Hi,
I just had a nice experience with a vendor I'd like to share.
I was looking for a camo neoprene lens cover for my FA*300 & 1.7 AFA adapter. I contacted a very well known maker of these here in the US to see if they made one. Unfortunately they did not. They said they would make one custom for me for a whopping $179! WOW, way too much I thought, considering that they sold comparable Canon & Nikon ones for about $80. I then began to consider some DIY solutions. While I was searching on ebay for neoprene fabric sheets to try & make my own, I came across these people located in the UK:
OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR | Wildlife watching | Equipment and supplies
(This business shouldn't be confused with Outdoor Photo Gear out of Louisville, Kentucky where I purchased my Better Beamer)
They also sold neoprene lens covers for many C & N lenses, but then I saw that they offered one also for the DA 200 I believe. Their covers looked to be of the same quality of the ones from the company here in the US. They offered 2 different camo patterns. Their covers are also reversible, so you can turn them inside out, and just have a black cover. Their covers also sold for under $80. I took I chance & emailed them to see if they could make a cover for my 300mm lens.
I received a very pleasant email back from David at outdoorphotographygear.co.uk. He said that they surely could make a custom cover for my lens and that the price would be the standard price! After I told him I wanted to proceed, he asked for a photo of my lens. Within a day or so of my sending off a picture of the lens, I received back from him, an Excel spreadsheet, with my photo, surrounded by by some marks, and cells for me to include the measurements they needed. Using a cheap dial caliper & a measuring tape, I took about 15 minutes and carefully measured the sections for the lens. After David had received back the Excel file, and looked it over, they began to make the covers.
The covers were made up & shipped out to me withing 2 or 3 days. I received them about 9 or ten business days later. I am very happy with the covers. The sizes were dead on to the measurements I had sent. The stitching is very stout, and the covers fit the lens, hood, and AFA perfectly. They made enough sections so that I could use my lens with & without the AFA, and with & without the Canon tripod collar that I use the lens with most of the time.
All in all, I am very pleased with the friendliness, quality, and the quick turnaround from this company. I know it's a disappointment a lot of time finding things for our Pentax gear, that is readily available for other brands. I feel like I got a great product for a very fair price. I love the covers so much, I am going to ask them to make 1or 2 for my Sigma 180mm macro lens.
I have no affiliation with this company at all. I was not asked to write this post, or any like it. I wanted to report this to my fellow Pentaxians who may be looking for good covers for their lenses as well. The following photos are with my FA*300 with the hood on, and with & without the AFA attached, and the tripod collar. Since I've taken these pics, I've also covered the tripod collar with some camo tape I bought at a Dick's Sporting Goods, and it blends in nicely with either camo pattern.
I hope this may help some of you out who are looking for covers for your lenses!
Happy Holidays!
George
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