Lens hood Parts?

[Darwin]

Hello, a few weeks ago I took a good fall and slammed my rig on some rocks. Everything is okay, except my lens hood. My 500mm F4 lens hood snapped off and flew 20’. It was bent but I was able to reshape it, however, a screw is missing from the locking mechanism. I could order a set of machine screws and hope to find a replacement but it’s not guaranteed. With a single screw the tightening mechanism keeps coming loose and I’m afraid one day I will loose the only screw holding it in place. Any ideas other then looking through a hardware store?

 

[MikeJ]

When I purchased my AF-S 400mm F2.8 V1 (used), it had only the first section of the two-piece hood, and the boss that holds the tightening screw only had 1 of the 2 VERY tiny screws holding it in. I found on Ebay a seller that makes replacement hoods that do not use that tightening screw. Instead, his design has a ring that attaches to the end of your lens, then the hood(s) actually bayonet onto that ring. Very slick setup, they're 3D printed and seem pretty robust. And like the stock Nikon hoods, they reverse and bayonet onto that same ring for storage.

It wasn't inexpensive, maybe $150-160, but substantially less than the stock Nikon hood.

If that's something that interests you, I can see if I can dig up his information. He was great to work with as his listing stated it was for the VR version, not the non-VR that mine is, and said if it didn't fit I could return it. Happily, it fit!

 

[Darwin]

When I purchased my AF-S 400mm F2.8 V1 (used), it had only the first section of the two-piece hood, and the boss that holds the tightening screw only had 1 of the 2 VERY tiny screws holding it in. I found on Ebay a seller that makes replacement hoods that do not use that tightening screw. Instead, his design has a ring that attaches to the end of your lens, then the hood(s) actually bayonet onto that ring. Very slick setup, they're 3D printed and seem pretty robust. And like the stock Nikon hoods, they reverse and bayonet onto that same ring for storage.

It wasn't inexpensive, maybe $150-160, but substantially less than the stock Nikon hood.

If that's something that interests you, I can see if I can dig up his information. He was great to work with as his listing stated it was for the VR version, not the non-VR that mine is, and said if it didn't fit I could return it. Happily, it fit!

Eh, thank you but I could find a close enough screw for far less with enough patience. Also, I may have a need to sell my lens in the future (600z) and would prefer to have original hood in working order. But, thank you.

 

[MikeJ]

No problem, just thought I'd offer. Best of luck in your search!

 

[RockvilleBob]

I have replaced my 500 f4 lens, which I find a pain in the butt to attach in cold weather, with one of these:

Lens Hood, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4.0G ED VR - replaces HK-34 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lens Hood, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4.0G ED VR - replaces HK-34 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Just outstanding
I also bought one of these to use with my Sigma Sport 150-600 which comes with a Micky Mouse Hood.
These work great and are what Nikon, Sigma and others should consider for their lenses.

 

[Woody Meristem]

It's almost certainly a metric thread and most good hardware stores have a stock of metric nuts and bolts. If it's a really small bolt a hardware store might not have it but a jewelry store or clock repair shop might have that size.

 

[MikeJ]

I have replaced my 500 f4 lens, which I find a pain in the butt to attach in cold weather, with one of these:

Lens Hood, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4.0G ED VR - replaces HK-34 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lens Hood, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4.0G ED VR - replaces HK-34 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Just outstanding
I also bought one of these to use with my Sigma Sport 150-600 which comes with a Micky Mouse Hood.
These work great and are what Nikon, Sigma and others should consider for their lenses.

That's the exact seller I bought from for my 400mm. Agreed - this is what they should've had from the start!

 

[Darwin]

It's almost certainly a metric thread and most good hardware stores have a stock of metric nuts and bolts. If it's a really small bolt a hardware store might not have it but a jewelry store or clock repair shop might have that size.

yes, I think I will order a metric kit, comes assorted with a ton of screw but cheap enough. Thanks

 

[DougC]

Try this guy. He makes a replacement saddle. Not sure if this is the right one for you but this saved mine twice.

Goldmine Photography

www.goldminephotos.com

 

[MartyD]

Check your local hardware store. At my local Ace hardware store we have a large selection of small standard and metric screws but we also stock a large selection of gun screws. I think the gun screws is where you will find a small black metric screw. You might check with a gunsmith shop as well.

 

[Aussie Geoff]

Hello, a few weeks ago I took a good fall and slammed my rig on some rocks. Everything is okay, except my lens hood. My 500mm F4 lens hood snapped off and flew 20’. It was bent but I was able to reshape it, however, a screw is missing from the locking mechanism. I could order a set of machine screws and hope to find a replacement but it’s not guaranteed. With a single screw the tightening mechanism keeps coming loose and I’m afraid one day I will loose the only screw holding it in place. Any ideas other then looking through a hardware store?

Darwin Try shops that sell car parts they normal have a board with different nuts and bolts attached and what size they are and all you do is try your bolt until you find the one that has the correct threat , remember to check the thread on the hood first just incase the thread got damaged when the bolt come out if this has happened you can buy a die ( like a drill piece ) to re tread it.

 

[EricBowles]

You might check with one of the Nikon Authorized shops. The lens has been around for a while and the small screws are probably a standard size. Even if it costs a few dollars, it will save a lot of potential chasing and trial and error. The worst thing you can do is force the wrong screw and strip the threads.

For the remaining screw, you might use a partial drop of Blue Loctite to lock the threads and prevent loosening or loss. I keep a small tube and screwdriver in my bag because this kind of thing is a common issue.

 

[bleirer]

McMaster Carr will have every screw, if you know the specs for what you want.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[DRwyoming]

Any ideas other then looking through a hardware store?

I second Bill's advice above, McMaster Carr will almost certainly have the screw you need as will many other places. It's most likely a M2 metric machine screw. If you have a set of calipers you can measure the total length, and thread length, note the head style and any surface treatment (e.g. black oxide) and find a replacement online. I replace tiny screws in all kinds of electronic devices and have replaced stripped out or lost screws in things like Nikon DSLRs and Lenses a number of times. I've never come across one of those tiny machine screws that wasn't a standard metric part available from online supply houses.

If that's too daunting then look around for an independent camera repair house locally if that's possible as even if they don't have the part they'll be able to identify and order a replacement machine screw for a nominal charge. Basically anyone that does fine electronics or camera repair work, including places that do PC or cell phone repair should be able to accurately identify the screw and find a suitable replacement.

I also second Eric's advice above to secure your current screw with a drop of blue (not red) Loctite.

FWIW, I just pulled and measured one of the lens hood bracket mounting machine screws from my 600mm f/4 E FL lens hood. It appears to be a M2 machine screw (measures 1.98mm OD on my garden variety digital calipers) with a phillips pan head. It measures 6.84mm long though a 6mm would likely do just fine as it has a lot of thread engagement. It's black and appears to be anodized or perhaps black oxide coated though the surface treatment isn't critical in this application. It's very likely Nikon used something similar for your 500mm FL lens hood, actually I'd say it's likely the screw is the same as it would be surprising if Nikon developed a different hood clamp mechanism for their 500mm f/4 E FL vs their 600mm f/4 E FL. Unless the hood diameter and curvature is very different it wouldn't make manufacturing sense to design and stock two nearly identical hood clamp assemblies.

Here's what that machine screw looks like:

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I might start by trying a local shop that repairs electronics like laptops and cell phones. If you do order online one trick is to order both the machine screw and its matching nut. Then try gently threading the remaining screw you still have into the nut to make sure it's a good fit and doesn't require excessive force. If that test works out then reassemble the lens hood with the new machine screw again being sure not to force anything.