Better lens cap for 500mm f4?

This is one of those "I hope you've done the research so I don't

have to"-posts. Has anyone found a good replacement for the lens

cap - lens bag, really - that comes with the 500mm f/4L IS lens?

I've seen mention on the Web that a TupperWare lid might work but I

haven't seen anything more specific than that. Going into the local

Target with a 500mm lens and trying out a bunch of lids doesn't seem

all that appealing... I seem to remember seeing an ad on TV for a

plastic lid for food containers that looked a little like a shower

cap: baggy plastic with an elasticized band. Perhaps that'd work but

I can't remember who made them.

 

Any suggestions? I'm tight on space for an upcoming trip and

ditching the Canon lens cap would be great.

 

thanks,

fh

How about a bathing or shower cap? Just a thought.

Hello Fergus,

 

since Novoflex doesn't offer their metal lens caps any more (they used to have excellent caps for the Canon non-IS telelenses), you might take a look at the website of the french nature photographer Sylvain Hellio at www.hellio.com.

 

Go to the french version of the site and choose "Shop". There you can find his custom made metal lens cap ("Bouchon pour téléobjectif"). He can do it for any telelens.

 

Kind regards

Gosh that could have been me......I mentioned on Photonut ages ago that I'd made a natty lens cap from a margarine tub lid some years back. I swewed it into a bit of old tent nylon (using the pole channel as a place to run some elastic cord), and it works just fine. And weighs only a couple of ounces. No jokes please about Scotsmen being mean! However this was for a Nikkor 500f4P so you'd need to check that the diameters are the same. It works fine on my Canon 300 f2.8IS though.<div></div>

And this:

Cap fitted

Hi Fergus,

 

You could have one made by S.K. Grimes. in Rhode Island

It can be made to look like a regular lens cap. I had them make one for me for my 14mm and my 800mm.

 

They fit perfectly since you supply them the dimensions and very well made. But, they are somewhat costly.

 

Cheers,

I made one from closed cell foam. The stuff backpackers use for sleeping. Cut two disks, one to fit inside the opening & another larger one. With contact cement, bond both.

I made one to fit the lens hood, the second for lens front element.

Go to Walmart and find the Corningware bowl with a plastic lid marked

F-24-PC on the underside. This lid fits the front end of the Canon 500mm F4 lens hood perfectly, and you can get the bowl for about $6.

 

Please note that this lid WILL NOT fit the back end of the lens hood, so if you reverse the lens hood to place the lens in a camera bag the front element will not be protected. I understand that the lid for the next smaller Corningware bowl will fit the front of the lens, but I have no experience with that lid, and I don't know the part number.

 

Mary

How about the OpTech Hood Hat(neoprene)? The largest size covers from 5.25" to 6.25" and costs less than $10 from B&H.

Mary's contribution is GOLD!

I went to Walmart and purchased the specific corningware cap she recommended and it fit like a GLOVE!

I also purchased the 16oz size with the cap marked "v-16-pc" and "F-16-PC" and it fits over the front element with the hood reversed.