Olympus LH‑76 Lens hood Repair or Replacement

Well, I was warned when I bought the Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 Pro lens,
the person I bought it from told me how vulnerable it was,
But I’m always super careful,
so I thought, that won’t happen to me !

This lens hood is (was) great,
I really loved it !
The idea is that the lens hood can remain on the lens, and by turning a ring on the lens hood you can click it forwards or backwards, ingenious !

So on my last outing in the Brussels Forests, the lens hood suddenly fell apart.
Problem is, my near vision isn’t great without special glasses,
so some parts got lost on the forest floor without me finding them.

The original lens hood consists of
6 ball bearings
6 copper springs
a plastic holder in which the springs and ball bearings are located
a cover ring
and the hood itself.
If you don’t lose the cover ring (located at the back of the hood) and even with only half of the springs and ball bearings, it’s not that hard to restore the hood.
My lens hood even works with only one bearing and spring, but because I no longer have the rear cover ring, the movable inner ring just slides out of the hood.

DIY – even with a few parts left its easy to repair – really guys this isn’t rocket science !

I read on forums that the problem might be glue, but there is no trace of glue to find.
As far as I could find out, the rear cover ring just clicks onto the back of the lens hood.
Because it is plastic, the hood diameter larger than the lens, and the clearance between lens hood and lens, I think the rear ring comes loose due to movement and tension, and then everything just falls apart. So it is simple to put back together – if you have the parts !

Other solutions & Replacements :

• Original Olympus lens hood LH-76 (costs a small €60)
• the Olympus LH‑76D (100-400mm lens hood) fixed lens hood, and can be mounted upside down (costs about €36)
• Canon ET-78II fixed lens hood, and can be reversed (costs €18 to €19)

The cheapest solution can be found via Google!
just look for a Canon ET-78II replacement from the JJC brand (can be found for €15) or other brands or unbranded ones, there are several available on the internet, even for less than €10!

The internet is full of it, including on DPReview.com – August 2022 – really guys, this is much simpler to solve than you think.
The idea of the Canon lens hood is well thought out, for which thanks to the discoverer.
Well, I hope it helps someone – the lens is a hot selling item at Olympus, and as someone wrote on DPReview, its a ticking bomb.