LH-5 lens hood will not mount correctly

[joeswe]

Hello everybody,

I am a newbie to this forum (I will post a more detailed intro in the appropriate thread later) and also a newbie to Bessa rangefinders.

I purchased a lens hood LH-5 for my 40 mm Nokton from an ebay outfit in the UK but the hood will not mount correctly. I have already contacted the seller and he has agreed to give a refund, I just wanted to make sure there is really something wrong with the hood and it is not just me (being to stupid to mount it) before I send it back to the UK.
So here is what I do:
When I line up the point mark to the notch on the aperture setting ring, then turn it about 90 degrees so the "voigtländer" logo lines up with the notch on the aperture ring, the hood will not "snap on" but stay on rather loosely, giving a rattling sound when I shake the camera. I have no experience with this type of lens hoods, but I cannot imagine it is supposed to be such a loose fit. Is the hood/bayonet really bad or am I just missing something?

thanks,
john

 

[kully]

Hello John,

My LH-5 was a little 'loose' when I first bought it. It got worse over time. I don't have it with me, but if you look at the back you've notice some metal tongues that press against the bayonets on the lens and keep it snug. If you get a table knife and bend these you'll get a nice snug fit.

I did that in 2007 and it's not loosened up again.

I'll post up a pic of what to do in the evening if you want to do this.

 

[joeswe]

Kully, reading you post I somehow suspect the tongues you are talking about are missing from my hood. It would be great if you could post pictures, so I can verify this.
Thanks,
John

 

[kully]

No worries John, I'll post something up between 7-8 this evening.

 

[kully]

Hello John,

Attached to this post is a pic of one of three cutouts that mate with the bayonet lugs on the lens. One of them has a small silver colours ball in the centre.

If you press the centre of these against the edge of a table or press down upon the centre with the back of a table knife, you will get a much better fit. You will need to use some force, but build up by pressing, mounting and checking tightness and pressing again if necessary.

Good luck.

 

[joeswe]

Hello kully,

many thanks, I just followed your instructions and it did the trick! It is a snug fit now!

John

 

[kully]

Great stuff John, welcome to the forum by the way and hopefully you can make it out to a meet sometime - where do you live?

 

[joeswe]

Great stuff John, welcome to the forum by the way and hopefully you can make it out to a meet sometime - where do you live?

Kully, my home is in Wiesbaden, Germany, not far from Frankfurt. I am planning to post a short text in the intro thread and add maybe some pictures to tell a little bit more about me in the coming days.
Thanks so far,
John

 

[Jim-st]

Hello John,

Attached to this post is a pic of one of three cutouts that mate with the bayonet lugs on the lens. One of them has a small silver colours ball in the centre.

If you press the centre of these against the edge of a table or press down upon the centre with the back of a table knife, you will get a much better fit. You will need to use some force, but build up by pressing, mounting and checking tightness and pressing again if necessary.

Good luck.

Hello kully,

many thanks, I just followed your instructions and it did the trick! It is a snug fit now!

John

+1 for me this morning! Just bought a used VH-5 off eBay and thought I was going to have to send it back, although I honestly could see nothing wrong with it... Then a quick search on RFF and I found this thread

So thanks John for starting the thread, and thanks Kully for answering the question so clearly and precisely! My VH-5 is now snugly and solidly mounted on my 40mm Nokton... just waiting for the sun to come out 😀