I recently purchased a new 100-400. While the lens itself is great... very sharp, smooth zoom action, quick AF, the lens hood is a royal P.I.T.A!! It does not attach smoothly, despite constant finessing on my part, and is truly a bitch to take on and off! I just can't tell whether the issue is with the mounting flange on the lens itself, or the hood machining wasn't done right. I hesitate to return the lens just for the lens hood issue... suggestions?
It could be a bad hood. Mine is smooth as they come to go on and off.
Have you checked the hood for any imperfections? Or the mounting point on the lens?
If its still an issue I would ask the shop you got it from to try another hood rather than send it back.
My new 100-400L hood is a bit of a pain, too. Not nearly as easy to mount as my other L-series lens hoods. I find it works best if I put the hood butt on the front of the lens, rotate it backwards (i.e. opposite direction to attaching it), while keeping it in flat contact all around, and then rotating forward into lock position after it 'drops' into place.
I would not return a good lens due to the hood. The lens is probably not at fault as it is manufactured to tighter tolerances than a relatively cheap piece of injection molded plastic.
My hood has actually gotten slightly more loose with time. I would continue to use it. If it's unbearable, call Canon directly and see if they will swap.
You could also look for a cheap facsimile on Flea-Bay to try out. Probably less than $20.
My 100-400 hood seems to work okay but I've beat it up so badly that it is sort of loose now. I just slam it on at a random orientation and then twist it around till it grabs properly. It isn't the greatest feat of engineering but if the lens is sharp, don't return it. I think the sample variability of this lens has much improved in the last few years but you never know because there are still some dogs out there.
Both I have had were flexible in this respect, and watching a whole rig topple once, bouncing when the hood hit, absorbing and deflecting most of the momentum, I was wondering if it was actually designed the way it is to do just that.
The hood is flexible in a way that if you span the opening with your fingers and squeeze to mount it, you are deforming the thread end enough to make threads bind. If you stick your thumb inside the rim, fingers pinching from the outside, thereby not flexing the thread end, you will find it goes on more easily.
John_T wrote:
Both I have had were flexible in this respect, and watching a whole rig topple once, bouncing when the hood hit, absorbing and deflecting most of the momentum, I was wondering if it was actually designed the way it is to do just that.
The hood is flexible in a way that if you span the opening with your fingers and squeeze to mount it, you are deforming the thread end enough to make threads bind. If you stick your thumb inside the rim, fingers pinching from the outside, thereby not flexing the thread end, you will find it goes on more easily....Show more →
I emailed Canon Support about the issue, and I'm hoping that they can come up with a solution. But I'm certainly not going to return it for the hood issue...
This is my second copy of this lens having sold the first one a couple of years go. That one was also very sharp, and I never had any issues with that hood.
I found if you didn't mount it flush (flat) before turning it it was a bitch. My wife also had a problem when she screwed on a polarizer. It didn't like the fit.
Good luck. It's a great lens.
Chris B. wrote:
I recently purchased a new 100-400. While the lens itself is great... very sharp, smooth zoom action, quick AF, the lens hood is a royal P.I.T.A!! It does not attach smoothly, despite constant finessing on my part, and is truly a bitch to take on and off! I just can't tell whether the issue is with the mounting flange on the lens itself, or the hood machining wasn't done right. I hesitate to return the lens just for the lens hood issue... suggestions?
The hood is not machined.
All lens hoods that fit well enough to not slip off easily are going to be a bit of a bother from time to time. I have the 100-400 and yes, the lens hood is not the most perfect device ever created. Nonetheless, the lens as a whole package is a great lens and a really good one for the money. Get used to the fact that it is less than perfect.
Most people have way too much expectation of perfection and are never willing to pay what it takes. For example, high quality brakes will stop a sports car from 100 kmph to 0 in 30 meters. If you pay six times as much you can shave 5 meters off that. The last 15% of performance in any high quality system typically consumes 85 % of the cost.
Accept that equipment is less than perfect and get on with making good photographs. Typically a balky lens hood does not prevent a good photographer from making good photographs, in the final analysis. Typically the limiting factor for photographers is not the equipment but the photographer.
Haha, I agree with the OP, I observed the same issue with my 100-400 lens hood, but it was never a concern for me - I just got used to it. But it doesn't mean that I like it! This hood easily screws the wrong way into the thread and sits attached but still sort of lose in the thread. You can only see it if you look closely. After I realized this, I am taking extra caution to mount this hood!
Biggest problem is when it goes on incorrectly, it's difficult to get off when this happens. Mine is a bit tight, even after years of use and I find a bit of care puttting it on the quiclest way to get the job done. Doing it in a hurry always results in binding.
John_T wrote:
Both I have had were flexible in this respect, and watching a whole rig topple once, bouncing when the hood hit, absorbing and deflecting most of the momentum, I was wondering if it was actually designed the way it is to do just that.
The hood is flexible in a way that if you span the opening with your fingers and squeeze to mount it, you are deforming the thread end enough to make threads bind. If you stick your thumb inside the rim, fingers pinching from the outside, thereby not flexing the thread end, you will find it goes on more easily....Show more →
I agree with John_T problem is the lens hood distorts when you try to screw it on and then you get a grey powdery texture on the lens hood threads from constant misalignment which does not help - good news is it gets better with use !
I occasionally rub my fingers on my forehead and then around the threads of the lens where the hood screws on. It is an imperceptible amount of skin oil but I find it's enough to help with a sticky lens hood, including the one on the 100-400.
dwweiche wrote:
The lens is probably not at fault as it is manufactured to tighter tolerances than a relatively cheap piece of injection molded plastic.
Both the lens hood mount threads and the lens hood are injection molded plastic. The threads are a part of the (mostly painted white) plastic part that the rubber grip is located on. They will both wear some with use and the hood will get easier to install and remove over time.
I never had any difficulty with the hood being too tight. When I owned this lens, the problem was that the hood was too loose. It wouldn't take much effort to bump it loose.
