[sameagle]

hi all,

I was so excited to come home to a brand new da21mm on my doorstep ... And then so disappointed to see that the lens hood is very crooked. I'm guessing it is something like 40+ degrees off. I have taken it off and re-attached it many times.

Is there a way to adjust the angle of the hood?

I suspect I will need to exchange it for a new one.

thanks,
Sam

[manishved]

A few pictures may help.....

[Adam]

You could try to straighten it out using pliers, but adds are not only that it will remain misaligned, but also that you're going to damage the finish.

If you try and decide that it doesn't work, you can always order a (overpriced) replacement:
Pentax MH-RBA Lens Hood for Pentax DA 21mm f/3.2 Lens 38748 B&H

[sameagle]

Here are some pics to help visualize what I'm dealing with.

Here you can see the little white "hood alignment dot" on the side of the lens:



Here is how crooked the hood is:



Here is the lens with no hood in case it gives you an idea for how the lens is supposed to mount to the camera:




I was worried that if I try to twist the hood/lens too hard that I would break something, so I haven't given it anything more than a very moderate twist.

Thanks,
Sam

[SOldBear]

(I don't have the lens here with me).

But this may help -> linky.

Note this paragraph:

"The hood is a convex shaped snap-on/twist-on metal hood with a rectangular opening for the optics. You position the lens hood onto the lens, in an about 90 degree orientation, and turn 90 degrees clockwise to snap/lock the hood onto the lens. One item that I need to constantly be aware of is that the lens cap is a push-on type that fits very snug. I'm a bit anal and if the logo is a little crooked, I'll turn the cap so that the logo is horizontally level. Dumb, I know, but I like a slight degree of order in my life. Anyway, it is very easy, when turning the cap, to unsnap the hood. I could fall off in such a situation."

[sameagle]

Okay ... I was being too delicate with the hood. It turns some amount and then felt like it would not turn anymore. But I just made another attempt to see how far I was rotating it. In the process I pushed the hood into the lens just a little bit more and voila, the hood rotated to the correct position.

Yay!

... and

*facepalm* how come it took me so long to figure that out?

Thanks all!

- Sam

[SOldBear]

Okay ... I was being too delicate with the hood. It turns some amount and then felt like it would not turn anymore. But I just made another attempt to see how far I was rotating it. In the process I pushed the hood into the lens just a little bit more and voila, the hood rotated to the correct position.

Now that you've figured out how to install the hood, if you're like me, you'll remove it and put it away in a safe place

To be frank, I never like the DA21 hood and cap. I like this setup better:

[bdery]

Now that you've figured out how to install the hood, if you're like me, you'll remove it and put it away in a safe place

I'm not sure about the hood myself...

Reason tells me it adds no length to the lens when the lens cap is in place, and can only improve my pictures and help protect the lens.

Heart is telling me it takes away part of the wow factor because the lens looks longer when in use, and the hood hides the beautiful red lettering on the front of the lens.

What should I do about it? Decisions, decisions...

[sameagle]

Now that you've figured out how to install the hood, if you're like me, you'll remove it and put it away in a safe place

To be frank, I never like the DA21 hood and cap. I like this setup better:

SOldBear, I have to give you credit for creativity and maybe even practicality.

But on the flipside ... man those lenses look pretty GHETTTTTTOOOOO !



- Sam