Camera Labs

Hello Folks,
First of all I would just like to thank Camera Labs and DSLR Tips for making the photographic side of my life much more straight forward since I found them. Thank you Mr Laing! I also hope this is the right forum to be posting this in, as none of the others seem to fit.

My problem is that I seem to miss many photo opportunities not due to the fact that my camera isn't on in time but due to the fact that I'm so paranoid about damage to the lens that I keep replacing the lens cover between every few shots before I move on. By the time I have the lens cover off the opportunity has passed.

Am I being too paranoid about damage to the lens? Does the cover only need to be used when putting the camera back in the bag or during extended non-use?

Thanks in advance

Hi Mobius, and welcome to the forum. Think that you might be a bit.... if your lens has a hood it is very unlikely that you will scratch the front element, you can also buy filters for the front ie. UV ones or just simple protectors they are a lot cheaper to replace than a lens.
I do a lot of Railway Photography and my lens cap came off when I got the camera out of the bag at 07.45 and did not go back on till 13.30, in that time the camera was also left switched on, most cameras will go into sleep mode when not being used and a touch of the shutter release will wake it up, so no more missed opportunities.
Hope this has helped.

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Roy
EOS 350D, 40D + BG-E2N, EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM, EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 430 EX Speedlite




My Fotopic

I know what you mean, I went through this stage when I first had my DSLR.

When you have the lens off, unless you bang it or rub the end against something then the only thing that will happen is dust will land on the end. The end of my lens has become quite dusty before but i havent noticed any difference in my pictures.

The dust can easily be removed with a blower. I bought a rocket blower on ebay the other day and its great! cleans up the lenses like a charm.

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Tobywuk personal website || My Flickr
Gear: Sony a700! || CZ 16-80mm! || Sony 75-300 || bag: Crumpler PB xxxl / Lowepro slingshot 200

I was similarly "paranoid" for the first few months of ownership with my D40. As mentioned by others you shouldn't need to worry if you have either a lense hood or a UV filter over the front of the lense. Nothing worse than missing a shot because you have to fumble to remove the lense cap and put it in your pocket. And always have a blower with you in your kit bag. I never leave home without my Giotto rocket blower, particularly when shooting outdoors on a windy day where there might be a bit of dust about.

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GEAR: Nikon D40 | AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II | AF-S VRII Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED | AF-S VRII Nikkor 105 f/2.8G IF-ED micro | SB-400 Speedlight | Lowepro Slingshot 200 AW | Manfrotto 676B monopod

Fist of all: Welcome Mobius to the Camera Labs forum!

I still have the same issue as you do (have had my DSLR for quite some time now), that extreme urge to take care of your lens all the time. I'd recommend always having the hood on, like Roy (aka Defiance) already said and perhaps buying a filter and have that on the lens at all times. If you damage the filter, you can more easily buy a new one, unlike a lens which is more expensive.
Instead of a blower, I use a special photography cloth to clean the front element of my lens (I don't have a blower yet ), works great too!

- Bjorn -

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Street and documentary photographer | Google+ | Twitter | Blog | Tumblr

Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

Thank you very much for your replies everyone! I will look into getting a lens hood and/or filter and definitely look into buying some more cleaning equipment.
Again, thank you for your help!