Anyone else hate ZM lens caps?

G

gurtch

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I carry my lenses in my bag with a UV filter and Zeiss lens hoods attached, so I can reach in the bag and use them right away (I live on the NJ shore where blowing fine sand and salt spray are a constant problem..thus the UV filters). The supplied Zeiss caps drive me crazy trying to attach and detach with the hoods on. I have solved the lens cap problem: I use the plastic baggie things with elastic ment to cover jars when refridgerating. I used them today on a photo outing and they worked perfectly. Each jar cover has a piece of masking tape on it identifying the lens, e.g. 50mm f1.5, etc. Reach into the camera bag, pull out the lens, take off the jar cover and stick it in your pocket, and shoot.
Try it....you mat like them also.
Dave G in NJ
 
I don't hate the caps because I don't use them. Filter & hood only. I left the caps in the packing boxes with the rest of the wrappings. You came up with a good solution too, Dave!
 
Dougg said:
I don't hate the caps because I don't use them. Filter & hood only. I left the caps in the packing boxes with the rest of the wrappings. You came up with a good solution too, Dave!
Click to expand...


Ditto! Leave the caps at home.
 
I found their caps to be the best design ever made for a snap-on type because you could easily attach or dettach with the hood mounted in place (unreversed) due to the cap's finger grip position set further in towards the center.
 
i have a lovely leather pouch that holds my zeiss lens caps and a bigger vinyl pouch that holds my om caps.
both pouches sit in an aluminum case that has a bunch of related gear/accessories etc.

in winter my lenses have uv filters and hoods.
never use caps.
 
Yes, the caps are rubbish. They fly off if not installed perfectly, are finicky to mount and generally drive me nuts.

They should offer a cap that mounts to the bayonet hood mount for those of us who don't use hoods.

All said, a small price to pay for the kind of results the lenses deliver.
 
When using the hood, I've found them easier to use when a filter is on the lens.. since it sticks up a bit more. Otherwise, I usually take off the hood to put the cap on when I'm done *shrug*
 
surprised i haven't lost it

surprised i haven't lost it

The lens is sweet but the fit of the cap is poor . My favourite lenscap is a sony with the string attatched,i have converted my hexar af to this cap
 
As problematic as the ZM lens caps are, once my cap is on properly, it stays on. It's just not that easy to get in place properly - although I've gotten better.

My Leica lens cap is far worse. There is nothing I can do to get it to stay on. It's always coming off in my camera bag.

I really like the CV push-on lens caps the best. The only thing I don't like about them is that they're fitted to the hoods. If I take the largish hood off my 75/2.5 so I can travel more compactly, I have no lens cap. So, the ZM cap is better than no cap.
 
I dislike the Zeiss lens caps. My finger tips are large so I dislike all the fumbling with their caps and those tiny finger tabs.

For my ZM25, I found and bought a cheap, aluminum screw-in cap and have been happy ever since. The Zeiss cap is back in the box where it can't get lost or continue to annoy its owner.

-g.
 
with the hood on, the caps are definately hard to pop on. but other than a cap for the actual hood, ive never used a lens that lets you easily put the cap on or even off with the hood on. my advice - leave the cap at home and the hood on. i dont use filters but i probably will when i go travelling. so much easier just to pull the camera out of your bag and start shooting without fumbling with caps.
 
The 46mm diameter cap/hood combos are really good for me, but I also use a filter, and this does help. The smaller diameter cap/hood combos are really bad. The ZM 28 Biogon with a filter and it's shallow hood is the easiest for me.
 
I have missed a number of shots due to the lens cap on my ZM 21mm f2.8

No I don't like these caps- that said I am working on a solution.
 
Like "Huck" said "once their on their on", but to get them on is nothing short of a royal pain in the a**.

If a work around is completed please let us know!!
 
I'm thinking of attaching a "ring" made from some sort of flexible material and cementing it to the front of the lens cap. That way when you need to "rip the *ucker off" all you do is grab the tap and pull away! Think old school beer can lids; the kind that when removed littered our sidewalks and byways here in the USA for decades!
 
I was using the ZM 28/2.8 and the 21/2.8 and had no problems with the 46mm caps. Now that I have a 50/2 with the 43mm cap, I start facing problems with the cap now and begin to understand you guys' complaints. :)
 
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Same here. I had the 25/2.8 ZM and was wondering what all the fuss was about - I thought it was really good compared to the Leica lens cap (latest 50 summicron). Then I got the 35/2 ZM and I can see what the problem is.

So the design works fine on larger diameter lenses, and not very well on the smaller ones.

Oh well.


colin
 
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