In article <4t995k$k6e@madeline.INS.CWRU.Edu>, ah190@cleveland.Freenet.Edu says...
> Are lens hoods/shades that critical in camcorder use, or is
>there something about the way the units are built that glare isn't
>an issue?

A shade can be useful, though with the extremely wide zoom range, it
is not possible to have an ideal shade. Since VERY FEW camcorder zoom
lenses go wider than the equivalent of a normal lens on larger formats,
it is possible to use a large, deep shade (step-up rings may be needed)
without vignetting the image at the short end of the zoom range. Do not
trust the VF image for checking for vignette - hook the camcorder up to
a couple of different TVs to be sure that the corners are not being cut
by the shade. The Canon and Sony camcorder lenses that I have tried do
seem to be relatively free of flare, though, even with fisheye and
super-wide front converters added - you can get away with a
lot with a camcorder lens that would not work
in still photography!
Hope This Helps