I know this sounds like (and maybe is) a boring topic, but it is of significance to me and I am a little surprised that I could not find anything when I searched before posting. Through some purchases/trades I have owned 6 SEL lenses using the 49mm filter/cap over the last 18 months (but am down to 3 now). All of the lens caps appear to be genuine Sony, and appear very similar, yet one is slightly different and, for me, much easier to use. The easy one has a protruding ridge on the inner "pinch-to-release" slider ... the others have no ridge. For me, the one with the ridge provides a very positive feel (I far prefer to use the inner grips when removing the cap) and the ones without the ridge I find a bit "slippery" when squeezing, resulting in some scary fumbling (so much so that I have to use the outer grips). I freely admit to having a minor hand coordination issues, but I have no problem with the ridged cap ... it really is a big difference for me. Unfortunately, I have no idea which lens came with the ridged cap, nor if this has to do with the model of lens or the date/place of manufacture. Surely others have noticed this difference ... am I the only one that cares ? TIA to anyone that could shed some light on the matter, or better yet steer me to a source to buy genuine Sony "ridged" caps. The lenses in question (in approximate order of acquisition) are: Silver SEL1855 (unknown origin) Another Silver SEL1855 (Thailand) SEL16F28 (unknown origin) SEL24F18Z (Japan) Black SEL1855 (Japan) SEL35F18 (China)
I replaced my Sony caps for 2 reasons- 1) they're expensive to replace (and I tend to drop/lose them), and 2) they are hard to manipulate. I picked up some generic caps off ebay (sorry, don't remember the vendor) and you should be able to find something that will work for you. Mine look like this: You can see how much farther the generic cap grip area protudes above the surface of the cap than the Sony cap.
I actually like the standard Sony caps, they're not as loose as the generic ones from ebay (although some may prefer the loose feel as it's easier to get on and off fast). The worst cap from a standard E-Mount lens I have is the one from the 12mm Touit. I don't know why Zeiss isn't able to build a solid lens cap, but I need to repair this thing regularly - the plastic grippy pieces simply get stuck at one side or the other.
Phew ... I'm glad I'm not the only one. Personally I find the non-ridged Sony very hard to manipulate and the ridged version much less difficult. Next time I'm in NY, I will stop by B&H and hopefully feel/try a few generics, but I would be very happy to find a source for the ridged Sony ones. I found another slight difference to distinguish the 2 Sony caps - on the inside the slashed zero in front of "49mm" is small on the non-ridged model and the same height as "49" on the ridged model.
Lens caps are not just important to protect your lens, they are part of your system that you interact with constantly. It would be nice for the manufacturers to realize this and put just as much thought into the design as the rest. It's like saying "hello" (and "goodbye") to your camera each time you take it off (and put it on), and I would like it to have the same tactile goodness as the rest of the kit. I miss the good old days of metal with a felt gasket (talking about feeling good and taking it off fast), but I suppose the new-fangled plastic one's stay on better. Maybe I'll start hunting around for some oldies that will fit over the filter.
Bimjo, does your generic cap fit on OK if using the hood (in either the stowed or hooded mode) ? I seem to remember one of the SEL's I bought on eBay came with a generic cap that was a problem in that regard.
I have to make sure I get it all the way on, but yes it works with the hoods in either position on my SEL1855 & SEL55210.
I actually stopped using lens caps a while ago. I just throw in the camera and lenses (with hoods) in my camera bag. One less step to do every time I change a lens or take my camera out. Saves quite a bit of time.
I like the generic caps more for there better finger snaps to take on and off but all I've seen sit much too loose on the lens... So I stuck with the Sonys on my SELs' but my new Sigma 60mm has a much better cap that's solid, easy to use with good grip on the lens. And by the way for the statistics: All my SELs (4) came with the slippery lens cap, haven't seen another version yet...
The sigma art lens caps are awesome, you can squish from the outside or pinch in the middle, either way is fine and they fit great. Really excellent build quality too (cant believe I am even posting in here! how sad are we lol) I dont really use them though, like Poki I just have hoods now, when it comes to shooting professionally faffing with caps will slow you down a ton..... Except this one its awesome best lens cap ever! by Mathieu Decodts, on Flickr I always use it for pro shoots, it announces I have brought the big glass to the shoot (canon fd 55mm f1.2)
I have the 'slippery' one with my SEL18-55, while my SEL35 has the one with protruding edges on the inner section. I think all the newer lenses have this kind of cap now. Sent from my LG-E440 using TalkEmount mobile app
This I find is true with mine. I ended up switching mine around...now the 30mm Macro & 20mm f/2.8 has the non-ridge ones and the 35mm f/1.8 & 55-210 has the "better" ones. My SEL35F18 came with the "slippery" one.... Since both the 20mm & 30mm has the same lens hoods, it's much easier to just pinch the outside to put on & take off. I find that adding a filter on the front of the lens also helps.
