[fwcetus]

PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing

Item for Sale
Dedicated Accessory Hoods for M*/A* 300/4 Lenses (Yes, ~Really~)

Asking Price
50.00 USD and 40.00 USD, with Free Shipping

Item Location
Massachusetts (United States)

Item Description

OK, I know what you're thinking -- the M* and A* 300/4 lenses have a built-in hood -- why would anyone need an additional hood for one of these neat lenses? -- or why would Pentax bother making a dedicated accessory hood for a lens that it already provided a built-in hood for?



Well, as it turns out, Pentax DID make such an accessory dedicated hood (part number 34421) when it released the M* 300/4 lens. And, there are several reasons why such an extra hood DOES make sense, and a couple reasons more why an owner of an M* or A* 300/4 lens might want to obtain one, as follows:

#1. The accessory hood screws into the filter threads at the front of the lens, so that it becomes much more secure to use an M* or A* 300/4 lens in the field -- the accessory hood is not easily dislodged, unlike the built-in sliding hood, which can easily be inadvertently pushed back, instantly exposing the front lens element to damage.

#2. The felt bushing that lines the built-in sliding hood's base can tend to become worn or compressed over time, so that the built-in hood can become "sloppy" or "droopy" on some older lens copies -- obviously, the screw-in hood would improve on that, since it will instead mount quite solidly to the front of the lens.

#3. The appearance of the built-in hood and the accessory hood, when placed side-by-side, might make it seem as if they are approximately the same in length. However, because the built-in hood cannot extend all the way out (or it simply would fall off), the built-in hood actually shields the lens considerably less (by over an inch less). The built in hood extends about 20mm, while the accessory hood extends this by an additional 30mm or so, for an approximate total of 50mm of light shielding. Therefore the accessory screw-in hood will better shield the front of the lens from stray light, making for higher contrast images in many lighting conditions.

#4. The accessory hood is very slightly wider than the built-in hood and is actually "double-threaded" -- i.e., it has the usual end threads used to mount it on the lens in a forward-facing position, but it also has internal threads that allow the hood to be mounted on the lens in a reversed position for storage, fitting over the built-in hood. Note the threads in the following images:





#5. Because the accessory hood is just slightly wider than the built-in hood, it allows for the use of those polarizing filters that might otherwise not be able to be used with the built-in sliding hood extended -- the built-in hood cannot be extended if there is a polarizing filter that has an "adjustment grip" on it.

#6. The dedicated M* 300/4 accessory hood was sold separately from the lens, so probably not too many users bothered to obtain one (since the lens did, after all, come with a built-in hood already, right?), which might be the reason why Pentax never bothered releasing a re-marked A* hood for the that newer lens version. Therefore the M* accessory hood, besides being quite functional, could also be a desirable (and collectible) accessory for many owners of both the M* and the A* 300/4 lenses. [How often have you seen any of these up for sale?]

Anyhoo, I have TWO of these for sale here, one New Old Stock in Box and one EX used. [I very recently had three of them, but I just sold a second NOSIB one. ] The NOSIB hood has never been used, and is in absolutely New condition. The EX used hood is in Excellent condition, with no dents or significant flaws -- I think the most obvious marks are some "rubs" on the inside of the hood (barely visible in a couple of the images). I am offering the NOSIB hood for $50 and the EX used one for $40 (both prices include free USPS Priority Mail shipping within the contiguous 48 US states).

First, here are some pix of the NOSIB hood: -- NOTE: The NOSIB hood has been spoken for (so that only the EX hood is left).















And here are some pix of the EX used hood: -- NOTE: The EX used hood has also been spoken for (so that both hoods have been sold).















Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
Yes

Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling

Item Condition (Key)
New Old Stock in Box, and Excellent Used

Shipping Destinations
United States

Shipping Charge
Free Shipping to Contiguous 48 US States

Shipping Services
USPS Priority Mail

Accepted Payment Types
PayPal

Return Policy & Additional Details
Full refund, minus shipping cost, if not as described.

Please send me a private message if interested in the item !

---

Last edited by fwcetus; 05-06-2016 at 09:13 AM.

[onlineflyer]

Would this lens hood also fit a K 200 f2.5, which takes the same size filter as the A* 300? I own both, so it would be an interesting accessory if it fit.

[fwcetus]

Would this lens hood also fit a K 200 f2.5, which takes the same size filter as the A* 300? I own both, so it would be an interesting accessory if it fit.

My guess is "Yes, but maybe no, too". [You see, while I have owned both the K 200/2.5 (with the absolutely most gorgeous blue SMC on its front element) and both M* and A* 300/4's, this has not been true for quite a few years now.]

I am pretty sure that - "Yes" - the accessory hood would screw into the front of the K 200/2.5, since they both have 77mm filter threads.

However, due to not owning the K 200/2.5 any longer (and never having tried this when I did), I cannot know if the hood would mount reversed on the K 200/2.5, since I don't know if the built-in K 200/2.5 hood has the same (or at least narrow enough) diameter, compared to the M*/A* 300/4 hoods - so "but maybe no, too".

Furthermore, while the accessory hood is significantly longer than are the M*/A* 300/4 hoods when extended, my memory (perhaps faulty, as it often is) seems to suggest that the built-in hood on the K 200/2.5, which memory also suggests may have actually been longer than the M*/A* 300/4's built-in hoods, so (if I happen to be correct) (it does happen sometimes) the accessory hood might offer only a very small (or no) benefit in light shielding for the K 200/2.5.

[And I suspect that this last factor would be even more true for trying to use this hood on the K 300/4, even if it fit otherwise.]

Dunno, though...

[Kerrowdown]

How could you tease me like this... remember you and I looked into this a while back (August 2015) and the cost of shipping to me was just horrendous.

I never did find any others... but was not actively looking too hard, good luck with the sale.

[fwcetus]

How could you tease me like this... remember you and I looked into this a while back (August 2015) and the cost of shipping to me was just horrendous.

I never did find any others... but was not actively looking too hard, good luck with the sale.

Yes -- sorry.

Shipping this, including insuring it, to anywhere within the lower 48 US states costs just under $10 USD (or at least that's what it cost me to ship the first of the three of these I had just a few days ago).

But shipping this to Caledonia (and would you believe I was listening to Dougie MacLean's "Caledonia", of which I have 4 different MP3 version of it by him, when I came upon your reply?) cost about a half an order of magnitude more, as I seem to recall.

[Kerrowdown]

cost about a half an order of magnitude more, as I seem to recall

I know that you were good enough to do a load of running around on my behalf and the best deal you could get at the time for me was with USPS, at $57.57 USD.

[rgknief60]

PM sent for the New Old Stock in Box Hood.

[Odinz]

PM sent

[fwcetus]

OK, no hoods are left -- both have been spoken for. Thanks for your interest.