Customer Reviews

Nikon HB-34 Lens Hood for 55-200mm DX Nikkor Lens

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Okay, this lens hood is fine. Terrific.

BUT...the 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX COMES WITH THIS ITEM! Don't "take advantage" of Amazon's "Better Together" offer for the lens:

"Buy this item with Nikon HB-34 Lens Hood for 55-200mm DX Nikkor Lens by Nikon today!"

Because then you'll own TWO of these.

If you're like me, you may buy this unnecessarily. The 55-200 DX VR already comes with a hood, but this is listed as a recommended accessory with lens by Amazon. It won't let the lens operate thru the whole zoom range when installed in storage mode (reversed). This may provide some incidental protection to the zoom mechanism from accidental bumping when not in use. Just a guess.

Otherwise works as it should, just not necessary unless you want a scalloped hood. You probably already know all of this if you do.

So, hopefully I just saved you some cash.

Well it is Nikon so it has to be quality. I tried a knock-off version before that would not stay on. This one works perfect.

I was a bit skeptical when replacing my solid hood for a scalloped one, but this is exactly what the lens doctor ordered. Not only is it just a touch lighter than my old one (a consideration for long shoots)but it fits snugly on my 55-200 mm Nikkor lens. The scallops make it easier to remove/replace the lens cap but it still cuts out the 'trash light' when shooting in low light city shots or sun glare. I heartily recomend this as a replacement/additional hood.

I bought this hood to accompany the hood included with my 55-200mm lens. The major flaw is that the lens will not zoom through its full range, as the hood is somewhat narrower than the kit hood, and binds at around 70mm. Also, with the hood reversed you cannot use the focus ring (true of the included hood too). The focus ring is only an issue if you shoot a lot with the hood reversed, but the binding can be an issue for some who need the lens to store more compactly.

I wish this would come with the 55-200 VR, and not only the 55-200.

The hood supplied with the VR model is nice, but everyone loves the petal hood ;-).

Highly recommended, and it looks good too ;-)

Great Lens Hood for Nikon Lens. Very well packaged

Amazon was able to meet my need for a replacement of a Nikon Lens Hood which I was not able to secure from local camera stores for under $10.00 within 3 days of submitting my order.

I bought this lens hood when I bought my 55-200mm, f4-5.6 DX VR Nikkor Lens. That lens DOES come standard with the HB-37 (round style) lens hood. I chose to upgrade to this HB-34 (petal style) lens hood for 2 reasons.

1) There is less chance of a petal style hood causing vignetting (darkening around the corners of your image) when shooting the lens at wider angles. I have never shot the 55-200mm, f4-5.6 DX VR Nikkor with the standard HB-37 hood, so I cannot confirm or deny if it does cause vignetting. I have been shooting the lens for about a month now with the HB-34, and have had no instances of it.

2) The petal style hood looks cooler than the round.

This HB-37 mounts very securly to the end of the lens. However as mentioned in other reviews, when mounted backwards for storage, the lens cannot zoom out to 55mm. Personally, this doesnt bother me. I zoom it to about 85mm, mount the hood backwards, and then zoom the lens out until the hood rests gently on the focal ring (about 70mm). As far as I can tell, nothing rubs or scratches when the hood rests on the focus ring, so it doesn't bother me.

Summary: Im really happy with the hood!

After comparing the pros and cons of the HB-37 vs. HB-34 lens hoods for my Nikon 55-200 VR, I decided that I'd be "cool" and get this petal hood. Guess what? It works perfectly, not only when attached forward, but also when reversed, you can easily store the hood and lens together. I don't know why anyone complains about that. Maybe you can't pick the lens up by the hood, but why the heck would you want to?