Extremely annoying Nikon lenshood

sissysphoto · Jun 10, 2018

I shot a wedding tonight with my beautiful F and F2, and had my last aggravation with my lenshood I will tolerate. It's the original Nikon lenshood for the old style 50mm f/2 with the metal focus ring. It's a beautiful accessory for a gorgeous camera. BTW, we're talking about the clip-on type with 2 round chrome buttons, and it annoys me to no end, and has for years. It never stays on. And it is not stripped. The threads (what threads there are), are still sharp and undamaged. But Every time I reach in my bag for the camera, the lenshood is detached. I walk around shooting and every time I bump the hood on something, no matter how lightly, it comes off. I'm so tired of it.
Question: did Nikon ever make a dedicated lenshood just like it that just screws on like a filter, with threads all the way around? This clip-on bit is such an irritant. And I hate those aftermarket collapsible rubber jobs.
Thank you.

chip j · Jun 10, 2018

w/a snap-on hood, I snap it on, then screw it--it goes so far.

sissysphoto · Jun 10, 2018

chip j said:
w/a snap-on hood, I snap it on, then screw it--it goes so far.

Well certainly you must know I do that too, Its spring-loaded with threads that only cover a small area of the circumference. Therein is the problem.

saman13 · Jun 10, 2018

Yep, I have the same problem with mine. It doesn’t screw down tight. It gets tight to a certain point, then “starts over”. That’s the best way I can describe it.

I do believe they made both screw in and the clip on ones. I got a clip on one because I thought it would be more convenient, but I came to see that wasn’t the case.

Ap507b · Jun 10, 2018

Is this the HS-1 with two metal studs either side of it? I found a new old stock one off ebay a couple of years ago. Marked for 50mm F1.4 on it & it takes a bit of force to compress the spring & it is very tight when fitted Maybe your spring has weakened over time?

Have a couple of the old lens caps the have a similar arrangement to hold them on. One stays on happily. The other comes off with little provocation. Had a look at why & the metal spring was loose. Rivet had sprung. Did try a repair with a bit of superglue but it never held.

Theo Sulphate · Jun 10, 2018

I have a few similar Nikon hoods for lenses other than 50/2 - they're terrible hoods for the very reasons you mention. I would've thought Nikon themselves would've put these to use in actual situations before making them as a product.

The best Nikon hoods for me are the metal ones that screw onto the lens' or filter threads and stay snug in all conditions.

benjiboy · Jun 10, 2018

Switch to Canon F1, FD hoods bayonet fit on the lenses

BrianShaw · Jun 10, 2018

http://nikomat.org/lens/hiyoke.html

BrianShaw · Jun 10, 2018

chip j said:
w/a snap-on hood, I snap it on, then screw it--it goes so far.

This works well for me, but with the”newer” cap, not the ones with release buttons. On the older caps I’d be concerned about weak springs.

... but for the 50/1.4 a rubber collapsible has worked well for me since about 1989.

macfred · Jun 10, 2018

BrianShaw said:
http://nikomat.org/lens/hiyoke.html

Brian, thank you for sharing - very useful site !

BrianShaw · Jun 10, 2018

macfred said:
Brian, thank you for sharing - very useful site !

I found this site recently when asking (myself) this same question. The HN-5 proved elusive so I bought a snap on HS-5... except I wasn’t quite as annoyed with the alternatives.

narsuitus · Jun 10, 2018

I prefer the metal screw-on type (HN) lens hoods. The last time I used a snap-on type (HS) lens hood was when I was shooting a birthday party and was taking a picture of the cake. The snap-on hood popped loose and almost fell into a large bowl of punch.

Nikon Hoods by Narsuitus, on Flickr

flatulent1 · Jun 12, 2018

I replaced mine with generic metal lens hoods that screw into the filter threads. Sensei are good and inexpensive. Even cheaper are the ones I've been picking up on ebay, many of them are threaded on the front end as well, enabling you to add a filter or lens cap to the front of the hood.

Poisson Du Jour · Jun 12, 2018

The Pentax 67 system has these sturdy clip-on and bayonet-mount or twist-lock hoods. For some, it requires a decent knock to dislodge the often quite large hoods (the SMC Pentax 67 90mm f2.8 has a conspicuously large and deep hood which won't budge easily). The wide and shallow hood for the SMC Pentax 67 45mm is curiously very easily dislodged by a stray hand moving around the front of the camera.

Best practice is to remove hoods when placing the camera in the pack, unless the packing arrangement permits you to leave the hood in place (my pack does) without any chance of accidental dislodgement and mashing against other things in the pack.

