Kit lense shade

As a believer in lense shades, I faithfully use the "petal" shade furnished with the 18 - 55 mm kit lense. (Which, BTW, is surprisingly good!) With this faithful use the bayonet mounting for the hood has worn a bit, to the point where I'm a little fearful of losing the shade. Have any other users encountered this, and if so do you have any suggestions?

I try to leave the hoods in place on my lenses.

G

But that is not very practical when the camera is not in use, and difficult to put on/remove the lens cap. Normally, I reverse the hood when not using the camera. I would expect the plastic bayonet locks to wear out over time, but then a new lens hood should not be out of reach financially.

Terry,

I agree that the supplied lens caps are difficult to manage with the hoods in place.

I've replaced mine with good quality center-pinch caps (if that makes any sense).

This way, the hoods stay in place (only come off to change filters (I only tend to use polarizers - actually making use of that little removeable window in the hoods' bottom for alignment.)).

I also agree that new hoods should be available (affordable?), but wonder if the lens barrel half of the mount may be wearing out as well?

As has often been said in these hallowed threads, a rigid hens hood protects the front element of a good SMC lens better than a fragile and unneccessary UV filter. That's why I always leave them in place.

They also look very cool

Cheers,

A lens packs up smaller without the hood fitted normally, meaning your kit can be fitted into a smaller space. Leaving hoods on all the time would not be an option for me and many users when using small bags or lens pouches.

I've not noticed any severe wear of any hood bayonet mounting, though.

I can't think of a suggestion besides using a dab of grease to minimise further wear.

The only time it is not practicable is when I am travelling with a lot of kit and space is limited. At home, the lenses are placed hood down on a shelf.

G

Thanks to all for the comments. Agreed, a new hood (if available) shouldn't cost much, but probably does. A dab of grease might hold enough grit to accelerate wear. I hope the wear is on the hood, not the lens.

As far as I can see the lens hood is made of a softer material than the front part of the lens, and should consequently wear faster.

Good point about grit accelerating wear (if you are likely to get grit near the lens or hood).

The hood is "optional" with the new DA-L 18-55 lens, so presumably will be widely available on its own. If you're lucky, it will be compatible with the older 18-55mm lens and not too outrageously over-priced.

Or you could just upgrade to the DA 18-55 II, which is optically better than the original 18-55, and comes with a hood.

The Mk 2 lens is £37.99 at Park cameras if that is the way you decide to go.
http://www.parkcameras.com/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/8695/groupID/14/category...

I lost my hood, not sure if it was worn but dropped off unnoticed. The Pentax UK price for a replacement was £35!!! I bought a mint s/h lens and hood on ebay £25 and promptly sold the lens at a small profit.

Ken

See if Canadian store Henry's will ship to you in the UK as I paid less in Canadian Dollars about six months as my shade came off when a piece of art fell on it, and thus had to order and so I am now have a new shade on an older lens and glad for otherwise I would have needed a new optic from the GALLERY.

Here's one.

I was looking for a replacement hood for my 16-45mm and that was £25.
To say I was shocked was an understatement.