Kirk NC-300 Modification

This is just a little modification of the Kirk NC300 tripod collar for the Nikon AFS 300mm f/4. The NC300 is a great collar, but inserting/removing the lens can scratch the lens on the long term. You can obtain much better results by filing two small parts of the hinge, as shown below. You don't need to file a lot, just round two corners.

Note that I received one of the first collars so that this design issue might be fixed now.

Fig.1:Filed region on the NC300 hinge - take 1

Fig.1:Filed region on the NC300 hinge - take 2

2005-07-28 Update: it seems that the new collars don't have this problem. :-) This has been discussed on Nikonians here and here.