MX-1 lens cap

There have been a few comments about the MX-1's insistence on reminding you to take off the lens cap when you turn it on - and none positive.

My mate has just returned from the US with the X5 I advised him to buy and which gave up the ghost the day before he went to the Grand Canyon (earlier post). Turns out the problem is that the camera thinks the lens cap is in place when it's not and turns itself off. He's sending it to Johnsons for an estimate but doesn't hold out a lot of hope for an economical repair.

This seems to be the same system used in the MX-1 - yet another unnecessary electro-mechanical system to go wrong, even when the rest of the camera is working perfectly. Hope this doesn't become an issue with excellent MX-1. Who designs these things?

Al

You could always fit one of these -

https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/mx-1-auto-lens-cap-47872

(scroll down the thread for photos of mine)

It just works.

Cheers.
Philip

A good thing to have, but I don't think it'll solve the problem of the camera "thinking" the lens cap is fitted when it isn't and closing down. This must be a failure of the sensor mechanism that shuts down the camera if the detects any resistance to the lens moving out on start-up. Pentax should really disable this "feature" unless they can make it fail safe.

Does the automatic cap add much depth to the camera? I'm using one of the Lowepro Newport 30 cases recommended by Gravelrash (thanks for the tip) and there ain't any room to spare depth-wise.

Al

Do you need a cap if it's in a case?

I would have thought that this feature was not unnecessary but actually vital. If the lens was prevented from extending (e.g. because the cap was left on), the strain on the motor would be huge and it would probably self-destruct.

If a web search is anything to go by, the failure-rate of the MX-1 caused by the problem described here would appear to be very low indeed.

The auto lens cap is 3 millimtres thicker than the Pentax lens cap.

Cheers.
Philip

At first, we probably all forget to remove the lens cap and the camera warns us and turns off rather than causing damage. That seems very sensible to me. Eventually I remembered and always take the cap off before switching on.

The design failure is to have a clip on lens cap, which if it were push on instead would simply pop off the lens like the X90 one did.

A lens/lens cap design which is prone to damage when the lens cap is left on, and requires a warning to prevent damage, strikes me as poor design.

The Ricoh GR and similar cameras avoid this by having sliding shutters in the design. That solves the problem, although it strikes me that any pressure on the shutters when closed would probably cause severe damage.

The lens cap issue is the same on the Olympus XZ-1, a similar camera to the MX-1, and it's avoided there by having a push on lens cap. Unfortunately that tends to fall off, so ends up not being used at all.

If it's perceived as a problem, probably ditching the lens cap would be the answer, as long as the MX-1 is kept in a suitable case to protect the lens. It is recessed, so many cases would be OK.

With a design that demands a motorised extending lens I'm not finding it easy to think of a solution that doesn't also mean added bulk.

An auto lens cap functions effectively - opening easily when the camera is switched on, keeping the lens clean by automatically closing at switch-off, adding very little size or weight to the camera, and being unlikely to be lost.

The sensible route would have been been for Pentax/Ricoh to supply a similar gadget with the camera instead of the clip on cap, but they would probably have charged an extra £100 for including this useful accessory!

Cheers.
Philip

I've no problem with the warning system and usually remember to take the cap off. But if it goes wrong and refuses to turn the camera on after the cap is removed, as it has done with my pal's X5, it would be damned annoying and potentially expensive to fix. (He's sent the X5 off to Johnsons for a quote).

Everything works as it should on my MX-1 but I was just concerned that there's a vulnerability. To be fair, I can't find anyone reporting a similar problem on the net, so I suspect my mate has just been unlucky.

The auto lens cap seems a good idea, but wouldn't help if the sensing system failed and insisted the cap was still in place when it wasn't.

Al

Gawd blimey, like John says, one (maybe two) warnings is enough. Just remember to take the cap off before you turn it on. Simples. No need to second guess why they designed it this way or what [you think] is sensible or not, just deal with it a take photos instead of taking exception.

To be fair I've only forgotten to take the cap off on a couple of occasions and I instinctively do it now. I've also stopped putting the camera to my eye, but that took a little longer haha

I think you've missed the point. When the lens cap is REMOVED, the camera thinks it's still there and switches off. It's clearly a fault. With the best will in the world, it's not possible to "take photos instead of taking exception". To repeat, it's not my MX-1 that has developed the problem but a friend's X5. Gor blimey.

Al

I wonder if the problem your friends X5 is that it has got a bit grit or something within the mechanism that extends the zoom preventing the zoom from extending. I had this with a Cannon camera.

My LX5 is always telling me to remove my lens cap, i have had it for years and i still forget. To be honest i do it with K30 as well but that does not remind me

I think you could be right. Can't see anything from the outside but a bit of grit would be enough to cause the problem. The problem will be paying someone's time to take it apart to find out. I'll report back when he's heard from Johnsons in case anyone else runs into this situation.

Al