Thank you Panasonic

Frequently overlooked in todays rush for bigger-better-newer-faster items that is common in the "who's dumping XXX for YYY"-zombie consumer crowd {Wangers seeking gear to make them better photographers} are the small iterative development touches which turn good products into better ones.

I've already written of my fondness of the combination of the Panasonic GWC-1 0.79x adapter which fitted to the Panasonic 14mm f2.5 gives you an upgrade path to what amounts to an 11mm f2 lens for essentially fuck all additional money (assuming you already have the 14mm).

Back in that post I wrote the following:

Fortunately its really quick and simple to take the lens on and off the front but brings with it a small issue. You can't just put the lens cap back on the 14mm because the plastic adapter is in the way.

As it happens I don't find that a big problem because the plastic adapter is itself a functional protector of the lens, as the front of the 14mm lens is recessed back in there a little way. It almost acts as a sort of lens hood anyway.

With a please develop note to Panasonic

it would be a simple thing for Panasonic to make another plastic cap to include with the kit, that attached to the lens side of the adapter to click on and click off, giving you a lens cap to use when you leave the adapter ring on the 14mm lens.

Well either someone was listening or its a coincidence but they now are doing exactly that.

I just recently bought another GWC1-1 (don't ask, its a long story) and this was sourced new. It came with exactly such a lens cap.

So to "recap" on the system, you have the compact little 14mm pancake on your  compact m43 body of choice and the light weight GWC1 along with it:

Note that the GWC-1 comes with  front and rear caps, the bayonet adapter flange, and now the between use lends cap.

So you pop off your lens cap, and screw the bayonet mounting flange onto the thread of the 14mm...

and then you can choose to mount the GWC-1 ...

or when you don't want as wide (or want to stuff it back into your pack) you can pop it off quickly and put the cap on ...

Thus keeping your front element protected with a cap and making it easy to switch between you having an 11mm and a 14mm on your camera.

Just this weekend I was out at a fantastic 1 man sawmill shed and found the 11mm to be very handy to take in all the stuff there.

So thanks again Panasonic ... you made buying another of your GWC-1 adapters for my 14mm (yes I bought another of them, really ... don't ask) well worth it.

I like it when a good thing gets better.