Caps

On the left is the Pentacon cap, on the right the one from Kiev Arsenal [bodycps1.jpg]

The inside face of the two body caps, again with the Pentacon cap on the left [bodycps2.jpg]

Either body cap does the job adequately, but in my opinion there is a clear winner here.  It is the Kiev Arsenal cap.  Why?  The Pentacon body cap just pushes into place and is held there by friction.  I have never had one fall off, but it does not seem to me to be that secure.  The Arsenal body cap has a lug which must be aligned with the slot at the top of the camera body lens mount socket, and behind that lug there is a sturdy raised strip.  It looks like an inverted “T” (with an extremely long horizontal bar) in the above image on the right.  So you put it onto the body and then rotate the camera body lens locking ring and it locks the body cap into place, which gives me an impression of much greater security.  It is also thicker and stronger than the Pentacon body cap.

Naturally, a camera body cap is also essential to cover the front of a 2× converter when it is not being used, and it is also strongly advised that you use a body cap on the front of the bellows or of a set of extension tubes for storage, to prevent the possible entry of dust or fluff.

Top caps

Another part of the camera body that may need protecting is the viewfinder opening.  This is of course normally protected by the waist-level finder, the magnifying head, the plain prism or the metering prism.  However, you may not have a spare prism for a second body, or may wish to avoid the weight of carrying two prisms when going out to take photographs.  As far as I have been able to see over many years, every Pentacon Six was supplied with a waist-level finder.  However, if you have a body without a waist-level finder, a top cap may be a good, light-weight alternative.  It may also save a couple of centimetres of height if storing a second body in a tight camera bag.

The top cap is a simple plastic plate that fits onto the four posts round the viewfinder opening on the top of the camera and slides forward to be held in place.

Top of the top cap.  The raised plastic struts no doubt provide rigidity.  They also make it easy to put the cap on and take it off. [topcap01.jpg]

The underside of the top cap.  Notice the additional hole (arrowed) that locates with the locking pin on the top of the Praktisix IIA and the Pentacon Six, to hold the cap firmly in place. [topcap02.jpg]

	The top cap in use. [topcap03.jpg]		This view enables us to see that the locking pin has engaged with the appropriate hole on the top plate.  I have arrowed the locking pin release button on the top of the camera. [topcap04.jpg]

Lens back caps

Obviously, any lens that is not on a camera body must always be stored with a lens back cap.  It always amazes me when a lens comes up for sale without a back cap, as – apart from the standard lens supplied with the camera body – every lens is supplied with a back cap.

Of course, every lens is also supplied with a front cap, although these appear to get lost even more frequently, perhaps just falling off un-noticed while the user is carrying the camera.  Fortunately, buying a replacement front cap is easy, as they are readily available in a wide range of standard sizes and styles, including press-on, clip-on and, less commonly, screw-in.  We therefore do not need to concern ourselves here with lens front caps.

There is a wide range of Pentacon Six lens back caps, as every manufacturer that supplied a lens with this mount also supplied a back cap, most of them poor, as they easily fall off.  However, for many decades there have been four main lens back or rear caps, all of which are illustrated and commented on below.

Which one is the best?  Or doesn’t it matter?

Well, again there is a clear winner, but this time the roles are reversed: the Pentacon is the best lens back cap, which of course means that the Exakta 66 cap is equally good.

Why does it matter?  The new Arsenal cap is deeper than the old one, but it still slightly presses constantly on the auto aperture pin at the back of the lens, and although one should not be unduly worried about this, it does seem self-evident that it is better, long-term, for a spring (as for a human being!) not to be under constant pressure.

The outer bottom edge of the Arsenal cap (as seen in the bottom of the two pictures here) is also much wider than the corresponding part of the Pentacon and Exakta 66 caps.  Not a major difference, perhaps, but I notice it when trying to fit lenses into pouches and the pouches into an outfit case.

I have where possible replaced the back caps on my Arsenal lenses, whether the caps supplied were the old or the new type, with Pentacon lens back caps.  Unfortunately, the Pentacon lens back caps are generally hard to find.  I therefore tend to put the Arsenal caps on manual lenses (from Pentacon or other manufacturers), as these do not have an aperture pin that could be depressed.

You will also wish to use a lens back cap on the back of extension tubes or the bellows for storage, to prevent the possible entry of dust or fluff.

