Managed to lose the lens cap from one of my lenses last week. Just ordered a replacement, and I’ve managed to lose another today.

How do people go about protecting against this? I’ve tried a tethered one and it didn’t help (the elastic just came away). Are there better fitting third party ones, should I learn to tie better knots, or should I just buy in bulk and keep replacing them?

Ideas?

put them somewhere safe when you take them off?

Dunno, not lost one yet.

I used to have a little leash with a sticky pad that fixed to the front of the lens cap. Dunno if you can still get them. What size do you need? I found a 58mm Canon lens cap in the hills a couple of weeks back.

Edit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keeper-Holder-DIGITAL-CAMERA-D40/dp/B002YF6ADU

I got a cheap one from eBay and it was better than the Canon one it replaced, imo.

put them somewhere safe when you take them off?

In both cases, they came away from the camera during walkabout.

I found a 58mm Canon lens cap in the hills a couple of weeks back.

That’s exactly what I just lost! Maybe it went back in time.

Send me your address and you can have this one

Oh, awesome. Thank you very much.

I’ll mail you now.

I take it your mum had put elastic to your gloves
so get a lens cap with a string attached and all be good.
You wont be the first to lose your lens cap

Must be a Canon thing, never lost one from a Nikon lens 😉

Cap is ready to go in the post tomorrow. Chuck a couple of quid at Lukes MR charity Justgiving page and we’ll call it quits 😀

http://www.justgiving.com/Luke-Bradley

I tend not to wander around with my camera brushing up and down on everything. I’ve got one of these things called a camera bag. 😉

Replace with a cheap screw-in UV filter.

UV filters increase the chance of flair and decrease optical quality and lens caps stop you taking photos.

Don’t use either, a lens hood generally gives enough protection.

Better to damage a lens than miss a photo.

Don’t use either, a lens hood generally gives enough protection.

Better to damage a lens than miss a photo.

Totally agree with this, once your walking about, the lens cap should be off, and stay off until you go home.

Better to damage a lens than miss a photo.

Personally if I’ve got several hundred poundsworth of lens hanging of the front of my camera, I’d be prepared to miss a shot rather than damage it…

Todays #1 “more money than sense” comment.

My Olympus caps are prone to coming off if I don’t make sure they’re fully clipped into the last groove of the filter thread. If I don’t quite find the last one it falls off quite easily.

Have you considered screw lens caps? Assuming your lens has a filter thread. My 25mm pancake hs a lovely super slim machined aluminium number which can’t really fall off. It’s not that cumbersome to use either, not as much as I thought it would be.

My wife has managed to lose her lens cap in the spare room. When I find it I’m going to drill a hole in it and fit a bit of string.

once your walking about, the lens cap should be off, and stay off until you go home.

Dunno about you, but if I’m scrambling up a fell over slippy, rocky terrain, I’d rather have my lens protected.

I’m not a professional photographer and if the choice came between “missing a photograph” and destroying my equipment, I’ll miss the photo thanks.

Scot > donated, cheers.

Have you considered screw lens caps?

I wasn’t aware such a thing existed.

I’ve always been against UV filters from a ‘snake oil’ perspective. Never occurred to me to use them instead of lens caps. Hm.

I swear that when I was a kid screw on lens caps were common, and the clip-on kind seemed to be an innovation. Not that I was an experienced SLR user at that point mind..! Maybe try some camera shops with lots of old junk.

eBay seems to have a few options, but not many. The one I have is a custom one for that lens cos it’s so low profile.

EDIT this is all I got:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/58mm-Metal-Screw-in-Front-Lens-Cap-Fits-Filter-Hood-Safety-Dust-Glass-Cover-New-/370709896061?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5650081b7d

scotroutes – Member
JPR »
Better to damage a lens than miss a photo.
Todays #1 “more money than sense” comment.

So you spend several hundred, possibly thousands pounds on a camera, maybe the same again on a lens or two and then make it difficult to take photos with it?

Having a camera and missing – or not taking, or taking less – photos is having “more money than sense”.

A broken camera and a camera with a lens cap on are equally useless.

I’m fairly certain a broken camera is far less use than a camera with a lens cap on.