Late Edit: A few notes added in a separate post in this thread:
Thought I’d share some feedback and thoughts on my just-received Zemlin hood for the Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 lens. Karl Zemlin first began make lens hoods for order on January 2. For the 400/4.5 he offers three versions: a short one, one that is the same length as the stock Nikon hood and one that is 150% of the length of the stock hood (call it the long version) which is just a hair under 5” or 125mm long. See his web site for more info. The hood does not flare at the long end and is uniform in diameter. It’s about 5mm (or about 3/16”) smaller in diameter than the Nikon stock hood at the long end.
I bought the ‘long version’ which when mounted is a little less than 1.5 inches longer than the stock Nikon hood. While I live in Arizona, my favorite destination is coastal British Columbia, Canada where I join others on tours for marine wildlife and bear photography; we shoot rain or shine and shooting is the rain is commonplace. So, with that in mind and while using a Lenscoat Raincoat, the long version provides more protection overall and for the front element from the rain, snow, sand or whatever compared to the standard length hood. This is the purpose for my using the longer Zemlin hood.
I almost always shoot this lens handheld on my Z9 and so my Kirk LP-70 tripod foot is seldom attached. That said, for the information of those who usually keep a tripod foot attached you might find the first image below of how the hood long fits on the 400/4.5, especially in the reverse or storage position useful. Note the clearance between the hood and the foot. The long hood does fit in the reverse position with the Kirk or standard Nikon foot attached - my un-exact measurements of the clearance between the hood and the foot showed just a ‘hair’ over 1/4” for the Kirk foot and about 5/16” with the stock Nikon foot. Not sure about vertical clearance with an RRS or the Hejnar foot as I don’t have any experience with either of those. However, with the long hood you lose some of the “carrying handle” ability of the tripod foot with the long hood. Only room for two of my somewhat chubby fingers. You can remove the Kirk and the Nikon foot unlocking and sliding them forward as usual even with the Zemlin long hood in the reverse storage position. Possibly the size of the long hood stored in the reverse position or deployed position on the 400/4.5 may be an issue for those of you who use a “holster” type of waist-mounted lens bag, e.g. a Think Tank holster. YMMV.
Karl does not make a lens cap for the 400/4.5. So you’ll continue to use your Nikon cap. With the long hood you can still remount or remove your lens cap (even if you have big hands like I do). That said, as the long hood is deeper than the stock Nikon hood you might find that you need to be just a little bit more diligent to ensure the lens cap is securely attached when using the long hood in position as you have to stick your hand further into the hood opening. Need some finger dexterity. After some thought I concluded that given the extra protection afforded to me with the extra length from any environmental elements, I’d be less likely to feel compelled to remove/replace the lens cap as often during a shooting expedition so I consider this a minor issue.
Bottom line: the Zemlin hood is beautifully designed and made as his other hoods have proven to be. The fit is great and the attachment is quite sturdy. FYI, when you do install the Zemlin hood mounting ring, you cannot use the stock Nikon hood without removing the Zemlin mounting ring altogether - which would be a bit of a pain. So, take note of that. For anyone that buys a Zemiln hood for this lens, note the installation instructions for a bayonet hood mount, e.g. 400/4.5 (and I think the 500 PF too) is a little different than for the hoods on the bigger prime lenses.
Thought I’d share some feedback and thoughts on my just-received Zemlin hood for the Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 lens. Karl Zemlin first began make lens hoods for order on January 2. For the 400/4.5 he offers three versions: a short one, one that is the same length as the stock Nikon hood and one that is 150% of the length of the stock hood (call it the long version) which is just a hair under 5” or 125mm long. See his web site for more info. The hood does not flare at the long end and is uniform in diameter. It’s about 5mm (or about 3/16”) smaller in diameter than the Nikon stock hood at the long end.
I bought the ‘long version’ which when mounted is a little less than 1.5 inches longer than the stock Nikon hood. While I live in Arizona, my favorite destination is coastal British Columbia, Canada where I join others on tours for marine wildlife and bear photography; we shoot rain or shine and shooting is the rain is commonplace. So, with that in mind and while using a Lenscoat Raincoat, the long version provides more protection overall and for the front element from the rain, snow, sand or whatever compared to the standard length hood. This is the purpose for my using the longer Zemlin hood.
I almost always shoot this lens handheld on my Z9 and so my Kirk LP-70 tripod foot is seldom attached. That said, for the information of those who usually keep a tripod foot attached you might find the first image below of how the hood long fits on the 400/4.5, especially in the reverse or storage position useful. Note the clearance between the hood and the foot. The long hood does fit in the reverse position with the Kirk or standard Nikon foot attached - my un-exact measurements of the clearance between the hood and the foot showed just a ‘hair’ over 1/4” for the Kirk foot and about 5/16” with the stock Nikon foot. Not sure about vertical clearance with an RRS or the Hejnar foot as I don’t have any experience with either of those. However, with the long hood you lose some of the “carrying handle” ability of the tripod foot with the long hood. Only room for two of my somewhat chubby fingers. You can remove the Kirk and the Nikon foot unlocking and sliding them forward as usual even with the Zemlin long hood in the reverse storage position. Possibly the size of the long hood stored in the reverse position or deployed position on the 400/4.5 may be an issue for those of you who use a “holster” type of waist-mounted lens bag, e.g. a Think Tank holster. YMMV.
Karl does not make a lens cap for the 400/4.5. So you’ll continue to use your Nikon cap. With the long hood you can still remount or remove your lens cap (even if you have big hands like I do). That said, as the long hood is deeper than the stock Nikon hood you might find that you need to be just a little bit more diligent to ensure the lens cap is securely attached when using the long hood in position as you have to stick your hand further into the hood opening. Need some finger dexterity. After some thought I concluded that given the extra protection afforded to me with the extra length from any environmental elements, I’d be less likely to feel compelled to remove/replace the lens cap as often during a shooting expedition so I consider this a minor issue.
Bottom line: the Zemlin hood is beautifully designed and made as his other hoods have proven to be. The fit is great and the attachment is quite sturdy. FYI, when you do install the Zemlin hood mounting ring, you cannot use the stock Nikon hood without removing the Zemlin mounting ring altogether - which would be a bit of a pain. So, take note of that. For anyone that buys a Zemiln hood for this lens, note the installation instructions for a bayonet hood mount, e.g. 400/4.5 (and I think the 500 PF too) is a little different than for the hoods on the bigger prime lenses.
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