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Lens cap or not?

Julian Thompson

By Julian Thompson
in Leica X

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ravinj

ravinj

Posted
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Can anyone who is not using the lens cap report on whether you are seeing any wear on the lens retractable sections due to grit/dirt ingress? I'm considering ditching the cap but am worried I may cause issues in the longer term.

 

I would not even think about ditching the lens cap. By the time you discover issues it will be too late. I am sure Leica would have removed it if they didn't think it was needed.

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BB W

BB W

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Agreed. Can't imagine not using one. Fortunately, I always have a pocket to put mine in.

 

I may be wrong, but I don't think that this camera can use a filter as protection.

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JeTexas

JeTexas

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Without modification, there is no way you can go without a lens cap. Just accumulation of lint would start affecting your photo quality within a week.

 

However, if you find a 50mm lens hood, you can put a filter adapter on the end of it, so that the entire system is sealed or you can add one of these Ricoh automatic lens caps like this:

 

 

Unfortunately, finding the 50mm lens hood is the tough part as Leica has not started marketing their own yet. So far, the best success has been had with a Nikon UR-E8, which can be found on eBay for about $12.

 

The downside is that if you have the X1 case, it no longer fits with a lens hood.

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h00ligan

h00ligan

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acmaxx makes a stick on.. the one person I read from who had it installed said it removed paint when it came off (the lettering around the barrel) - fwiw. I also believe theres a barrel mount (People used extension tubes) Not that it would be pocketable anymore.

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RichardM8

RichardM8

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IMO it depends on the case you use.

 

The brown leather case from Leica protects the camera very well. The dome for the lens is more than protective enough. The lens cap from mine never made it out of it's plastic bag. I think it's very annoying and I'll never use it. No issues with dirt whatsoever. I've always used my D-Lux4/LX3 the same way for years without any probs.

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Julian Thompson

Julian Thompson

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All helpful thanks - I don't use a case with the x1 at all so maybe it's a bad idea. My reason is twofold - firstly the lens cap adds a bit of bulk to the front of the camera that makes pocketing it in jeans 4mm harder than it needs to be, and secondly I find that the cap off and in my pocket routine slows me down a bit - not a lot obviously but it's there.

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Stefan K

Stefan K

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For those thinking of going without a lens cap you should know that if you were to scratch the front element badly enough to warrant a repair then you are looking at replacement of the whole Lens/sensor assembly.

 

I was wondering how careful I should be about the front element bearing in mind it is not easy to fit a filter so I asked Leica how much it would cost to replace the front element and got the following response:

 

"Thank you for your inquiry about the exchange of the front element of your Leica X1.

We are sorry to have to inform you, that it is not possible to exchange the front element of the lens by itself. The lens comes complete in a unit including the CCD attached. The exchange of this unit will cost about € 650,-. The unit itself as spare part costs € 500,-.

 

Mit freundlichen Grüssen / Kind regards"

 

I will be using the lens cap when the camera is not in use, that's for sure.

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phancj

phancj

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For those thinking of going without a lens cap you should know that if you were to scratch the front element badly enough to warrant a repair then you are looking at replacement of the whole Lens/sensor assembly.

 

I was wondering how careful I should be about the front element bearing in mind it is not easy to fit a filter so I asked Leica how much it would cost to replace the front element and got the following response:

 

"Thank you for your inquiry about the exchange of the front element of your Leica X1.

We are sorry to have to inform you, that it is not possible to exchange the front element of the lens by itself. The lens comes complete in a unit including the CCD attached. The exchange of this unit will cost about € 650,-. The unit itself as spare part costs € 500,-.

 

Mit freundlichen Grüssen / Kind regards"

 

I will be using the lens cap when the camera is not in use, that's for sure.

 

Isnt it a cmos??!! :rolleyes:

 

For everyone's info the lens cap aint cheap also, I broke mine once and it was exorbitant, like $35 or so for a plastic (*@^#^*#@ cap haha...:confused:

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jsrockit

jsrockit

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Without modification, there is no way you can go without a lens cap. Just accumulation of lint would start affecting your photo quality within a week.

 

Huh? I've been using mine without a lens cap for months... this is just BS. The lens retracts when not in use... the same part that would get dust on it will get dust on it without the cap. If you are out making photos, then you won't have the cap on anyway. The front of the X1's lens...with coating, is quite durable.

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F1Addict

F1Addict

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For everyone's info the lens cap aint cheap also, I broke mine once and it was exorbitant, like $35 or so for a plastic (*@^#^*#@ cap haha...:confused:

 

Exactly! I was going to order another after I lost mine, and I refused to pay that much for a lens cap which didn't stay on very well to begin with. I looked at several others, but none fit on snug enough for me. That's why I've decided to go the route of the Nikon UR-E8.

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RichardM8

RichardM8

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Being cautious is one thing, overcautious another imo. Using the camera is a 'risk' to start with. Leaving it a home is the safest bet.

 

If the fiddling with the lens cap doesn't annoy you, then by all means use it. I only pointed out that the semi hard lens dome from the brown leather case protects the lens very well. You'll have to do some very crazy things to get the lens damaged when it's in this case.

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