Designed to keep you from losing lens caps on the go
As someone who loves photography, I try to keep my camera and a few of my favorite lenses with me when I’m out and about. The problem over the years that I have found is that I end up pocketing my lens caps or losing them. I can’t tell you how many times while at Churchill Downs that I have found Canon lens caps laying around. Some photographers get in a hurry, take them off, sit them down, grab the shots they need and completely forget to grab their lens cap when they are done. The people at Sensei have worked on a way to make products that will help you from forgetting that lens cap — the Clip-on Cap Keeper and the StrapCap Keeper.
FEATURES
The Clip-on Cap Keeper is designed to keep your lens cap safe, clean, and
The StrapCap Keeper is similar in function to the Clip-on Cap Keeper and can hold three different sizes of lenses (72mm, 77mm, or 82mm). The StrapCap accepts center-pinch and snap-on styles of camera lens caps. This cap keeper also works with straps up to 2” wide and is extremely lightweight. It’s designed to slip onto a belt, neck strap, or bag strap without being obtrusive.
IMPRESSIONS
When both of these products arrived, I thought that they were clever solutions to a common problem. The Clip-on Cap Keeper and the StrapCap Keeper are sold in simple packaging. The clip is in a plastic bag with a cardboard topper. Some basic instructions are included in a cardboard insert. The instructions read:
“Open the clip on the Cap Keeper and place the strap into the clip; then close the clip, being sure that the latch is securely locked. The spring clamp holds your lens cap firmly in place.”
While this is a fairly simple product and operation is self-explanatory, I do wish some slightly more precise instructions were included. When you look at the product, you will see that there is a curve to the clip and when you look at a lens cap there is a lip. My natural reaction was to align the lip of the cap with the curve in the cap keeper. While that might be a functional way to use the product, I wondering if it was the best way to use it. Since the instructions were somewhat vague on that part of the product, I just thought it would be nice if more specifics were included.
As far as real-world application goes, I had a great opportunity when I decided to go out and take photos at a local race track. Before I left my house, I snapped the clip onto my camera shoulder strap and locked it into place. When I did, I inspected the clip pretty closely. It appears that the clip’s locking hinge is simply made with plastic. I could see it turn a bit white (as if under stress) when I locked it into place on my strap, which is what caught my attention. Now, the clip stayed firmly in place and did a great job of holding my lens cap securely. I would just be worried about the longevity of the clip’s lifespan. The Clip-on Cap Keeper retails for around $12 so with it not being a hefty investment, the lifespan might be irrelevant to some.
While I really enjoyed using the Clip-on Cap Keeper and I thought it was capable in its function, I had a different experience with the StrapCap Keeper. I really like the design of this product, but it fell really short of my expectations. You should be able to slip it onto a strap (in my case a shoulder camera strap) and then clip your lens cap onto it when it’s not in use. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get my lens cap to hold in place on the StrapCap. It would act like it was latched into place, but when you move the strap around or if there was a vibration around the StrapCap, the lens cap would pop right off. I tried multiple times to get the cap to stay on the StrapCap, but it was a no go. I was using a Tamron lens cap, but because it’s supposed to be universal for those sizes of lens caps, I really shouldn’t have had that issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Keeping track of lens caps can be a pain, but products like the StrapCap and the Clip-on Cap Keeper can make this task a bit easier. At this time, I wouldn’t recommend the StrapCap as it doesn’t seem to live up to it’s product description, but the Clip-on Cap Keeper is a great option for a simple, lightweight addition to a camera set-up.
For more details, visit Sensei
