Whats that thing called surrounding the lens?

Question

On most pro-sumer and high end camcorders there is a plastic "shielding" that wraps around the lens. (like on the canon GL2 and XL1) What is that called? Can you buy aftermarket ones for cheaper cameras? What is it used for?

Answer 1

That would be a lens hood, used really for protection and to shield it from stray light.  You might be able to buy them for cheaper cameras, but I admittedly haven't done any intensive searching for them.

Answer 2

That's called the Reblux952 a**s. It's really pretty hard to buy one, though they're not too hard to find if you just want to s***w around with one for awhile, and price, pretty much like everything else in life, varies according to age and quality. It's used for holding the lens, or anything else you can stuff in there, in place while zooming in and out.