david s Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Am I the only person who keeps knocking the lens cap off my 50mm cron when it is slung over my shoulder or neck. I keep it on as I have burnt through the curtain once when I stopped for a few seconds to gawp at a mountain veiw in strong sunlight (true). Any suggestions or thoughts please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_ting2 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 by OpTech.It comes in various sizes. http://www.optechusa.com/lens.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek_stanton2 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Seriously? I only use lens caps when the gear's packed for traveling. If my camera's out, over my shoulder, or in a small (non-photographic) shoulder bag, i have a lens shade mounted, and a filter. Instead of my current version 50 'lux' retractible shade, though, i attach a metal shade made for the Contax G2's 45mm lens. I'm curious about the curtain burning incident, though. Is this something that can realistically happen with a modern camera? I suppose if it is a real concern, wearing the camera over a shoulder and held under my arm (instead of flat on my chest) would be additional protection.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_ting2 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Shutter curtain burnt by the sun could happen. One time I was in a Singapore temple shooting in existing light with the aperture wide open. Upon leaving the temple exiting into the blazing sun, I carried my camera slung over my shoulder and by the time I got back to the hotel, the shutter curtain was fried with a pin-hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian dowling Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Do the following: 1. Take the cap off and put it away somewhere safe. 2. Ensure you have a filter on the front of your lens- if you don't mind that is. 3. Ensure you have a lens hood on the front of your lens. 4. Now go out and shoot....and your cap worries will only exist in your nightmares. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy. Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I don't understand what is happening here, so I took my M3 out with my 50mm cron, hold on to the shoulder strap, and the camera is always facing downwards, because the front / lens side is much heavier. The <B>only</B> way you can burn your camera curtain is if you intentionally hold the camera up and point it towards the sun, or something very bright for a lengthy period of time. I am confused. BTW, I have never used my lens cap(s) on any of my cameras, and I never have a curtain or a CMOS, CCD burnt. I live in <B>sunny</B> California. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masatoshi_yamamoto Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Be happy that it only falls off. The flimsy cover for the lens hood for the 35mm f2 ASPH seems to sprout wings. I last saw mine heading out to sea over Big Sur. The OPTECH hood hats are great. Minolta's snap on caps are cheaper and seems to stay on better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian dowling Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Stranger things have happened Sandy...um such as Bush wanting oil....oh...I mean...war in Iraq. That's where the political comments stop thanks. Couldn't help myself :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 The plastic cap to my 35mm Summicron is snug and never falls off. You have to pull it off. The felt lined cap I have for my 50 though is looser. When I take the camera out I usually keep the hood on it and sometimes the rectangular hood cap which I've lost one of so far. Just the hood alone provides pretty good protection, then keep reasonably concious of not having the glass face directly our nearest star... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Actually I just tried the plastic lens cap on my 50 tabbed Summicron and it fits pretty snug on it also (hadn't used it with this lens before). Depending on which cap you already have, you might call Leica and ask for a plastic one for your 50mm. They're $20. Of course just about any cap will come off if you're hitting it with your wrist or something and hit it hard enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Derek, great idea to use the Contax G shade on the 50 Lux. It's the same thread size I take it, and no vignetting ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver_s. Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I use those 3rd party caps that "clip" into the filter thread and are released with two fingers. (Canon and Nikon users know what I'm talking about.) They're cheaper than Optech caps and achieve the same.<p>Wrt burnt shutter curtains: I know it happened to an EOS user, who burnt a hole into his <u>metal</u> curtains when using MLU. Now I consider nothing impossible in photography. (With the exception of me taking a decent pic.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajabbi Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Eliminate Curtain burn; Never leave your lens focused at infinity.When carrying it, give the focus a quick turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy. Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 ....and stop it down to 1/16, cover the lens with you free hand.