Grimes made a cap for me. IIRC the cost was about $30-$50. It was a nice cap, metal, fit perfectly, etc., but obviously very pricey for a lens cap. I forget why I had it made, normally I just buy caps from Schneider or get generic caps if a lens comes without one.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
A really nice cap is a metal screw in - it won't come off in transit and if something pushes against the lens it won't deform and touch the front element. I've bought them all over - Chinese made - fit standard threads - also know as "stacking caps" for protecting a stack of screw-in filters (which is another good idea).
I've seen some lenses stupidly designed so that the apex of the front element is front of the metal lens rim. Or so darn close that it appears that way. Which makes me neverous with any kind of cap. Why do they do that!!??
For hand cameras I prefer the newer Nikon squeeze caps. They allow you to leave a screw-in lenshood on the lens, yet removing the cap is fast and easy. I'll also use a step ring to get up to a standard size.
If it is a non-threaded lens and I was going to use it a lot, I would consider having S.K. Grimes make me a custom adapter ring to allow the lens to take standard screw-in filters (and caps).
"The Kaiser caps are a bit lightweight "
Compared to what?
Out of curiosity I just weighed and measured a 90mm Kaiser and a 90mm Schneider cap and also measured a 60mm Rodenstock cap (don't have an open larger Rodenstock cap) and a 60mm Kaiser cap.
The Schneider cap has a wall thickness at the edge of 1.61mm and weighs 0.7 oz on our postal scale.
The Kaiser cap of the same size has a wall thickness of 1.9mm and weighs 0.7 oz on the same scale.
The 60mm Rodenstock cap measured 1.9mm thick at the edge.
The 60mm Kaiser cap measured 1.42mm at the same point.
It seems that the Kaiser cap is really not a lightweight cap at all.
Yes there are manufacturing differences. Kaiser does not groove the rim of the cap and Schneider has a raised ring around the front of the cap and some Rodenstock caps have a flat front rather then domed.
B&H used to sell original Nikon LF caps not so long ago. They may still have them.
Witold
simplest solutions are usually the most difficult ...
I don't know about you all but I've found several "sellers" of generic caps on Ebay for dirt cheap. Last one I bought was a clip on style cap for one of my Schneider lenses that that I believe I paid about $3.00 for. For that price, you don't even need to know the actual thread size of the lens - you can pick up several of different sizes.
For me the camera swaps and the local pawn shops have always been a good place to find orphan lens caps... and function trumps brand name! Often a junk filter of the correct size can be had for a few dollars, & that is great protection. You do need to carry your lens with you to assure the correct fit.
I am also a member of the "FOUND" lens cap group. I am currently using the lid from a travel mug to protect the front element of my beloved 10'' WF Ektar... A piece of velvet glued inside the lid can help with the fit and also helps protect the barrel.
" I am currently using the lid from a travel mug to protect the front element of my beloved 10'' WF Ektar."
This can be a very big mistake if you use the wrong material.
If the plastic you use is PVC or is another palstic with plasticizers in it the plasticiszers can migrate from the plastic to the glass on the lens. It can not be cleaned off if this happens and the lens is basically useless.
'Back in the day' there were wonderful lens caps - metal, chrome with a slightly domed front and lined with something like velvet. I have one I found in Monterey at the store there and wish I could find more! It is a delight in all ways - almost as nice to fondle as the lens!
Bob S. - The Schneider cap has a wall thickness at the edge of 1.61mm and weighs 0.7 oz on our postal scale. The Kaiser cap of the same size has a wall thickness of 1.9mm and weighs 0.7 oz on the same scale.
An interesting exercise. Using a scale accurate to 1/100 gram, I weighed several of my lens caps of various makes. I won't bother to post the weights of each and every cap, but the results confirmed what I've known for years - The current flat Rodenstock caps are the lightest, flimsiest caps made and the Nikon caps are the heaviest of the current brands.
For example, in the 60mm size (the only size I have for all four major brands), here's the weights:
Rodenstock - 5.07g
Schneider - 7.92g
Fujinon - 8.20g (average of two)
Nikon - 9.48g
As you can see, the Rodenstock cap is substantially lighter than the other brands and the Nikon cap is by a wide margin the heaviest. In all the sizes I weighed, the Nikon caps were consistently the heaviest and the Rodenstocks the lightest. In fact, the 60mm Rodenstock cap weighed less than the 54mm caps from Schneider, Fujinon and Nikkor.
Yes there are manufacturing differences. Kaiser does not groove the rim of the cap and Schneider has a raised ring around the front of the cap and some Rodenstock caps have a flat front rather then domed.
The beef I have with the Kaiser caps is the lack of grooves or ridges on the inner wall that makes them a pain to install remove. I only use them as a last resort, in odd sizes, when I can't find a proper cap from another manufacturer.
Of course, the shape, design and rigidity of the material also influence the ability of the cap to protect the lens surfaces. It is the flat Rodenstock caps that I avoid at all cost. Not only are they light and flimsy, but the poor design also makes them prone to contact the lens surfaces during transport. The only Rodenstock caps that I haven't replaced with other brands are the 51mm caps that came on my 150mm APO-Sironar-S. They have a very pronounced dome shape and are actually heavier (5.71g) than the 60mm flat Rodenstock cap. The doomed shape adds rigidity and keeps the cap well away from the glass surface it is designed to protect. Obviously, Rodenstock is capable of making a decent cap, I just wish they would do so in all sizes. The Schneider caps are domed, and while they are lighter than the flat Fujinon and Nikon caps, they do a good job of avoiding conact with the lens surfaces (at least in the smaller sizes I am familiar with). And while the Nikon caps are flat, their heavier weight and the design (raised rim around the perimeter than adds rigiditiy), also do a good job of keeping them from contacting the lens surfaces (again, in the smaller sizes, I don't really have a lot of experience with the huge caps found on some modern lenses).
Kerry
grump - Back in the day' there were wonderful lens caps - metal, chrome with a slightly domed front and lined with something like velvet.
Yep, back in the day, expensive state-of-the-art professional lenses came with caps worthy of the glass they were designed to protect. The nicest lens cap I own is a 110mm leather cap for my 360mm f6.8 Symmar (circa 1972). It's lined with blue velvet and has a gold embossed Schneider logo on the front. It is more rigid, by far, than any "modern" cap I own and the velvet lining doesn't leave marks on the front rim of the lens. It's much heavier (53.28g) and infinitely nicer than the 105mm Rodenstock cap (20.47g) that came with my modern, state-of-the-art 300mm APO-Sironar-S.
Ah, the good old days... They just don't make them like that anymore.
Kerry
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