how do you protect the lens?

[pappa]

i'd like to protect the lens of my grd iv and i found the acmaxx lens armor, anyone has some experience with it?
How do you protect the lens?
I suppose a good way would be the gh-2 + a filter but the camera won't be pocketable

Thanks

 

[riccadonna]

Pappa, if acmaxx is glass use it if it`s plastic, don`t. One of my friends simply took the multicoated glass filter out of metal rim and simply glued it to the tube. Of course you won`t be able to use an original bayonet cap which is anyway optional. For a beach use I would still prefer an filter adapter ( protects against the fine sand ).

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Yes it is a cavern in there, lots of things for sand to get into. The earlier models were smaller "caverns" and therefore were less obvious.

It has never bothered me before, but then I don't get amongst soft beach sand that much. A trip over an exposed headland on a windy day left the lenses coated in dried salt spray even if at the time the spray in the air was not obvious. Such fine residue inside the end of the GR lens would be impossible to remove.

Gluing a filter over the end of the barrel seems almost as drastic. For the moment the lens tube and a filter seems the only professionally practical solution. Maybe normally left off and only used in high-risk situations?

Tom

 

[aquilon]

I use one of those acmaxx filters and I am very happy with it . I had had the blades of metal that protect the lens in its off mode collapse while the camera was in my pocket and the lens got scratched . Luckily I had another GRD 3 so I got the stick on filter [ which incidentally Tom , unsticks easily enough ] and a 49mm lens cap . The lens cap loosened up a little so I simply bent it a little out of round and it is nice and snug . I feel quite secure that this camera is pretty safe in my pocket .
Jeff

 

[riccadonna]

Well, I just checked acmaxx site and that`s the idea my friend used. Here`s a detail Ricoh and others overlooked. Protection of the lens. Small thing but the devil is in the details. Aquilon is perfectly right with his concern. I often put my cameras in the pocket or in the bags not always remebering what`s else of the hard objects might be there. That was the reason why I was a bit apprehensive about GDR IV. Kind of sissy camera compared to my GXR A28 which takes a real filter and thanks god for it! Ricoh could make the front of retracting tube with recessed ( just thickeness of filter glass ) space for external filter. They could have made extra buck selling a proprietary filter with magnetic rim. The filter would be flush with the front of tube, easily removable with suction cup (+ different filters ! ) . A question more about GR. Ricoh supplies for GRDIV white edition a lens cap that can be bayoneted on and which contacts unable accidental power on. Does GR has the same feature? Collapsed metal blades give me creeps
Tom, gluing the filter doesn`t have to be drastic. There are termal glues that get soft and unstick easily when gently heated with hair dryer. I noticed however that GR`s lens is much more rectracted inside and less exposed then Nikons Coolpix A which is a plus, but getting sand or rain inside the cavern is a nightmare.
Oh boyo, those were the days when armed with LTM Leica with Canon 28/2,8 , no power on lag worries, no fragility issues, we roamed the streets with confident smile on.

 

[Tom Caldwell]

Surely the simplest solution would be for a hard lens cap that uses the same mount as the dress ring? Just bayonet it off and on when needed. Otherwise a bayonet mount self-opening three part cap that Ricoh invented for the GX? Use the dress ring mount again. Still does not solve the pit after the lens is extended. Myself I think the bayonet-on hard cap makes some sort of sense.

But my problem, if any, would be blowing spray and/or fine sand getting into the lens tube cavity when the camera is in use. Neither of the above solutions would solve that problem. I have little problem with the normal leaf covers for the lens when the camera is switched off. I resist pocketing the camera or carrying it amongst hard objects.

Tom

 

[HawkeyX]

I use the GL-1 cap to protect the lens, especially when packed away and usually when in the pocket. Going back to my film days, I've never found it a hassle removing quickly as I power up and bring camera up for shot. Im of mixed minds putting another lens over. It does protect it all, but I cant help but feel it also compromises the optics.
My GRD IV's been in all manner of environments now. Still going strong, but I do occasionally give it a polish up with my lenspen.

 

[pappa]

First of all thanks to all for the replies, and sorry for the late (i didn't received the notify in my phone, i don't know why )
At the end i'm going to buy the gh-2 because i'm one who use a lot the camera and i suppose the glue of the acmaxx lens armor won't be so strong so now i've to think what could be the best way to carry my camera with the hood attached, in the worst scenario i'll use the gl-1 cap i think.
What relieve me is that the gh-3 of the ricoh gr, the camera that i'll buy in the future, is slimmer and more or less seems to be fits better in a pocket than the grd iv with the gh-2....And yes, the only little thing that disappoint me about ricoh is that they could add a better filter system in their gr cameras.

Tommaso.