My reviews are on cameras, lenses, lighting and other gear that usually have a starting price of a couple of hundred dollars, but sometimes I just need a small item, usually to replace something lost or damaged.
Depending on the brand of camera you own these items can run from moderately to outrageously priced. A case in point is a lens cap. A Canon brand center pinch 72MM lens cap is a modest $7.00. A Nikon version, still reasonable at $11.95. Then there is the luxury priced Zeiss 72MM cap at $35.00 and the Leica 72MM lens cap is at an "if you have to ask you can't afford it" $54.95! All of these caps serve the same function, some are a little slicker than others, but the price disparity is hard to fathom. We do have choices however, so when you lose that OEM cap you can always buy a replacement third party brand, like the Sensei 72MM center pinch for a paltry $3.95.
Canon has been pissing off buyers of its lenses with some inexplicable policies for years. Pay $1350 for the 70-200 F4 L lens and it does not come with a tripod ring. Buy the 300MM F4 for $100 more and it does. Buy L lenses new and they include the lens shades, buy an L lens used on Canon's refurbished site and they don't. As far as I know, no non-L EF lenses come with lens hoods. By selling the hoods a la carte they can keep the price lower and more attractive. The airlines have since picked up on that philosophy so it must work well. Give them the a la carte concept - how do they justify the prices?
I bought a Canon 24MM 2.8 IS lens for $549.00 and the optional lens shade is $49.95, almost 10% the cost of the lens itself. My reaction was NO, HELL NO, and I started looking for 3rd party lens hoods.
I searched the usual places, B&H, Adorama and Amazon. The hood that appealed to me most was marketed at Amazon by Rinbowimaging. The brand JCC LH-W65B - a replacement for the Canon brand EW-65B. The hood doesn't have the semi-gloss look of the Canon or the lint catching flock interior either, but does have a matte interior, it fits the lens just fine thank you, in both shooting and reversed storing position and, unlike the Canon, it locks into place. There is a small button on the side of the hood to release it. At less than one-third the price of the Canon, my ego can handle the JCC logo with no problem. The question is, why can't Canon come up with more reasonable pricing. After all, if JJC can make a hood and a profit at $14.95, couldn't Canon do it for say 25 bucks?
Depending on the brand of camera you own these items can run from moderately to outrageously priced. A case in point is a lens cap. A Canon brand center pinch 72MM lens cap is a modest $7.00. A Nikon version, still reasonable at $11.95. Then there is the luxury priced Zeiss 72MM cap at $35.00 and the Leica 72MM lens cap is at an "if you have to ask you can't afford it" $54.95! All of these caps serve the same function, some are a little slicker than others, but the price disparity is hard to fathom. We do have choices however, so when you lose that OEM cap you can always buy a replacement third party brand, like the Sensei 72MM center pinch for a paltry $3.95.
Canon has been pissing off buyers of its lenses with some inexplicable policies for years. Pay $1350 for the 70-200 F4 L lens and it does not come with a tripod ring. Buy the 300MM F4 for $100 more and it does. Buy L lenses new and they include the lens shades, buy an L lens used on Canon's refurbished site and they don't. As far as I know, no non-L EF lenses come with lens hoods. By selling the hoods a la carte they can keep the price lower and more attractive. The airlines have since picked up on that philosophy so it must work well. Give them the a la carte concept - how do they justify the prices?
I bought a Canon 24MM 2.8 IS lens for $549.00 and the optional lens shade is $49.95, almost 10% the cost of the lens itself. My reaction was NO, HELL NO, and I started looking for 3rd party lens hoods.
I searched the usual places, B&H, Adorama and Amazon. The hood that appealed to me most was marketed at Amazon by Rinbowimaging. The brand JCC LH-W65B - a replacement for the Canon brand EW-65B. The hood doesn't have the semi-gloss look of the Canon or the lint catching flock interior either, but does have a matte interior, it fits the lens just fine thank you, in both shooting and reversed storing position and, unlike the Canon, it locks into place. There is a small button on the side of the hood to release it. At less than one-third the price of the Canon, my ego can handle the JCC logo with no problem. The question is, why can't Canon come up with more reasonable pricing. After all, if JJC can make a hood and a profit at $14.95, couldn't Canon do it for say 25 bucks?