Cheap lens caps

[John_SD]

Does anyone know of a cheap source for lens caps? I seem to lose mine in the field. The cap I had for my Canon 18-135mm  STM costs $8, which seems high. 

I do keep a UV or polarizing filter on, especially in some of the harsher environments. Once in the field, I remove the cap for the day, but I like to keep a cap on until then. Or do you guys dispense with the cap entirely?

[RobertTheFat]

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@John_SD wrote:

Does anyone know of a cheap source for lens caps? I seem to lose mine in the field. The cap I had for my Canon 18-135mm  STM costs $8, which seems high. 

I do keep a UV or polarizing filter on, especially in some of the harsher environments. Once in the field, I remove the cap for the day, but I like to keep a cap on until then. Or do you guys dispense with the cap entirely?

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I think it's fair to say that even those of us who don't use "protective" filters have a great respect for lens caps. If I'm shooting an indoor event, I guess I usually leave the cap(s) in my pocket for the duration. If I'm out in the field, I generally try to keep the cap on whenever I'm not shooting.

Actually, I've lost the case for a 580EX II speedlite (and couldn't replace it, because Canon doesn't sell it) since the last time I lost a lens cap.

[cicopo · Accepted solution]

2 or 3 years back I bought some center pinch caps (all as 77 mm replacements but there is a good variety of sizes available) from an Ebay seller based in China for under $3 each & free shipping. Took 2 or 3 weeks but they fit great & were worth the money. I bought lens hoods from another seller & they worked great too but took longer to get here.

[John_SD]

Cicopo, thanks for the Ebay suggestion! I hadn't thought of that before your post. I just ordered two Canon 67mm caps from a guy for $4.95. That's a price I can live with. 

Robert, sorry to read about the loss of your speedlite case. I hope it was empty LOL. 

[RobertTheFat]

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@John_SD wrote:

Cicopo, thanks for the Ebay suggestion! I hadn't thought of that before your post. I just ordered two Canon 67mm caps from a guy for $4.95. That's a price I can live with. 

Robert, sorry to read about the loss of your speedlite case. I hope it was empty LOL. 

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Yeah, it was empty, but the incident was embarrassing. And the Brand-X case I had to settle for didn't fit very well.

[RobertTheFat]

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@cicopo wrote:

2 or 3 years back I bought some center pinch caps (all as 77 mm replacements but there is a good variety of sizes available) from an Ebay seller based in China for under $3 each & free shipping. Took 2 or 3 weeks but they fit great & were worth the money. I bought lens hoods from another seller & they worked great too but took longer to get here.

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One has to be a bit careful in such cases. Some lenses can take a center-pinch cap and some can't.

[cicopo]

I bought 8 & have put all of them to use. I'm thinking of ordering a few more plus some other sizes.

[cicopo]

Think Tank makes a nice pouch for our flash units. I have 2 and they are very nice fits & high quality.

[RobertTheFat]

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@cicopo wrote:

Think Tank makes a nice pouch for our flash units. I have 2 and they are very nice fits & high quality.

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The case I bought was high in quality, but it was really made for the original 580EX. The 580EX-II is just enough larger to make it a tight fit.

[ebiggs1]

I hardly to never use or have a lens cap.  Most full timers and pros don't use lens caps at least the ones I know don't.  Mostly goes back on when I put the lens away in its bag where it does a magnificent job of protecting it.