I am always loosing my lens caps....actually I am always loosing everything but that is another story....I have been trying to get another for my 15/4.5 Voightlander for about 3 months it has been on order and re-rdered and promised and...and ...and this is with 3 seperate shops... still no joy. Any ideas; does the top form Sunny Peanut butter smooth fit or anythihng else home spun???? Help I just know I'm gonna scratch it soon.

-- Richard (richard@designblue.co.uk), September 21, 2001

Answers

Yes, and that cap's a particular irritation because it two of the wings of the "hood" keep it in a position where it's always rocking around and falling off. I filed those wings down until the whole perimeter of the cap bottomed out on the aperture ring when the lens is set to infinity, and that helped the cap stay on much better than before. Then I shimmed out one wing of the hood with a piece of electrical tape for a tighter fit. . . . but I think the ultimate cure is only going to happen when I peel out the velvet and shim underneath it. In some respects the Voigtlander lenses are SO good, and then there are other things that are just simply rotten design that should have never made it into production. . . the aspect ratios of the 15mm and 25mm finder views leaping immediately to mind as being just plain stupid.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), September 21, 2001.

As to the buying replacement cap for your 15mm -- check Stephen Gandy's site (http://www.cameraquest.com) -- looks like he has them.

-- Alexander Grekhov (grekhov@wgukraine.com), September 21, 2001.

Lens Cap Horror Story

There I was with my wife and two young sons casually strolling through the caverns at Carlsbad Caversn National Park. We were about 1 mile back on the "Big Room" tour. I was trying to get some low light photos with my 3E (very slow - I had a tripod - it was the only WA I had). My younger son began dancing as he has a habit of postponing restrom visits until things get critical. I grabbed his hand and made my way back at high speed to the restrooms and arrived just in time. We eventually hiked back to find the others when I discovered my 55mm snap on Leica lens cap was missing - at about $35 or so for replacement, I slowly walked all the way back along the trail looking for a black plastic lens cap in the dark. Never found it. I would have to survive with one of those common place 5$ replacements. Disappointed and disgusted, I slowly made my way back to the family again. After wasting about an hour looking, I found the damn thing in my pocket. At least my lens cap still says LEICA.

-- mark (mramra@qwest.net), September 21, 2001.

Been there. Done that. Only, I did it at Point Reyes, CA on my honeymoon 25 years ago. After shooting awhile at the seashore, we drove off. About 10 miles up the road I discovered the cap was missing. Turned around - went back - searched along the shore and found it. That was my wife's first inkling of the "Leica Lust" - the absolute unwillingness to just leave something with that name on it behind without a GOOD search. Haven't permanently lost one yet. Now that she knows what they're worth, she watches them too.

-- Alec (alecj@bellsouth.net), September 22, 2001.

Its a shame Leica could not have came up with the same solution as Voightlander. My Voightlander Ulton has a tight fitting vacuum type seal. Every time I take my Summicron out of my bag the lens cap often springs off as the rim of the lens connects with the fabric of the bag. More than once has the cap been launched into the street and only yesterday I nearly lost it the London sewage system as it made a bid for freedom as I quickly took the camera from my bag.

-- Jason (jason@futurafish.com), September 24, 2001.

I really don't want to start the filter wars again, but the lens cap hassle is precisely why I went to using UV filters + hoods. The (front) lens caps always stay at home. To me it is worth the slight image degradation (I can't tell any difference) and occasional flaring not to have to deal with a !@#$ lens cap. Try it, it is very liberating. Again, I don't want to stir the flames...

-- Ken Geter (kgeter@yahoo.com), September 24, 2001.

I have the same problems with my 35 'cron ASPH lens cap. The darn thing comes off whenever it catches on something like someones jacket in a crowded scenario, like when I went to the Nottinghill Festival, I lost it twice and luckily I noticed fast enough to u-turn and hound it out. There were so many people there that I had my camera out and ready either in my hand or dangling from my shoulder or across it. And the first time it got knocked off, I had to retrieve it from literally hundreds of stomping humans. By the time I rescued it, it wore the indentations of a human elephant who had crushed German rubber into a lowly pitted road. After a few moments of grief that my Leica hood was no longer virginal, I was more concerned about how much it was going to cost to replace it than the fact it was a 'Leica' hood. I never had any problems with my 35 Lux ASPH hood when I had it. It was a practical design that stayed on. Ah shucks, it's only rubber, but I wish the folks at Leica would have used the same hood design on the cron as the lux. I dont see why they didn't.

-- sparkie (sparkie@mailcity.com), September 24, 2001.

The good news is that 15/4.5 uses the same lens cap as the Voigtlander 21/4, the 25/4 and the 35/2.5. The latter 3 don't need caps to protect the front element. You can use UV or Skylight filters.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4u.or.jp), September 24, 2001.

I lost the rectangular cap for my 35mm Summicron ASPH at Heidelberg Castle in June. I had already lost it a number of times and somehow always managed to recover it, but this time it was lost for good. I'm very gratified to report however, that I simply emailed one of the "parts guys" listed on Leica's web site, and he got someone in the US to simply send me a replacement. Very fast, very easy, and free--now that's what I call service!

Buzz Andersen

-- Buzz Andersen (buzz@scifihifi.com), September 25, 2001.

I'm with Ken on this one. A quality UV filter and a lens hood saves me from a lot of trouble. The camera is always ready to shoot, and the lens stays protected. But it does not solve you voigtlander problem. If you haven't already, try Cameraquest.com.

-- Niels H. S. Nielsen (nhsn@ruc.dk), September 25, 2001.

I solved the problem by switching to screw-in lens caps. They don't appreciably slow me down when removing them. If they do fall off, they make enough noise to notice it. Since switching, I haven't lost any caps, and haven't missed any shots.

-- Jeff Polaski (polaski@acm.org), September 25, 2001.

The lens hood cap of my Leica 35mm Summicron ASPH lens never fit tightly enough. I eventually lost it on a trip to Yellowstone National Park last year. Leica USA were kind enough to send me a replacement cap free of charge only because the original one fit loosely. The normal cost of a replacement cap is $20+!. Now the cap stays in my camera bag when I am using the camera. The lens is protected by a UV filter and the lens hood. This way the camera is always ready for action.......................

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), September 25, 2001.