Canon EF 300mm F/4 L Hood.

I recently bought a used Canon EF 300mm f/4L (not IS) lens. The hood slides back and forth but does not lock in the extended position. Is this normal for this lens or is there something missing that should keep the hood extended?

Hmm i'm not sure. I have the IS version and for that one you give the hood a quarter turn after you have extended it and that locks it. You tried that>?

The hood turns around and around smoothly. I notice that Photozone says that their copy is like mine. Maybe they are all like that.

macroimage wrote in post #8220946
I recently bought a used Canon EF 300mm f/4L (not IS) lens. The hood slides back and forth but does not lock in the extended position. Is this normal for this lens or is there something missing that should keep the hood extended?

I had a non IS version before, the built-in hood just slides back and forth without without any locking, this is normal. Don't have to worry about it.

Thanks Gino, that clarifies it. The lens seems to be excellent otherwise. The minimum focus distance is a bit long but nothing and extension tube won't fix.

dandig wrote in post #8221120
Hmm i'm not sure. I have the IS version and for that one you give the hood a quarter turn after you have extended it and that locks it. You tried that>?

Cool, didn't know the lens hood locked. Just tried it and it does lock, only when you turn it to the right.

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

macroimage wrote in post #8220946
I recently bought a used Canon EF 300mm f/4L (not IS) lens. The hood slides back and forth but does not lock in the extended position. Is this normal for this lens or is there something missing that should keep the hood extended?

I didn't know Canon made a 300mm f/4.0L in non IS version?

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

I have a non IS one and the lens hood won't lock either, think it must be ware, but the glass is still sharp.

Non-IS here, mine still has "felt" or something causing resistance at the very end when it is extended.. it sorta sits in place. Never had it collapse on me unintentionally... and yes, this is a good lens (no experience with the IS version, but the non-IS is pretty much a clone of my 70-200/2.8IS image quality other than a slightly different WB cast)

Put a rubber band around the lens just behind the hood when fully extended. Now, the hood will stay in place.

gasrocks wrote in post #8222156
Put a rubber band around the lens just behind the hood when fully extended. Now, the hood will stay in place.

Excellent idea. I've been holding the lens with my left hand just behind the hood when taking pictures with the lens pointed up.

I was just concerned that maybe there was something wrong with the lens that the hood didn't lock like the newer ones do.

thanks , I've had my 300f4 w/is for a year now and didn't know the hood locked . I used it just 3 or 4 times .. I must get it out more .. now that I don't work anymore , were going out more often , same with all the other glass .........

Well my non-IS version dos not lock either, but it's pretty old so I don't know if it's normal or faulty! Regardless, it's not a problem - I've never needed to hold the hood, even when pointing upwards, as it seems to stay in place well enough.