I was flying my Air 2 in Santa Cruz, CA over the weekend and noticed streaks of light comeing from the direction of the sun. Would a lens hood have prevented this? Is there any reason not to always fly with a lens hood during sunny days? Does anyone have recommendations for a lens hood for the Air 2?

Yes they probably would help. They are cheap too and they say protect the gimbal also somewhat.

Yes it would help.
Not like 'perfect always' but it does help.
However, you will see the lens hood in the most outer positions (and that is more often than I like).
Also I kind of like how the lens flares render on the Mavic Pro, so I seldom use my hood.

Definitely would but they can show up in the frame when flying fast in a strong wind and effect the exposure value too

Montfrooij Posted at 10-13 00:56
Yes it would help.
Not like 'perfect always' but it does help.
However, you will see the lens hood in the most outer positions (and that is more often than I like).

Thanks. If you see the lens hood that sounds like a problem. Can you say under what conditions you see the hood?

A J Posted at 10-13 00:58
Definitely would but they can show up in the frame when flying fast in a strong wind and effect the exposure value too

What do you mean by "effect the exposure value"? Is there a way to compensate for that?

Dangerly Posted at 10-13 13:07
What do you mean by "effect the exposure value"? Is there a way to compensate for that?

When I briefly used a lens hood on my Mavic Pro I found that it shaded the image more than normal and I would have to even increase the ISO to compensate in certain angles to the sun to balance the exposure.

Dangerly Posted at 10-13 13:07
What do you mean by "effect the exposure value"? Is there a way to compensate for that?

The tilt of the drone increases to maximise velocity when in sport mode or flying into a moderate to heavy breeze - the angle can be so steep that the hood will show up in the footage - there are many vids on YT showing it.

Hello there Dangerly. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused and thank you for reaching out. After seeing thephoto you have posted. It looks like that there are lens flares that you have been captured. Lens flare is completely normal and expected. However, lens flare can be made worse by using cheaper filters and not keeping your lens clean. Condensation on the drone's lens can also make lens flare especially troublesome. It is best to keep the sun at the back of your drone while filming on sunny days. Thank you.

Dangerly Posted at 10-13 13:06
Thanks. If you see the lens hood that sounds like a problem. Can you say under what conditions you see the hood?

Anytime the gimbal has to tilt to the outer part of the frame.
High winds, panorama images, fast speeds etc.

How about using filter?