As a professional photographer I know the importance of keeping the glass surface of my lenses pristine when I’m not using them. By the same token I know that when I’m shooting I can’t have anything get in the way of the creative task of creative photographs. For that reason, lens caps have always been a necessary evil, I use them when transporting my gear and remove them during the entire process of a photo shoot.
So the dilemma is how to cope with the lenses on the
so-called bridge cameras – those that fall somewhere in-between my pro gear and
a simple point-and-shoot pocket camera that has a built-in automatic lens
cover. Better grade in-between cameras
invariable have removable lens caps and frankly it is a pain to have to remove
it and find a place to put it when spending a casual day with family and
friends at an amusement park or event.
The automatic lens covers serve their purpose on low-price
cameras but they are probably the weakest and most vulnerable item on the whole
camera. They are delicate and not dust or moisture resistant. And because they
are built in to the lens, if the cover gets damaged (and it can easily be
damaged) it is usually not repairable … the entire camera becomes a
paperweight.
A while ago I discovered an automatic lens cover for a very nice Olympus
camera I’ve had for several years as my “fun” family camera. Recently I bought
a slightly more capable Sony camera that uses the new collapsible “pancake” PZ
16-50mm kit lens. I like the camera, I like the lens but I do not like having
to deal with the snap-on lens cap. I ran
across this cool gadget from JJC of Taiwan and I fell in love with it. It is
one of my favorite gadgets of this year.
It’s a brilliantly simple design … it simply screws on to
the front of the lens (using the threaded filter mount) and two little levers
on the back of it actuate when the camera is turned on and off. That action
opens and closes the lens cover. True, it does not have the same protection as
a real lens cap (which I keep for when I am in hostile dusty or moist areas)
but it is beautifully convenient.
The company is the prime manufacturer and sells this mainly
through Amazon, where some resellers have private-branded it. The price is
under $20 and worth every penny. It is very well made and durable and after it
is installed it doesn’t add any more to the overall size and weight of the
camera than a snap-on lens cap.
By the way, the company also makes similar lens caps for other "better" cameras. Check them out at their website
There is a video link below that shows it in action and some
hints on how to install it properly.
Close up and how-to install video
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