Canon 500mm F4 MK1 Lens Hood (1 Viewer)

My existing lenshood was damaged due a drop a number of years ago with a fairly sizeable crack along its length. Whilst I have taped the outside of the hood and have a lens coat on it it is still less rigid than before and can see the crack/damage getting worse. I have attempted to tape on the inside however the covering on the inside prevents even the stickiest of black masking tape from staying attached.

Whilst I can probably spend lots of time glueing and trying a repair, not sure how successful this will really be, I have looked for secondhand hood for this lens and so failed to find any anywhere.

I suspect it will be an expensive spare part but as I cant locate any does anyone have any suggestions where to look, or even sound suggestions for securing the crack/split in the existing hood.

kind regards

What I would do is drill a hole about 5mm each end of the crack or just outside the crack ,this should stop it spreading -then fill the holes and crack with an epoxy type glue .

Rub it down with wet and dry then colour match the paint at a paint shop ( they will mix it ) then spray it .

Rob.

My wife uses a very strong glue for jewellery making.

It's an industrial strength adhesive, very strong, very versatile and flexible when set. It's called E6000 and comes in various sizes, down to the three inch tube I have that is only 5.3ml, so you don't have to buy a lot.

Perfect for small jobs. A bit stringy in use and strong-smelling, but it does the job.

A rather excitable, but nonetheless impressive example of its strength here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEbhfVsp8OE

and a more measured example of a user tip here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XCUonJ34K4

I read a while back that Ford Mondeo Cameo is actually the correct shade of paint to use.

Steve.

Replacement lens hoods are VERY expensive (£450 to £500) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/763754-REG/Canon_5171b001_ET_138W_II_Lens_Hood.html so I would fully explore the options offered above. As you don't "see" the inside of the hood on imges, you could explore having i stapled together (like they used to do for pottery) to prevent further damage. I had one that was damaged but never replaced it as my neoprene camouflage lens cover was pretty tight and helped. I don't know if you can get shrink tube big enough, but we used to use it to repair carbon fibre fishing poles ( probably 1.5 inch diameter tube but with a much thinner wall than your lens hood) and it would help strengthen the hood once you have it repaired.

Michael.

The lens hood is made of Carbon Fiber and epoxy resin. If you gently spread the crack and smear a thin layer of decent quality epoxy resin on the facing surfaces of the crack you will get a very strong bond. Once you have squeezed the crack back together then wipe off any excess and bind it with tape until set, say 24 hours. It won't be quite as strong as new but it will be close enough for all practical purposes.

Many thanks all for suggestions. The crack is around the lens hood and not along it as I think I previously advised and its more splintered than a simple crack, unfortunately. I have glued together what I can and it will probably do the job as pretty sturdy but I have been thinking about future resale and a cracked/damaged hood would be a negative selling point, evening though the lens itself is perfectly fine.

I have managed to track one down which will cost me a sizeable £360 but last time I looked, couple of years ago, they were closer to £550. As the mk1 lens is not longer being made this may account for the lack of replacement hoods out there.

again thanks all for the suggestions

Look for Canon ET 138, they do come up from time to time on eBay.

Park have one now. https://www.parkcameras.com/p/1310196/lens-caps-hoods/canon/et-138-lens-hood-for-ef-500mm-f4l-is-usm

or make your own;
http://www.lenshoods.co.uk/hoods/Canon-EF-500mm-f-4-L-IS-USM.php

Not sure if this would make a good replacement but certainly lighter.

www.lenscoat.com/travelhood-c-44.html

Di Stone said:

Not sure if this would make a good replacement but certainly lighter.

www.lenscoat.com/travelhood-c-44.html

Click to expand...

I had seen these were coming out and wonder just how good they would be... Mine arrived yesterday and I have been having a play with it today. It arrives flat packed (it seems that it is designed to pack flat for travel) and it very easy to attach onto the lens. There are two padded ridges along the bottom which go either side of the the protruding ridge on the lens (where the standard hood attaches). You line it up around the ridge and then it just wraps round and velcros together in position. I have tried it I the 300 and it works very well looking it will clearly fit the 500 too without any problem.

The panels which make it up will move if the hood is knocked but then will just bounce back into position. Having pushed it about a bit it seems that even a strong knock would not be an issue as the panels might move inwards but don't go anywhere near the objective.

So it's cheaper and lighter than the official hood but still offers good protection from flare or knocks. Also it will fit on a range of lenses so if weight is an issue when travelling you could take a single hood to use on multiple lenses.