An even better way

A few posts back I was discussing how to fix Lili's lens cap on more securely, but without making it difficult to take a spontaneous photo, and without making physical alterations to the cap or any other part of my Leica camera. I carried out various experiments, and came up with a wide elastic band to fit over the lens cap. 

This, by the way, may all seem trivial. But it's a bigger deal than you might think. The errant lens cap in question has to protect some very fancy and expensive glass from accidental damage and whatever the environment or weather may fling at my camera. The lens accounts for most of its still-considerable value. So keeping the lens cap in position when not shooting is very important.

Some professionals swear by having no lens cap at all. That way the lens is always exposed and ready for a picture. That does work, if one ports around a proper camera bag with special separate compartments for the camera and other items, so that nothing comes into contact with anything else, and nothing will touch the unprotected front element of the camera lens. 

Even so, one must be prepared to clean that front element often, as, if left capless, it will quickly accumulate dust, miscellaneous detritus, and accidental finger-marks. But cleaning, unless very carefully done, risks micro-abrasion of the coating on the front element. It's definitely best to clean only sparingly, which inevitably means having a lens cap in place most of the time - and one that won't accidentally fall off if lightly brushed or touched.

One could of course screw on a filter as a protective measure, but that's an extra layer of glass, and unless the filter is optically superb the quality of the pictures taken might suffer. And while glass can fend off rain and smears, it's no defence against hard knocks. 

Lili's design means I can't substitute a normal lens cap, nor use any filters. Come what may, I have to use the special stout rubber cap that came with the camera, which is an integral part of its ruggedising. But that rubber cap, heftier than ordinary caps, comes off very easily. It's tethered by a cord to the camera, so it can't become lost, but I can't rely on the cap remaining in place for very long when out and about. I don't use a camera bag, so a lens cap is vital in all circumstances where something hard, rough or sharp could bang into the lens, or where sea spray, rain, sand, dust, or anything else that blows about might be encountered. So, in between shooting sessions, I want that cap to stay put. 

Well, that wide elastic band did the job, but it wasn't in the least elegant. Something thinner would look nicer. I rummaged again through Mum's sewing stuff, and this time found a length of round-section elastic that might be the answer. I cut it to the right length, and tied a knot in it so that when in place it would be under some tension and hold the cap on firmly. I secured the knot so that it wouldn't slip with needle and thread, much as you might whip the end of a rope on a boat.

The result is, I think, a bit easier on the eye than that wide band:

As with the wide band, if I see a picture to take, I just pull this much thinner band sideways off the camera, and knock the lens cap away. An almost instant process. The band ends up hanging from the neck-strap, and stays there until that particular photo session ends. 

It still looks a bit odd, and I'm sure Leica will be appalled at such a styling transgression, even on a discontinued camera. Well, they should have designed a better cap in the first place. I've only made the thing fit for purpose.