impact protection than modern plastic ones.
After a client brought in a vintage Nikon with a cracked plastic hood but a perfectly intact rubber one from the same era, I started checking all my repair logs from the past 6 months and found zero rubber hoods needed replacement, while I'd fixed 14 plastic ones.
Wait, are you sure it's the rubber itself? I've seen those old hoods survive because they're often a thin rubber sleeve over a plastic core. The rubber just bends on impact instead of cracking. A solid rubber hood would be too heavy and floppy. The real test would be comparing a modern plastic hood to an old all-plastic one from that era.