Dropped 200-500mm Lens

Quick update: my lens repair is currently on parts hold, at Nikon in Los Angeles.

I had that with them on the DF - regular follow up was probably the key to getting it back in a reasonable time. Best of luck!

Thanks Sandy. In my case I am not in a much of a hurry. I'll give them a week and then check status again.

Quick update: my lens repair is currently on parts hold, at Nikon in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

Uh oh.

 

 

Kent in SD

Has Nikon got a downer on the US at the mo'?

 

Not enough D850s and temporarily unavailable spares for a lens still in production?

In the case of the D850, essentially it has never been in stock at the large mail-order companies such as Adorama and B&H, but the wait time is now one to two weeks in the last several months. (Perhaps the D850 has been in stock in some very short occasions, as never is a very strong word.) Somehow the D850 is in stock in many other parts of the world.

 

I'll probably give Nikon a call in a few days to check on the status of my 200-500.

Earlier Nikon had a credit card charge hold on my card when I initiated the repair order on line, but that hold has dropped off from my credit card after a week or so. Today the status is still showing on parts hold. I just called their 800 number, and it looks like the part is arriving. The rep told me that it will take another day before the status will be updated on line. She confirmed that they still have my credit card info.

 

Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

 

..Readig this I have to thank God for living in Nikon Paradise , where D850 was never out of stock and Nikon service repair a lens in 24h (the courier took my 70-200 on thursday and bring it back on monday - they must do the repair on friday) . I wish you best of luck...

Speaking of the D850, if this link from Nikon USA is reliable, apparently the D850 is in stock at a number of stores, as you would imagine that it should be after a year since its introduction. However, those stores do not include Adorama, Amazon, and B&H:

 

Nikon Imaging Products - Where to Buy

I guess many people just know about the existence of these three stores and for some reason do not want to consider others, which leads to a situation where these stores have long waiting lines for some products. That page seems like a useful resource.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Shun.

 

Off topic:

Hm, perhaps there is a market for exporting Nikon from Sweden after all... We had a D850 shortage when it was launched, but that settled after a month or so. It has been in stock just about everywhere here since and we got to try the Z6 and Z7 hands on at the very same minute Nikon started the press conference in Tokyo. The 500 PF is already in mounted on some customers' cameras here.

It has almost been a full month. I just noticed a new pending charge on my credit card so that I went back to Nikon USA's repair site. The status of my repair has finally been changed from parts hold to shop, and the cost of the repair is reduced to below $300. Hopefully I'll be able to get the lens back in a few more days.

 

Meanwhile, I am trying to get a test sample of the new 500mm/f5.6 PF lens from Nikon. It would be good to have both lenses side by side for comparison.

When I first turned to Nikon in 1971, Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Inc [EPoI] were the importer and repair people. I didn't have to have a lot of repairs done, but when I did, they were fast and reliable. As Nikon acknowledge, they had a lot to do with the company's success in the USA. Nikon acquired Ehrenreich in 1981.

Meanwhile, I am trying to get a test sample of the new 500mm/f5.6 PF lens from Nikon. It would be good to have both lenses side by side for comparison.

Think you will be doing it, but just in case: Please include comparison of focus speed, and horizontal tracking accuracy, if possible. Thanks in advance. :)

I don't have any lenses with a tripod collar (my biggest lens is the 70-200 f/4G, and I did not buy the collar, although I am thinking of it), but it seems like a horrible place to hold a lens by. I always think of a video I saw but can't seem to find now, in which a photographer is holding what appears to be either a single digit Nikon or a Canon 1D series camera with a large telephoto lens attached by the side of a swimming pool. He is somehow trying to balance the whole combo in his left hand by the tripod collar, and of course it falls into the swimming pool, otherwise the video would not be online. He jumps after the camera in a futile attempt to save it.

 

About the D850, last Christmas I was "just looking around" in a camera store in Tokyo, and ended up walking out with a D850, but a few weeks ago I was in New York, and B&H still didn't have one in stock.

Finally got my lens back yesterday, October 2. The whole process took just over a month, mainly due to the parts hold. I did a quick test and the lens seems fine. Nikon changed the front part of the lens/filter ring. I think the repair cost is reasonable, as it must require a bit of labor to replace the front.

 

Now waiting for the 500mm/f5.6 PF. The initial reports I have seen look pretty good.

