Rear lens cap

[purplehaze]

Any tips on how to safely loosen a rear lens cap that even my brother-in-law (the strongest man in the world) cannot get off?

Many thanks in advance.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Janis,

This is a problem I haven't heard of before!

If it were me, I'd probably make it a team effort - perhaps involve something that could give some kind of mechanical leverage (jar opener? pipe wrench) (on the cap end, not the lens!!!). I wouldn't worry too much about breaking the cap - they're a dime a dozen.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Janis,

This may seem like a silly question, but; you are turning it the right way, aren't you?

I ask because the Nikon ones I use always seem counter intuitive, in other words it is the opposite to getting the lid off a screw top jar.

Hope you win eventually,

[purplehaze]

Fair question, Dave, but we'd tried it both ways. I don't have a pipe wrench or a ring tip jar opener, but Jiro suggested I make a cardboard collar for the lens with just the cap sticking through and then use a blow dryer on it. Three minutes of hot air and it came off! Whew!! Thanks for your suggestions. Hope this proves useful to someone else someday.

[William W]

I deleted my original post - I took far too long making coffee and you got the problem solved in the meantime: good oh!

WW

[rpcrowe]

This is only one of the reasons that I love this site. Help is always available when we need it....

[Mike Buckley]

I have never heard of this problem either but I do have a preventative solution if you are a Nikon user: buy the white caps perhaps on EBay that have no threads; rather than screwing on and screwing off, they push on and pull off. I hate the screw-type rear lens caps. I don't know if similar push-on, pull-off caps are available for other brands.

[darkslide]

While I tend to agree, in principle, in my experience push-on caps can get knocked off taking the lens out or putting it back in the bag (or at least, in my bag )

There's also something strangely reassuring to know that the cap is nice and snug on it's bayonet...but of course, this is entirely personal

[Colin Southern]

While I tend to agree, in principle, in my experience push-on caps can get knocked off taking the lens out or putting it back in the bag (or at least, in my bag )

There's also something strangely reassuring to know that the cap is nice and snug on it's bayonet...but of course, this is entirely personal

I agree!

And of course the simple solution may well be "don't over-tighten the darn things in the first place"