Why are my Nikon lens hoods falling off

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wotan1

wotan1

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In the past several months I have had two lens hoods come off the lens while I was out shooting. Both of those lens hoods are Nikon OEM and both had lock buttons that should have held them in place.

The first involved a 24-70mm f2.8. That lens hood bounced down a steep slope at a National Park and was never found. The other one involved my 135mm Plena. In that case I was able to trace my steps and I found the hood.

Is this me not being careful or have others had similar problems?

We use these lenses in the field and things naturally get jostled and bounced around. For what we pay for those lenses (both of the lenses I mentioned cost over 2 grand) I would think a better quality hood would be a reasonable expectation.
 
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wotan1 said:
...Is this me not being careful or have others had similar problems? ...
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Sorry to say but I think it's you. Granted it's not the most robust design in the world. Very easy to misalign and not snap securely into place. But in my experience if you pay attention to detail and ensure that they're properly installed they are up to the task of normal usage. In the past I did own one lens that the hood couldn't be trusted to stay on while walking with it on a strap. I think maybe the 200-500 but don't remember for sure.
 
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I also seem to remember reading here in the forum that the snap mechanism on the 500PF eventually wears out. But that's after years of use and hundreds of times on and off the lens. On the 500PF, 400 4.5, and 600PF, wearing the mechanism out isn't an issue for me. The lenses are so small that they fit nicely in the bag with the hood in shooting position. The hood only gets reverse when I store them away. Which now that I think of it there's no need in that case either :unsure:
 
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Same here on the 200-500, hood used to come off at the most inopportune times. I finally used a 1” length of gaffers tape to secure the hood to the lens and I’d keep small pieces of tape on the outside of the hood so I always had some available. Not the most attractive look but better than losing the hood.
I’ve never had problems with lens hoods with the lock buttons, though.
 
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"Why are my Nikon lens hoods falling off?"
Because you didn't buy Canon...

Sorry, that was meant in jest. I used to have the problem with my 200-500 Nikon lens. The "snap" into place was adequate but not robust. I wrote (and still do) my name and phone number on the outside of my lens hoods. At least if they fall off and an honest person finds it I may get it back.

As for my joke about Canon, I can say I have not had this lens hood issue since I made the switch but that does not mean the canon lenses are higher quality, just the way the lens hood attaches is different than the Nikon ones were. On my 200-500 I did, like someone above suggested, use a little piece of gaffer's tape to secure it and keep it from turning when I was walking.

Jeff
 
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