VinceC
Veteran
Bought a new Nikon S3-2000? Wondering what to do about Nikon's gross oversight in not including a back cap for the virtually irreplaceable 50mm f/1.4 millennium lens that came with it?
You can shell out $50 to $200 for a suitable vintage back cap. Russian back caps may work. You can buy a brand new back cap for about $30 from Russia, and it even comes with a Kiev-mount Helios f/1.8 lens to keep the cap from getting scratched(!) (Note -- I don't own a Helios and so have no idea if its cap fits the Nikkor Millennium.) (Caps for the regular 50mm f/1.4 Sonnar-based Nikkor lens of the 1950s probably do not fit, but might. The rear element on the much more common 1950s lens is quite a bit smaller than on the S3-2000 lens).
Still striking out? Try raiding your medicine cabinet. In my attached photo, you'll see that I was quickly able to find three suitable solutions from a U.S. pharmacy.
1) The little 2-teaspoon cup that comes with Robitussin and other cold remedies. The back of any lens 50mm internal mount Nikon/Contax lens slips right in. It's a little top-heavy sitting on a shelf, but it keeps the rear element very safe in a camera bag.
2) The child-proof lid on Flintsones chewable vitamins. This can be just a bit loose, partly because of the way the child-proof lock is made. But the lens has a low center-of-gravity on a bookshelf and is protected in a camera bag.
3) My favorite and the one I'm now using -- the childproof lid from a prescription-medicine bottle from a pharmacy. These do come in different sizes, obviously. But I've got two from CVS drugstore that are the correct size, and they're both from recent prescriptions. The lens slides right on and is perfectly protected. It might be just a wee bit too snug for some people's taste, so you might file down two or three of the five "ribs" in the lid that actuallly make contact with the chrome mount of the lens. I didn't do this. I've had the lens about four days now, and the cap fits quite well.
You can shell out $50 to $200 for a suitable vintage back cap. Russian back caps may work. You can buy a brand new back cap for about $30 from Russia, and it even comes with a Kiev-mount Helios f/1.8 lens to keep the cap from getting scratched(!) (Note -- I don't own a Helios and so have no idea if its cap fits the Nikkor Millennium.) (Caps for the regular 50mm f/1.4 Sonnar-based Nikkor lens of the 1950s probably do not fit, but might. The rear element on the much more common 1950s lens is quite a bit smaller than on the S3-2000 lens).
Still striking out? Try raiding your medicine cabinet. In my attached photo, you'll see that I was quickly able to find three suitable solutions from a U.S. pharmacy.
1) The little 2-teaspoon cup that comes with Robitussin and other cold remedies. The back of any lens 50mm internal mount Nikon/Contax lens slips right in. It's a little top-heavy sitting on a shelf, but it keeps the rear element very safe in a camera bag.
2) The child-proof lid on Flintsones chewable vitamins. This can be just a bit loose, partly because of the way the child-proof lock is made. But the lens has a low center-of-gravity on a bookshelf and is protected in a camera bag.
3) My favorite and the one I'm now using -- the childproof lid from a prescription-medicine bottle from a pharmacy. These do come in different sizes, obviously. But I've got two from CVS drugstore that are the correct size, and they're both from recent prescriptions. The lens slides right on and is perfectly protected. It might be just a wee bit too snug for some people's taste, so you might file down two or three of the five "ribs" in the lid that actuallly make contact with the chrome mount of the lens. I didn't do this. I've had the lens about four days now, and the cap fits quite well.
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S
Simon Larbalestier
Guest
I got rear one from Kevin Cameras a couple of years back (one for the Olympic lens) and it's a good fit on the new 50 1.4 Nikkor .
I also got a Voigtlander bodycap for the S3 body from Stephen Gandy.
Same problem faces those who buy the S fit 50/3.5 Heliar lens.
Can't imagine why Nikon didn't choose to include a rear cap and body cap for the $5K they charged when it first came out? The lenshood that came with is pretty hopeless in practical use too (intrudes a lot into the viewfinder and prone to falling off!) unlike their metal lenhoods for the F mount 50's which are excellent.
Simon
I also got a Voigtlander bodycap for the S3 body from Stephen Gandy.
Same problem faces those who buy the S fit 50/3.5 Heliar lens.
Can't imagine why Nikon didn't choose to include a rear cap and body cap for the $5K they charged when it first came out? The lenshood that came with is pretty hopeless in practical use too (intrudes a lot into the viewfinder and prone to falling off!) unlike their metal lenhoods for the F mount 50's which are excellent.
Simon
I've been doing the same thing: found some little soft-plastic bottles that make good rear caps for the 5cm/1.4's. I doubt my lens will be off-camera very much. It may quickly find it's way onto an SP though.
VinceC
Veteran
I tend to switch lenses a lot. I nearly always carry a 28mm (my favorite focal length), a 35mm (for a fast wide), a 50mm and a telephoto.
I don't use body caps too much. Long ago I made two Nikon RF body caps by drilling a small hole into the center of a lid of a plastic Kodak film cannister so that I could attach a small machine screw and nut. The film lid fits perfectly into the camera body, and the screw and nut give me something to pull on in order to remove it.
My 21mm Biogon uses a cut down medicine bottle for its back cap. My 35mm f/2.8 Soviet Jupiter lens fits like a glove into the lid of an old spray-paint can.
I don't use body caps too much. Long ago I made two Nikon RF body caps by drilling a small hole into the center of a lid of a plastic Kodak film cannister so that I could attach a small machine screw and nut. The film lid fits perfectly into the camera body, and the screw and nut give me something to pull on in order to remove it.
My 21mm Biogon uses a cut down medicine bottle for its back cap. My 35mm f/2.8 Soviet Jupiter lens fits like a glove into the lid of an old spray-paint can.
SuperUJ
Well-known
While searching for solutions for the same issue that VinceC had, I came to realize that the answer is right in front of me. The lids of Kodak 35mm film plastic canisters fit the Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 Millennium version perfectly. I uses T-Max 400 film canister and I assume all 35mm Kodak films use the same kind/size canister lids.
John
John
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Stefcuoz
Established
Vince... Alternative solution are very interesting..... but don't forget i have on sell all kind of original front and rear caps.....
missing only some very rare as the 21 mm O one type...
missing only some very rare as the 21 mm O one type...
enasniearth
Well-known
5cm rear cap
5cm rear cap
the one marked s in the inside bottom with internal lugs fits all nikon standard 5cm lenses , the deep maked ss is for the internal mount 5cm 1.1 .
although the glass is bigger on the olympic and millenium nikkors , it sits inside the rear metal ring , the older 5cm 1.4 projects futhur out and has a retaining ring . the bayonet on both is the same so s type rear cap fits both .
5cm rear cap
the one marked s in the inside bottom with internal lugs fits all nikon standard 5cm lenses , the deep maked ss is for the internal mount 5cm 1.1 .
although the glass is bigger on the olympic and millenium nikkors , it sits inside the rear metal ring , the older 5cm 1.4 projects futhur out and has a retaining ring . the bayonet on both is the same so s type rear cap fits both .
VinceC
Veteran
I've been using the lid of a Kodak film cannister for the past several years. Need to use a razor blade to remove the inner rim, and then it's perfect.