[blackcloudbrew]

Ok, so I've been a member of this forum for like 13 years or so and I own way too much Pentax gear - I'm sort of a recovering LBA/GBA addict. So you'd think I would know how to answer this generic question, but... here goes:

[Rant on] Why, why, why is it so difficult to find replacement parts for Pentax lenses? Accidents happen, lens caps fall of, the removable door on many lens hoods falls of or out of the gear bag, or something on the lens hood breaks. So...you need to buy a new one. Just try to find one of those. Not from Pentax, not from Amazon, not from B&H (etc.), not from eBay, and not from my local store either. Why is it so hard? Mostly these are just plastic - ok, some are metal and have the same problem of loosing them as well, but is it so hard to have a source of replacement stuff?[Rant off]

Occasionally, I see posts about generic brand hood replacements from ? China, or? I haven't been able to locate such a source. Ideas?

Is there a spread sheet that says which lens hood goes with which lens or could be used on another lens?

Now, I know that there are some work arounds:

1. Gaffer tape over the filter hole.
2. Just work with the filter hole open.
3. Find some generic rubber collapsible screw in lens hood.
4. Glue the broken thing back together and hope.
5. ?

While I understand that there are a lot of lens hoods out there but you'd think that you should be able to buy a new hood for any and all lenses currently in production. But my experience is just plain hit or miss.

Example (and what precipitated this post):
Part A. I dropped my FA 645 35mm lens yesterday and cracked the hood for it. The filter door dropped out and I recovered both. Trying the gluing today and hoping solution. Could actually have gotten a new one from Pentax @ $99 for a new one, ebay for about $44 or so. As far as I know, this lens is still in production, so I do have some choices.

Part B. A while back I lost the filter door from my DFA*50 f1.4 lens. Do you think I can find a replacement hood for that, a star lens? Nope. Nowhere. I may be reduced to going with the Gaffer tape solution.

The lack of any reliable source of supply is and has been and continues to be annoying. What, if anything can we do about this? While I'm looking for specific solutions to my example above, my point here is to poll the forum for other ideas to this problem. I want OEM parts, that's all, not too much to ask for really.

[ok, I feel much better now. ]

[pepperberry farm]

I know in the Lens Review section, all the current or recent Pentax lenses are listed with which hood fits them

for example:

SMC Pentax-DA 14mm F2.8 ED [IF] Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database


on the DA 14, the proper hood is the PH-RBH hood, in a 77mm size - I've used this coding, along with the lens name to find generic/knock-off hoods on eBay for cheap.....

[blackcloudbrew]

I know in the Lens Review section, all the current or recent Pentax lenses are listed with which hood fits them

for example:

SMC Pentax-DA 14mm F2.8 ED [IF] Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database


on the DA 14, the proper hood is the PH-RBH hood, in a 77mm size - I've used this coding, along with the lens name to find generic/knock-off hoods on eBay for cheap.....

Yes, I've used that info and actually keep a record of the specific lens hood model for each lens that I own, but knowing the model isn't a way to get to potential substitution.

[K-Three]

I own way too much Pentax gear

Not possible

[blackcloudbrew]

Not possible

Point taken...

[Kobayashi.K]

What I already do for ages for both my film and digital lenses is to use screw-in Heliopan hoods they have for ALL the filter threads you can think of, optionally combined with one of their step-up rings in many sizes, also for ALL filter threads.

What I first do is to make a dummy hood from thin black carton to test what the diameter and length of the hood must be to avoid vignetting. Then I search in the Heliopan price list which parts are necessary to make that hood (a simple hood or combined with a step-up ring).

The Heliopan hoods are all black, cylindrical and aluminum. Each hood is available in two sizes, short and long, AND you can stack them, because they have a filter thread on the lens side (male) but also on the inside (female).

Sometimes, when a 'short' hood is still too long, I shorten it by cutting it off with a figure saw. Theoretically you could also stack two or more extension rings, but these parts are not cheap.

Besides hoods and step-up rings Heliopan has also step-down rings, extension rings, coupling-rings (2x male thread) and filters so this a truly universal system.

Heliopan is a German manufacturer, and I live in Europe, so I order my Heliopan parts from Foto Mayr in Germany, Dietzenbach. They have many parts in stock, but they can also order from the Heliopan factory directly, which will cost you 3 or 4 weeks extra. The website of Foto Mayr can be set to German or English. Just ask them if you can order from them to your country.

[stevebrot]

Part A. I dropped my FA 645 35mm lens yesterday and cracked the hood for it. The filter door dropped out and I recovered both. Trying the gluing today and hoping solution. Could actually have gotten a new one from Pentax @ $99 for a new one, ebay for about $44 or so. As far as I know, this lens is still in production, so I do have some choices.

Looks like you are covered, though the FA 645 35/3.5 was EOL in 2015 and the PH RBB 82 hood may not continue to be available.

Part B. A while back I lost the filter door from my DFA*50 f1.4 lens. Do you think I can find a replacement hood for that, a star lens? Nope. Nowhere. I may be reduced to going with the Gaffer tape solution.

You can get one, but not directly from Ricoh Imaging or retail channels in N. America...go figure. IIWM, I would simply get a generic round metal 58mm filter of similar depth and call it good, either that or duct tape.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/11171-REG/B_W_65041196_58mm_Screw_In_...981&


Steve

[grog85361]

If you don't mind used, try KEH and Used Photo Pro (Robert's.) I have gotten used Pentax hoods for remarkably cheap prices.

[blackcloudbrew]

If you don't mind used, try KEH and Used Photo Pro (Robert's.) I have gotten used Pentax hoods for remarkably cheap prices.

Good suggestions. I had it in mind to give KEH a try but don't have much experience with Robert's. Thanks.

[Haenzel]

Perhaps a 3D printing service is an option?

[Jonathan Mac]

In November last year I lost the little slide-out tab from the hood of my HD FA 35/2 lens. It fell in the autumn leaves in the park where I take my daughter to play after nursery and after much traipsing about looking at the ground I gave it up for lost. I tried the slide-out tabs for every other hood I have that has one and they're all different. I contacted the official Pentax UK pro centre SRS Microsystems and within 24h they had tracked down a replacement hood at Pentax France, which was shipped to them before being paid for by me and sent on. That's the only experience I've ever had and I have to say it was excellent. They did tell me though that that hood was the only one available from Pentax in the while of Europe, so it's not that they have a lot of spare hoods lying around.

I should mention that last week, four months later, I found that little tab in the park. The replacement hasn't even been out of it's box.

I plan to use black insulation tape to stick them all in place so I never lose one again. I would also recommend mounting the hood with that tab at the top (not at the bottom as I used to do), so that if it falls off you can see that it's gone and hopefully look for it close to where it went missing.

[DeadJohn]

Yes, it is very frustrating that we can't simply buy replacement filter tabs for the lens hood. When I needed one, I couldn't find the tab nor an entire hood assembly.

I contacted service and was told to send the lens for "repair". I would have had to commit to shipping my lens to Precision, and agree to pay over $200 (actual cost may have been less but I couldn't find out until contracting to pay that much) in order to learn the real cost for the filter tab. That's an insane system.

I'm not proud of my solution, but I ordered a new lens, brought the filter tab to a friend to scan and 3D print, then returned the lens.