 

Handholding lenses that have a non-removable tripod collar and foot is a very 'individual' thing. Hand-size and balance to zoom and/or focus can be very tricky. Most people I know rotate the collar so the foot's on top, and rest the lens body in the palm of the left hand. Incidentally, that's where my 'dot sight' lives on my 200-500mm, the top mounted foot that is, not my left-hand....:)

 

I can see why they designed the foot to be removable separately from the collar.... and it allows third parties to make different dovetailed feet. But ultimately security is more important. If it needs a foot, it's expensive!

 

That's a reasonable bill considering the damage.

 

Shun, I can't wait for the 500mm PF review...:cool:

What I do with the 200-500 (and 80-400mm AF-S VR) is that I add an Arca/Swiss style quick release plate onto the tripod collar and then attach a shoulder strap onto the QR plate. I attach a camera body onto the lens but the strap supports the weight thru the lens. Even though the tripod collar may accidentally slip out, as long as there is a body attached, the lens is not going to fall off unless the removable collar is completely open. We just need to be careful with those removable collars.

Looks like you got off cheap here.

 

 

Kent in SD

Now the big question. Does it work?

The lens is working fine, but please keep in mind that it was also working fine before the repair. It was only a 3-foot drop onto a hard floor at home, not on concrete or rock. For a couple of weeks I didn't even notice that crack as I was busy testing the lens to make sure that the zoom and focus rings were rotating fine and the images were still sharp.

 

Had the repair cost be as high as $600, I probably would have elected not to repair. I may have difficulty to sell that lens, but functionally it was fine. However, I am happy to have a Nikon technician check it out.

 

Many years ago once a strong gust of wind blew my tripod over and my 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR hit hard rock. That was completely my own carelessness. The impact broke the lens hood, but for two months I didn't notice any issue with that lens. Finally I realized that the focus ring was very stiff, but since I mainly used AF, I didn't notice the issue. Nikon repair wanted $600 to fix the helicoid, and I declined the repair.

 

Many years ago once a strong gust of wind blew my tripod over and my 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR hit hard rock. .

 

 

I've had that happen to me three times now. The wind here blows semi-trucks off the road and twice has blown a train off the tracks.

 

 

Kent in SD

What I do with the 200-500 (and 80-400mm AF-S VR) is that I add an Arca/Swiss style quick release plate onto the tripod collar and then attach a shoulder strap onto the QR plate. I attach a camera body onto the lens but the strap supports the weight thru the lens. Even though the tripod collar may accidentally slip out, as long as there is a body attached, the lens is not going to fall off unless the removable collar is completely open. We just need to be careful with those removable collars.

 

I have to try the strap onto the tripod foot.

I just have to figure out how to do it.

I've always been nervous about straps attached to tripod sockets (either on lenses or on the camera) - I know people swear by them, but I need to be very convinced that they're not going to unscrew on me. It's currently put me off getting a levelling plate for my RRS tripod - there's no anti-rotation screw, the only way to make it secure would be to get the version with an integrated A-S clamp and put a plate on the bottom of the tripod head (which is stacking up parts a lot), and the RRS proposal of thread lock would be a lot more appealing if I didn't swap heads according to what I'm doing. I'm a lot more comfortable with the dedicated strap lugs, both on cameras and on the big telephotos. Even though every time I shoot portrait orientation the strap falls across the eyepiece.

As I said earlier, I put an Arca-Swiss type quick-release plate onto the collar foot for the 200-500mm/f5.6 AF-S VR, and then I use a Kirk SS-1 strap with QR on it.

I got the Kirk strap from B&H:

Kirk SS-1 Security Strap SS-1 B&H Photo Video

 

I have several of those straps for different lenses. For example, I also use one on the 80-400mm AF-S VR. The weak part of this set up has nothing to do with the strap and the quick release; it is the fact that the collar is removable.

 

Like Shun, I use a QR plate on my lens foot and a special strap with a QR clamp to carry my long lenses. I use a Black Rapid Sport strap instead of the one from Kirk.

 

OP TECH is another company with a range of straps, loops and connectors for long lenses and other photo needs. I use their camera straps and connectors for my cameras and their sling strap and tripod loops for my tripod. For carrying tele lenses check out their Utility Strap, Lens Loops and other system connectors. With such a system you can get very creative and build your own strap. I have had some of their camera straps in use for over 15-20 years with no problems. When you need new connectors you just have to buy those parts and not a whole new strap. Their product videos are very informative.

 

Utility Strap™-Sling & Utility Strap™-Sling XL Quick Adjust - Neoprene Quick Release Camera Shoulder Strap | OP/TECH USA

 

https://optechusa.com/lens-loops.html

 

System Connectors | OP/TECH USA