Posted on 18 April 2007.
Today I received two 72mm Screw-In Metal Telephoto Lens Hoods from B&H. I find they fit and work perfectly on my Nikon 180mm F2.8D AF, Nikon 135mm F2 DC, and Nikon 105mm F2 DC lenses. The default attached lens hoods ( sliding lens hoods ) are very shallow to me and I wanted something a little longer. I read somewhere that the B+W 72mm Screw-In Metal Telephoto Lens Hood was an excellent alternative solution. In addition, and more importantly, I purchased these lens hoods to screw onto the front of my Nikon 72mm Circular Polarizer II filters. This allowed me to rotate the CP filters by holding onto the lens hood and rotating it which also rotated the CP filter. I have heard it is important to have a proper lens hood when using any sort of Circular Polarizer Filter.
Previously, I would have had to pull back on the default attached lens hoods in order to rotate the Circular Polarizer II Filter. I thought this was a tad bit inconvenient, so I opted to try the B+W 72mm Screw-In Metal Telephoto Lens Hood. I ended up killing two birds with one stone in that I now had a proper Telephoto lens hood, and a hood that could be used to rotate the CP filter. The only drawback with this setup, is that you cannot attach a lens cap inside the telephoto lens hood. Thus you need to use something like the Op/Tech USA Hood Hat Medium (Fits Hoods From 3.75 to 4.25″ Wide) – Black REG which works perfectly! Now you can cover up the telephoto lens hood and protect the CP filter from any debris.
The Schneider B+W 72mm Screw-In Metal Telephoto Lens Hood is awesome and I’m glad I endured the wait over at B&H to get a couple. I heard they are not readily available and often need to be backordered. Incidentally, I originally had my eye on these telephoto lens hoods for my Nikon 180mm F2.8D AF. For this it works awesome as a general purpose telephoto lens hood with additional front lens protection. The original Nikon sliding lens hoods are just too shallow to offer any sort of reliable protection from lens damage or stray light in my opinion. The metal screw on telephoto lens hoods from B+W are the way to go!!
Possibly Related Posts:
Posted in Photography
Posted on 17 April 2007. Tags: Japan, People
When I purchased my Nikon 28mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor from Ebay, it came with a HK-7 lens hood. I later did some searching to determine which lens hoods were recommended for the 28mm. I found that most people by default used the Nikon HK-7 hood, but many found it to be rather shallow. Protection from any stray light or debris was minimal. Personally I found the HK-7 to be just fine when shooting pictures with regards to flair, but I did feel the Nikon HK-7 offered limited protection of the front lens area. Later I found two other options. One was the longer Nikon HK-4 lens hood and the other using a 72mm to 77mm step up ring which allowed the 85mm f/1.4 HN-31 lens hood to be used.
I found that the Nikon HK-4 lens hood was the preferred option recommended by several high profile photographers, however the HK-4 hood was extremely difficult to find. Luckily I found two HK-4 lens hoods on Ebay and picked them up right away for a good price. One I got new and the other HK-4 was used. I am very happy with them. The Nikon HK-4 lens hood I feel is a great hood for the Nikon 28mm f/1.4D and highly recommend using it in the place of the HK-7. Both the HK-4 and HK-7 lens hoods are however very difficult to find and you may have to pay a high price for them. Both HK-4’s that I found on Ebay were listed as “Buy Nows” for $35.00 each from separate sellers. I should also mention that both the HK-4 and HK-7 lens hoods are screw on hoods, but I have found them to be very sturdy.
I carry my Nikon D200 and 28mm f/1.4 everywhere now and definitely needed the HK-4 to protect the front end. The HK-7 was just too shallow and I’m glad I made the switch. For those of you who can’t find the HK-4, the 85mm f/1.4 HN-31 lens hood with a step up ring I have heard works very well. This would have been my second option in the event I could not located a Nikon HK-4 lens hood. Surprisingly I found two!!
UPDATE: I recently discovered another lens hood option. I found that the Nikon HN-20 screw-on hood with Hakuba 86mm snap-on lens cap will work excellent with the Nikon 28mm f/1.4D AF. In addition the Hakuba 72mm Rubber Lens Hood works great too, however I prefer metal lens hoods to protect the glass. Still it’s a very good and cheap alternative. In Japan I can get the HN-20, Hakuba 86mm cap, and 72mm Rubber Hood all for under 20 bucks so it was rather cheap to try all this out.
Possibly Related Posts:
Posted in Photography
