Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Lens Cap Keeper - lens cap strap, photography
Bought this for my Nikon D80 28-135mm lens. It's a piece of thin cord with elastic on one end and a piece of round foam tape on the other with the Sima logo to stick to your lens cap. I first tried putting the elastic around my lens (as in the picture), but it kept getting in the way when I zoomed in and out. So I looped the elastic through my neck strap. The down side to this approach is not having a lens cap when I change lenses, which wasn't an issue until recently, since I only had the one lens. While the cord/leash could be a little longer, it works just fine. I've taken my lens cap off and on numerous times, but it has not come off.
Update on June 3, 2009: After two years of use, it's still as good as new. The cap has never fallen off, and the adhesive shows no sign of wearing off. Sima Capkeeper 2 for SLRs and Digital SLRs
Works well for me. I like the elastic over the small fixed loop for two reasons, the elastic allows you to attach it to the lens itself (needed for a long lens) and if I want to completely remove it, it comes off with a quick tug (no fiddling with "untying" it). You can also attach it to the strap or eyelet of the camera's body (loop through method). If you have a zoom lens you need to think about where you will put the elastic band because it may interfere with the barrel movement or if you cap your lens when the lens is "long", the tether may come up short. The metal crimp that holds the elastic band to the tether may potentially scratch the finish of your lens, so you need to be careful there. I covered mine with a small piece of heatshrink tubing.
The cap keeper sticks on the lens cap and the retaining strap goes around the lens barrel. With the elastic going around the barrel, I don't have to attach and detach the cap keeper every time I change lenses. I've used these for years. Every lens that I own has one. It beats fumbling with the cap trying to make sure that it goes into a pocket. If you're looking at a quick photo opportunity, you just pop off the lens cap and shoot. The cap dangles out of the way until you're ready to put it back on.
This is an ingenious addition to your camera.
You don't have to constantly keep track of your cap - it's hanging right there :)
The keeper is sold in the Ritz stores for $2, but it was easier for me to buy and get delivered online than drive around looking for one.
The product is decent
The attachment onto the lens cap broke on the first day I used it. The lens on my SLR is too large for other style attachments that connect from the cap to the camara. There must be a better way to attach a lens caps to a camara! Thankfully, I didn't loose the lens cap.
I don't have this product. The solution I came up with is to put velcro (I used industrial strength) on the exterior side of the lens cap, and on the bottom of the camera (use the soft velcro on whichever of those will be touching something in your camera bag that the hard velcro will stick to). I haven't used the camera much since, but it seems good so far.
First--yes, I am sure I could have found this cheaper locally, but I am a new mom who likes to shop online because hauling a baby around to a handful of stores to find something like this is a pain. I'd rather pay the extra and have it show up on my doorstep in two days. :)
Second--I definitely needed to get this "leash" because I was forever losing (misplacing) the lens cap of my new Canon Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black). In a matter of the first two days of use, I probably misplaced the cap eight times and spent what felt like forever looking for it.
But...third--it is not perfect. I wish there was a way to make it shorter so I didn't have to hold on to it (or rig it in such a way) so that when I am taking pictures from above (say, of my baby on the floor), the cap doesn't swing into view. Maybe an retractable leash? (Heck, maybe there is something like that already on the market--I'm off to look!)
Overall, however, a great product that I'm glad I bought.
I recently purchased a Canon Powershot SX20IS through Amazon. The lens cap fits securely on the lens barrel but there is no tether, only a clip inside to attach the cap onto the neck strap, which I don't use. When I saw this item and the reviews were very positive, I decided to buy it. This is THE tether that all super zoom and DSLR cameras should include. The elastic band fits snugly around the lens barrel and the sticky button fits onto the lens cap securely. The tether may be one to two inches on the long side, but better long than too short. - Lens Accessories - Lens Cap - Photography - Lens Cap Strap'
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