Unfortunately, when used lenses are sold, the front and rear caps are often missing.  Getting new front caps is not generally difficult, except in the largest sizes, but rear lens caps for Pentacon Six lenses are increasingly hard to find. It is therefore excellent news that a U.K. photographer, Simon Forster, is manufacturing new rear caps for lenses with the Pentacon Six mount! New second version in August 2023.  For details, see below. Forster Lens caps, first version (June 2020) In the image on the right here we see four lens rear caps produced by Simon Forster Photographic (click on the name to go to the website).  From left to right, the caps are on a very late production Meyer-Optik 300mm lens (earlier called “Orestegor”, and subsequently “Pentacon”) and on three Carl Zeiss Jena lenses in Pentacon Six mount, the 180mm Sonnar, the 80mm Biometar (at the front) and the 50mm Flektogon.  The cap on the Flektogon is luminous and so can be found in the dark! [forster6.jpg] In the image on the left, we have a close-up view of three of Forster’s Pentacon Six rear lens caps. These caps fit well and do not fall off the lenses! [forster1.jpg] Forster Pentacon Six Camera Body caps, first version (June 2020) Not only does Forster produce rear caps for lenses with the Pentacon Six mount, he also manufactures Pentacon Six camera body caps, items that are otherwise equally difficult to find! [forster2.jpg] In the picture on the left here, we see a Forster Pentacon Six body cap on the camera, with another cap in front of it. [forster3.jpg]   This close-up view of the top of Forster’s Pentacon Six body cap shows the care and detail of the design, with the vertical strut (in this picture) that locates in the slot at the top of the camera’s lens mount. The camera’s breech-lock ring is rotated exactly as when mounting a lens in order to lock the three horizontal tabs on the Forster Pentacon Six Camera Body Cap into place, so that the cap cannot fall off.  As explained above, this detail is much better than the original East German body cap, and the Forster cap is held just as securely as the cap from Kiev Arsenal. [forster5.jpg] Another view of the Forster Pentacon Six camera body cap. A selection of Forster’s caps for various cameras, including the Pentacon Six, can be seen here. In the USA Forster’s caps are made and sold by Ben Couto, who sells them on eBay.  (At the time of writing, this link goes to Ben Couto’s eBay shop via eBay.com.)  Forster tells me that the caps sold by Couto “are marked with "US / UK" and are made using the same design and each cap is tested (like mine) before dispatch.” We congratulate Simon Forster for producing these caps, which will be welcomed by users of the Pentacon Six system, both for bodies and for lenses!

Forster Pentacon Six / Kiev 60 lens rear caps and body caps, new version, August 2023 In 2023 it is becoming harder and harder to find Pentacon Six lens rear caps, and so extremely high prices are frequently now asked when such caps are offered, even if they are in a somewhat worn state. It is therefore pleasing to know that Simon Forster still offers his caps.  In fact, in August 2023 he has new, improved versions! [forster_2023_01s.jpg] Picture © Copyright Simon Forster Photographic Click on the above image to see it larger. On 31st July 2023 Simon wrote to me, “I am just about to "launch" new versions of my Pentacon Six lens and body caps. Cosmetically I've updated them to my current scalloped design, but I have also made functional modifications so that the body caps fit a little more snug on a P6 without getting too tight on a Kiev. The lens caps have also seen a small modification that make them a little less stiff to use for first-time use.” The new caps are very attractive and very comfortable to hold and to use.  They also have a smoother surface finish on the large flat surface than the original version.  They are available in black and a wide range of other colours. I have tried out some of the new lens rear caps on a Carl Zeiss Jena 80mm Biometar lens in Pentacon Six mount and they are a good fit, in fact, a smoother fit than the first version, as the cap is rotated onto the rear of the lens.  They also stay safely in place.  Some lenses from some other manufacturers did not implement the Pentacon Six lens mount specification precisely enough, so there might be some variations in the fit with  lenses from such manufacturers, but the problem would be caused by the lens, not by the Forster lens rear cap.  However, it would if necessary be possible to file a lens rear cap slightly, if that improved the fit. I have also tried some of the new Pentacon Six body caps on a Pentacon Six.  Once the new-style body cap is in place, with the camera locking ring rotated, it can be wiggled or rotated slightly, but because of the design, it cannot fall off, and it is much better than the original East German Pentacon Six body cap.  The original version of the Simon Forster Photographic body cap is a better fit on the Pentacon Six. As he indicated when he wrote, Simon has designed the body caps so that they will also fit the Kiev 60 and the Kiev 6C, and we know that the original FSU implementation of the Pentacon Six mount was not totally accurate, so the fit may be a little different on these bodies.  I no longer have any Kiev 60 cameras (!), but do not doubt that the new caps will be held firmly in place when the locking ring on the body is rotated in the normal way to hold them in place. I observe that the above photograph also shows lens front caps for the 30mm Arsenal “Zodiak” fish-eye lens and for the 50mm Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon in Pentacon Six mount!  These are large diameter caps, which are sometimes difficult to source and/or extremely expensive, so the Simon Forster Photographic option is particularly welcome. I hope to add further photographs to this page soon. 12 August 2023

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© TRA December 2012,  Latest revision: August 2023