ShunCheung Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 The plastic AF/MF selection ring on my 200mm/f4 AF-D macro is broken. There was <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000T15"> a thread on this issue in the Nature Forum 6 years ago</A>. Apparently it is a very common problem on this lens. <P> I am wondering whether anybody has this problem repaired. My 200mm macro is a gray-market one so that Nikon USA won't touch it. Since their repair cost is so high, I am looking for another repair shop anyway. It should be a simple part replacement, but you need to take the lens apart to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_bliss Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 I highly, highly recommend Nikon's former Midwest service facility, Authorized Photo Service in Morton Grove, Illinois, who, even as an independent, remain a Nikon-only shop. They do excellent work and fast. And my own experience is that they won't fuss about grey market vs. USA, they'll just get on with the repair. I have one grey market lens because at the time I bought it every dealer in the country was out of the USA version so I had no choice, yet the grey ones were plentiful. Anyway, it needed repair a couple of years ago and APS fixed it without any complaint on the grey market thing, and at reasonable cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted April 24, 2005 Author Share Posted April 24, 2005 A lot of people such as Conni, Alex, etc. have highly recommended Authorized Photo Service in Morton Grove, IL. I'll check them out. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_wisniewski Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 Shun, time for you to go pro. ;) Piece of duct tape, 1/4 inch wide, 2 inches long. Change every year or two. Have advanced fix it a few years down the road, when it needs a full CLA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 The only shop I use for Nikon is Authorized Photo Repair in Morton Grove. The service is outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglas_greenberg Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 You might also check out Southern Photo Technical Service, 16781 North Miami Ave., N. Miami Beach, Florida 33169. They are a Nikon Authorized service center. Particularly for what seems like a routine repair of this type, they might be worth asking for an estimate, as in my experience their rates are quite reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted April 25, 2005 Author Share Posted April 25, 2005 Just want to double check: we are talking about Authorized Photo Service with this web site, right? <BR> <A HREF="http://www.authorizedphoto.com"> http://www.authorizedphoto.com/</A> <P> They are at 8120 N. Lehigh Avenue in Morton Grove, Illinois. That is a different street address from the one I had before. Maybe they have moved recently. <P> Over the phone they quoted me either $160 or $220 to fix the lens, depending on what they need to do. Again, this is a simple part replacement, but since you need to take the lens apart, it involves a lot of labor. <P> This is clearly a design flaw in the lens. Nikon shouldn't use a plastic part to move some mechanical parts to engage/disengage AF on a non AF-S lens. That is why this problem happens on so many 200mm/f4 AF-D's. I don't mind to get it fixed this time, but I am sure that the problem will come back in a few years. I sure don't feel like spending $200 on this lens once every few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_stice1 Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 Shun, the ring on mine broke at least four or five years ago. I immediately sent it to Nikon for repair and received it back in about six weeks. I have used it extensively since then and the replacement ring has not broken. I suspect that Nikon replaced the original with a ring of different material but I can't prove it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_wilson2 Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 a blast from the past. The ring on mine is still cracked but it never broke completely. There is a local camera repair place near me which is where I will bring it when it finally breaks. Of course, I'm contemplating switching over to the other brand which means I may have to get it fixed before selling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted May 11, 2005 Author Share Posted May 11, 2005 Now two weeks and $200 later, I just got my lens back from<A HREF="http://www.authorizedphoto.com/">Authorized Photo Service</A>. I sent it on Tuesday two weeks ago via FedEx, they received it on Thursday, gave me a final quote over the phone on Saturday and then shipped it back to me on the following Wednesday via FedEx Ground. I just received the lens back. It only took them two days to fix it; that is a lot faster than Nikon USA repair service. As far as I can tell so far, they did a fine job. I got a lower quote from another repair shop, but since so many people suggested APS, I decided to go with them. They didn't care that my lens is gray market.<P>Thanks again to Daniel, Edward, and Alex for their suggestion on APS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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