• "You call that a hood?? THIS is a hood!"
90mm f2.8 with clip-on square hood

sissysphoto said:
I walk around shooting and every time I bump the hood on something, no matter how lightly, it comes off. I'm so tired of it.

Consider that the lens hood is taking the bump that your hitherto unprotected lens might well have taken...Exercise care when carrying the camera, such as around your neck and side-on at the front.

CMoore · Jun 12, 2018

I would say, if you want to use That Hood, just tape it on.
I have had similar problems as some of those hoods get older.
Like other members have done...i have bought several of the Cheap/Inexpensive Screw-On hoods from Ebay.
They are metal and seem to stay very tight.......

BradS · Jun 13, 2018

I have one of those annoying Nikon clip on lens hoods. It is a beautiful piece but, like the OP observed, it is really annoying. I put it aside years ago and bought a generic (Tiffen?) screw on hood to use instead. After reading this thread, I revisited the old Nikon hood...I think I might try this....
1. remove the glass from a spare 52mm filter
2. clip and screw the hood securely to the filter ring.
3. glue or tape or "fasten" the lens hod to the ring semi-permanently, so it wont fall off. I'm leaning toward good old super glue.

BrianShaw · Jun 13, 2018

Interesting idea... What about red lok-tite?

BradS · Jun 13, 2018

BrianShaw said:
Interesting idea... What about red lok-tite?

Ah, yes. Good idea. Thanks.

CMoore · Jun 13, 2018

If you want to go the "Adhesive" route.....i have had good luck, from The Dollar Store, with clear nail polish.
Things like Lok-Tite and Varnish are fine, if you already have them, but they CAN be expensive if this is all you need it for and have to purchase it.
Of course everybody has different Needs/Situations.....just giving it a mention is all.
good luck

John Koehrer · Jun 13, 2018

I've replaced every Nikon clip on hood that ever came on a lens. Sooner rather than later.

Vincent Peri · Jun 13, 2018

I've been shooting with Nikon film cameras off and on since 1978. I can't recall a snap on lens hood ever coming loose unintentionally.

Poisson Du Jour · Jun 13, 2018

CMoore said:
If you want to go the "Adhesive" route.....i have had good luck, from The Dollar Store, with clear nail polish.
Things like Lok-Tite and Varnish are fine, if you already have them, but they CAN be expensive if this is all you need it for and have to purchase it.
Of course everybody has different Needs/Situations.....just giving it a mention is all.
good luck

What are you going to do about residual adhesive left on the threads when you come along and put a filter on and then cannot remove it? Lock-tite is the least preferable method for putting on any lens threads, irrespective of reasoning (predominantly when 'togs say their filter won't stay screwed on — well, clean the threads then!).

CMoore · Jun 13, 2018

Poisson Du Jour said:
What are you going to do about residual adhesive left on the threads when you come along and put a filter on and then cannot remove it? Lock-tite is the least preferable method for putting on any lens threads, irrespective of reasoning (predominantly when 'togs say their filter won't stay screwed on — well, clean the threads then!).

The adhesive was not my idea.....i said to tape it on.
But, if using liquid adhesive, i do not think anybody is suggesting to glue the threads of the hood to the threads of the lens.
Once you get the Hood on the Lens, i would use SOME nail polish along the gap between the two.
In the end.?......its an F'ing piece of plastic, it is 30-40 years old. Throw the stupid thing away and buy a metal one from Ebay for $2.87.......unless somebody is worried that it will not say Nikon on it.

sissysphoto · Jun 13, 2018

To tell the truth, I never believed much in lens hoods. I'll stipulate they may be helpful if light is at a certain angle, but overall I've never seen any results that make me a great believer. The collapsible rubber ones always tear up at the place where they fold, and the clip on metal ones are a constant nuisance.

CMoore · Jun 14, 2018

sissysphoto said:
To tell the truth, I never believed much in lens hoods. I'll stipulate they may be helpful if light is at a certain angle, but overall I've never seen any results that make me a great believer. The collapsible rubber ones always tear up at the place where they fold, and the clip on metal ones are a constant nuisance.

Yeah, it SEEMS like whenever i have had lens flare, it has been when i am right in front of the sun. Somebody smarter than me will know the math for what angle you would need to be at before the light-source could be a problem.
Like you, i rarely have a problem, and when i do, the hood would probably not help anyway.....but i am just a hack Street Photographer.
Maybe the Portrait/Landscape/Fine Art people have a different outlook on hoods.?

Extremely annoying Nikon lenshood

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