p.1 #1 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
Just venting a bit, but seriously: I know that it's probably not easy to invent a new mount, but did seriously anyone at Canon try it out before making it official? The EF lens cap can be put on without looking, and in three different positions. When changing lenses I just roughly put the cap on and twist it a bit in place and it's done. Not so with the RF cap: you must align it properly, and there's exactly one spot in the full revolution that actually works.
Who let this thing out of the lab? It's like going back to the FD mount! What's worse is that the little red marker is much more faint and only visible when you're looking at the mount itself. Long gone is the physically protruding red dot of FD and EF lenses. If you're eagle eyed that may be fine, but if you're a middle aged man working at night you either need a flashlight or just twist the lens until it clicks in, which can't be good for either the lens or the camera long term. It's like switching the wiper speed on a Model 3 - you have to take your eyes off the road. Who comes up with shit like that, especially after decades owning a system that actually works flawlessly? Probably the same person who thought that having the display polarized the "wrong" way for polarized sunglasses was a brilliant idea. Took Apple only one generation of the iPad to fix that, but Canon still insists on this, since the 5D3.
And then there's the whole dust cap compatibility. You can put RF caps on EF lenses but not the other way round. I actually ordered six RF end caps so that all of my EF lenses that I use regularly use. That way since I have to fiddle, at least I know I fiddle with the right end cap...
p.1 #2 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
stanj wrote:
Just venting a bit, but seriously: I know that it's probably not easy to invent a new mount, but did seriously anyone at Canon try it out before making it official? The EF lens cap can be put on without looking, and in three different positions. When changing lenses I just roughly put the cap on and twist it a bit in place and it's done. Not so with the RF cap: you must align it properly, and there's exactly one spot in the full revolution that actually works.
Who let this thing out of the lab? It's like going back to the FD mount! What's worse is that the little red marker is much more faint and only visible when you're looking at the mount itself. Long gone is the physically protruding red dot of FD and EF lenses. If you're eagle eyed that may be fine, but if you're a middle aged man working at night you either need a flashlight or just twist the lens until it clicks in, which can't be good for either the lens or the camera long term. It's like switching the wiper speed on a Model 3 - you have to take your eyes off the road. Who comes up with shit like that, especially after decades owning a system that actually works flawlessly? Probably the same person who thought that having the display polarized the "wrong" way for polarized sunglasses was a brilliant idea. Took Apple only one generation of the iPad to fix that, but Canon still insists on this, since the 5D3.
And then there's the whole dust cap compatibility. You can put RF caps on EF lenses but not the other way round. I actually ordered six RF end caps so that all of my EF lenses that I use regularly use. That way since I have to fiddle, at least I know I fiddle with the right end cap...
Haha. I don’t own any RF lenses, but I have the same issue with just mounting the cap back on to the front mount of my EOS R camera. I thought I was the only one having issues. It is a royal pain to mount a cap on to this mount. I gave up and just keep the RF/EF mount adapter on the camera and then mount a cap to that.
p.1 #4 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
The bayonet mount has 3 flanges sticking out, and all are the same radial length. However, they are not spaced equidistant along the mount. There is one gap that is roughly 50% longer than the others. The lens cap is designed so that there are 3 internal flanges of the lens cap, and 2 are the same length, but 1 is extra long. This makes it so that the lens cap can only fit on in one specific orientation.
You can resolve this issue by removing the extra plastic from the inside of the lens cap such that it is the same size as the other flanges, then you can put the lens cap on in any orientation, but it isn't perfect, however when you need to cram them on in a hurry you can just push it on most of the time with little worry, and it doesn't get stuck like they do out of the box. As far as I can tell, there is no benefit to the Canon system for making the lens caps intolerable.
p.1 #6 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
Jesse Evans wrote:
The bayonet mount has 3 flanges sticking out, and all are the same radial length. However, they are not spaced equidistant along the mount. There is one gap that is roughly 50% longer than the others. The lens cap is designed so that there are 3 internal flanges of the lens cap, and 2 are the same length, but 1 is extra long. This makes it so that the lens cap can only fit on in one specific orientation.
You can resolve this issue by removing the extra plastic from the inside of the lens cap such that it is the same size as the other flanges, then you can put the lens cap on in any orientation, but it isn't perfect, however when you need to cram them on in a hurry you can just push it on most of the time with little worry, and it doesn't get stuck like they do out of the box. As far as I can tell, there is no benefit to the Canon system for making the lens caps intolerable....Show more →
p.1 #8 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
Man I hate finicky caps....Nikon front TC caps (nightmare), Sony front TC caps (nightmare)...not looking forward to experiencing this RF stuff but I guess there is no choice (other than only adapting EF glass). Canon EF caps were the easiest things to use of any system I've owned....miss them a lot...thankfully there is no useful RF glass for the subjects I shoot so I guess I will be back to the beautiful EF caps anyways.
p.1 #10 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
mikeinctown wrote:
That's why they have that little indent on them. So people know how to line them up easily and put them on and not complain on forums.
If you have to look at a cap to know how to put it on it is a design failure...end of story. Canon EF is the only brand that really got it right. Sad to hear they have become just as bad as the competition.
p.1 #11 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
Since the RF caps are slightly different, I bought colored ones from Amazon, and used black permanent marker pen to mark the spot on the side that aligns. I keep black EF caps for most of my EF lenses.
p.1 #12 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
Takes practice. The cap has a groove. The red mark on all RF lenses is on the silver/gunmetal RF mount next to the black plastic groove. It's possible to get it wrong by 180 degrees though. The key is that the red mark is on the same side as the AF/MF switch.
This is true on all my RF lenses. 28-70 f2, 24-105 f4, 35 f1.8, 50 f1.2, 700-200 f2.8. I suspect it is on the rest too. Can look it up web page pix.
For the EF/RF adaptor, the red mark is next to the EF lens release switch.
After a few practice it gets easy and you don't have to look. Just grab the lens with the AF/MF switch side matching the cap groove.
p.1 #15 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
Haha! The very first thing I thought when I went to put the body cap back on was "WTF?". I thought maybe I was just too excited and didn't have it inside the mount properly.
p.1 #17 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
In the absence of a nice protruding ball on the lens that can be seen from the rear, and anything on the cap that can be seen, I apply nail polish to the dot on the cap (can also add to the edge channel but gets ugly) and some red Sharpie marking to the mount to see from the rear. This also aids in mounting the lens to the body.
p.1 #20 · Why are the RF end caps so hard to put on?
arbitrage wrote:
If you have to look at a cap to know how to put it on it is a design failure...end of story. Canon EF is the only brand that really got it right. Sad to hear they have become just as bad as the competition.
Or one could just feel the indent with the fingers they use to put the cap on. I mean really, how did you ever put a lens on without looking at the orientation? Do you just smack it into the mount repeatedly until you get it right?
). Canon EF caps were the easiest things to use of any system I've owned....miss them a lot...thankfully there is no useful RF glass for the subjects I shoot so I guess I will be back to the beautiful EF caps anyways.
, I did the same thing 2 days ago. However, I first had them bright pink, as she could not find her red polish. Redone, now all red