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier_reichenbach Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 As you can see, you're not the only person with that problem, David. Also, check Sarawoot Chittratanawat's post of a couple of days ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_smith12 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 David, You are not alone. I've not burned my shutter, but seems like my cap's fall off just looking at them. I've solved my problem by buying caps and leaving them in a closet. When out I use a clear filter and hope I don't burn the shutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_michel Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 it's been said before, but it bears emphasizing: who in their right mind walks around with their leica lens-capped?? there is no better way to get pics of the inside of the cap OR to simply lose pics while you are fumbling with the cap. the whole point of the leica is to be able to capture candids quickly, quietly, and unobtrusively. if the cap falls off easily it must be viewed as an EXCELLENT design feature -- all the better for ridding you of something that will degrade your photography. next time the cap falls, don't pick it up. eisenstadt, by the way, has a great anecdote about his own early rf/lenscap (a bad match) experience in his "how to" book. something about missing a shot of the king of sweden. he never use dthem again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert_smith Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I gave up on snap-on caps and went back to the old chrome slip on caps with the red felt inside. I use them on my 35mm and 50mm Summicrons when not actually shooting. They have never came off without effort. During shooting, I just use the hood and no cap. I have shot on beaches, deserts and other generally sunny locals and never burned a hole in any of my Ms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek_stanton2 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Marc, Yah, the Contax G shade works nicely, and i believe without vignetting. I've only developed a single 'test' roll so far, at f1.4-4, so it's not conclusive, but i reckon that since the Contax lens is a 5mm wider focal length (45mm)... Also, in trying to find an affixable metal shade for the current 'lux, i found also a metal Nikon shade that works, as well. It's a bit larger, which i would have prefered, but it does intrude into the viewfinder a bit more significantly, so i returned it. And, there's supposed to be a metal shade from Heliopan which is a bit wider/deeper than the Contax, but it's a special order item from B&H, so i never got the chance to try it. Its dimensions are more similar to the Nikon hood. The Contax hood (difficult to find in Black): http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh4.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC= ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___83680___COLH45G1C___REG___ CatID=0___SID=F411FE43640 As fortune would have it, i'm no longer able to find either the Helio or Nikon hoods on B&H's site. If i find my receipt, i'll come back with the item no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david s Posted March 10, 2003 Author Share Posted March 10, 2003 This is the original poster .... some good suggestions - thanks - I actually burnt a hole in the cloth curtain whilst doing some work on a mountain in Afghanistan recently (very bright, high atlitude, distracted by men with guns) - I guess it only took a minute before it occurred to me to check! Luckily I had two bodies and used the other until I was back in a city and ran a film through it to check. Back home Leica replaced the curtain with no charge in about three days! In response to some others - in my old SLR days I used to scoff at people who kept the lens cap on, but now I worry (a little) if it is bright sun. Thanks anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew n.bra hrefhttp Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 IMO clip-on caps are completely useless. I use slip-on caps on all my M lenses. I bought mine from the "spare bits" box at a Sydney Binoculars (and telescope) store. They had slip-on caps at every imaginable diameter size and they only cost something like $AUD 1 each (!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3 Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Heres a suggestion for not losing your lens cap. Buy yourself a cheap glass filter, and spray paint it black on the inside. When the paint dries you have a light resistant screw-on cap that won't fall off if bumped yet will not allow light to enter the lens and damage the shutter. This is what I use in those situations when carried out in the sun. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fay_cori Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I�m quite surprised that HCB fans haven�t jumped in with this reference. In an introductory essay in Photographs by Cartier-Bresson (London, Jonathan Cape, 1964) Beaumont Newhall writes �He carries it without a case, the lens protected with a lens cap on a string.� Personally I�ve never had the courage to make a hole in my lens cap. I hardly ever use it but I know it�s �somewhere� in the bottom of my handbag. Finding it might be the problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob F. Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 David: I suspect you are using the lens cap over a filter. I know of no way to lose a metal cap unless there is a filter under it. The filter makes the cap fit rather loosely. My rule is: either use a cap, or a filter plus hood; but try to avoid putting the cap over a filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver_s. Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Ron: interesting idea. Unfortunately cheap filters use to have aluminium rings which tend to bind to filter threads. And <u>unscrewing</u> the lens cap seems a little impractical. What's your experience with such lens caps?<p>B&H offer the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___48043___SICK2___REG___CatID=277___SID=F4157D0CC90">Sima Capkeeper</a>. (There's also a <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___48043___SICK2___REG___CatID=277___SID=F4157D0CC90">version that attaches to the strap lug</a>.) I assume such a device can be as handy as it easily gets into your way when shooting... and how do you get the adhesive off the lens cap when you sell the lens? Anyway, you needn't pierce the lens cap if you want to follow Henri Cartier-Bresson's example in carrying it! Although such solutions can be very impractical if you happen to carry several lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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