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About a year ago a purchased a Rokinon 14mm f2.8 lens for Canon. The lens has a built in petal lens hood and a large bulbous lens. Because of the lens design, it required a non-standard lens cap, which came with the lens. The lens cap is very deep, looking somewhere between a small cup and a bowl. It fits entirely over the hood and snaps into place behind the front element.

Unfortunately, my camera bag took a tumble from the top shelf of a bus when the bus rounded a corner with surprising speed. Luckily (and surprisingly) the lens cap was the only casualty. As the lens cap is not standard, I contacted the manufacturer both at their US point of contact and their Korean contact (Samyang - I live in Korea and the lenses are manufactured here, so it's a natural contact). The US contact responded asking me to fill out a form, but hasn't responded since then. The Korean contact never replied at all. There's also no information related to obtaining parts for these lenses, so it seems like I'm out of luck in obtaining a replacement.

The manufacturer doesn't seem willing to sell parts. The cap is custom, so there doesn't seem to be any other source. The lens is bulbous and has a built in hood, so I can't attach a filter to protect the lens.

I don't want to risk damaging the lens by carrying it without some protection. I also don't want it to sit on my shelf unused. What can I do to provide some protection for this lens?

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    \$\begingroup\$ this sounds like a good case for a big 3D printer \$\endgroup\$
    – Skaperen
    Jul 7, 2015 at 12:51
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Skaperen There's actually an existing design for this on thingiverse. Sadly, I don't have access to a 3D printer. On the other hand, in the images for this, it shows the cap fitting within the petal, which means it likely contacts the lens (the original lens fits over the petal). I'm not sure if it would work well in practice. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 7, 2015 at 13:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ Maybe useless, but it looks like Samyang UK will sell just the cap: samyang-lens.co.uk/samyang-14mm-f28-lens-cap.html \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    Jul 8, 2015 at 16:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ @inkista This would be perfect, but unfortunately they don't seem to ship outside of Europe. I've sent them an e-mail though, so maybe it can be worked around. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 9, 2015 at 14:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ @MitchGoshorn Good luck! \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    Jul 9, 2015 at 15:27

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Until you find a proper one, I would simply fashion one out of some cardboard and gaffer tape. Or if you happen to find some plastic drain pipe of the correct diameter, you could use that.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ The drain pipe is an intriguing idea. The original cover was a hard plastic not too different than that. It would probably be pretty easy to find one which would fit it. I'll look into this! \$\endgroup\$ Jul 7, 2015 at 12:09
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    \$\begingroup\$ If you can't find that some that quite fits, you could glue some foam rubber inside to make it snug. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 7, 2015 at 12:40
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ElendilTheTall or add velcro \$\endgroup\$
    – Skaperen
    Jul 7, 2015 at 12:53
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You could buy a replacement from UK Digital or Samyang (these seem to be the same product for the same price). If ordering from the UK isn't convenient, you could find someone with a 3D printer and print one of these:

alternate lens cap

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I've already contacted Samyang (that's their local branding in Korea). I'll give UK Digital a try too. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 8, 2015 at 9:59

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