Quality Control

[robert_landis]

<p>Hi,<br>

I am considering buying either a 17-55 or 24-70 and a D300s. After reading a lot of posts and reviews, I am wondering if one should worry about getting a "bad lens". I have read of spots/material in the rear element on the 24-70, grinding, etc. Also, I have read about people getting a body with focusing issues as well. (maybe I'm reading too much)<br>

Are these issues a concern, are they rare, and how diligent does one have to be when getting new equipment? Also, are any potential issues obvious, even to a non-professional? I can't see standing at the counter at B and H and saying- "lets try another one- this one feels tight".<br>

When you buy lenses and bodies should you assume right out of the box there should be perfection? (one would think-right?)<br>

Thanks,</p>

<p>Rob L.</p>

[Leonard-just-Leonard]

<p>when buying new from a reputable authorized dealer, you should have no concerns at all... that is the point of buying new and having a warranty. even the best companies have an occasional problem, as long as it is fixed that should be the end of your worries</p>

[luis_g]

<p> You're thinking and reading too much. These are human workers in factories, not Gods. Problems can happen with anything, but they're rare.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>You are reading too much. IMO a lot of the so called "sample variation" discussion in forums such as this one is just nonsense. I personally have tested five different copies of the 24-70mm/f2.8 AF-S and they are very consistent: they all have very serious vignetting at 24mm/f2.8 that I initially thought was a defect. Instead, it is a "feature" common to all.</p>

<p>Several years ago, Henry Posner relayed a case that some guy went into B&H and inspected something like 12 different Nikon 50mm lenses before he bought one. Afterwards, Henry checked the 11 "rejected" ones and found absolutely nothing wrong with them. Obviously Henry didn't get to check the one the customer left with him. So if you are really picky, you could do something like that, but I would visit on a slower day (i.e. not Sunday) and hopefully you can find a patient sales person.</p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>I think that the issues youre reading about are rare indeed, otherwise Nikon would not sell another lens, would they ?<br>

Youre reading about those issues becausse most people do not tend to write about all the good lenses ( and camera's..) but only about their problem issues, otherwise you would be reading about billions .<br>

Apart from that , when going out for a lens, I like to take my camera to the store and try the lens i'm looking for on my camera, just to see how it behaves, and wether it's realy what i'm looking for....</p>

[borgis_karl_johan1]

<p>Well, to put things into a well nigh 25 year´s perspective, I have owned the following lenses with severe out-of -the-box problems, mostly uneven sharpness or the lens not being able to focus to infinity:<br>

Nikon 17-35mm AF ; Nikon 35-105mm AF; Sigma 14mm AF f3,5; Sigma 28-70mm AF f2,8 , Nikon 105mm AIS f1,8. And two samples of the 20mm f2,8 AIS lens where the front lens assembly tended to unscrew itself and fall out of the lens (I prevented that though).<br>

So all is not gold that glitters. Evidently Nikon/Sigma service managed to adjust focusing problems.<br>

The lenses with uneven coverage could not be repaired to render acceptable sharpness across the frame.<br>

The 17-35mm lens was exchanged by Nikon after half a year (now the exchange lens AFS motor squeaks when focusing...).</p>

[robert_landis]

<p>Thanks for the replies so far. I was being facetious when I mentioned going to B & H and trying out equipment to pick one out of a series (especially since I'm not a pro and based on my experience the people I've dealt with there know the gear VERY well.) That would be pretty absurd, in my opinion. And, Shun is correct-Sundays at B & H are very busy. There is a line at the door BEFORE it opens.</p>

[kohanmike]

<p>Over the last 4 years I've bought 1 new and 1 referb D70s body, a new Nikon 24-85mm f/2.8-4, new Nikon 70-300 VR, new Tokina 12-24mm f/4, new Nikon 18-135, new Sigma 50-150 f/2.8, 3 new SB600 flash units, Slik tripod, and every single one of them has worked perfectly from day one. I'm especially happy with the Tokina 12-24 and 70-300 VR, both as sharp as can be.</p>

[keith_b1]

<p>" I can't see standing at the counter at B and H and saying- "lets try another one- this one feels tight"."<br>

That is exactly what you do.</p>

[stephen_worth]

<p>I've bought seven lenses... only one of which was a Nikon. Tamron, Tokina, Samyang, Sigma... not one of them was bad. Quality control issues are overstated in my opinion. I think most of them come from people who compulsively buy the "latest and greatest" then start having second thoughts and look for a reason to send it back. A lot of mistaken reports of problems with fast lenses come from people who aren't used to dealing with the razor thin depth of field.</p>

[wade_roth]

<p>Good call Stephen... at least for me. I know I've been bitten by that more than once. I thought my 50 mm 1.8 was bad when I first purchased it because I took a close up (24 to 36 inches) of my daughter's face and the tip of her nose was out of focus. I didn't realize that I had less than half an inch of DOF at my range with that lens. I ran into this again over the holidays when I rented a 105 VR macro. I thought I was doing something wrong until I checked DOF distances online and found that at 105, 8 inches from subject using f/5.6 my total DOF was only .02 inches.<br>

--Wade</p>

[peteraitch]

<p>Given that [pro] lenses aren't pile-'em-high, sell-'em-cheap items, maybe we could have a certificate of conformity (or even a true calibration certificate) provided with each lens, to confirm its measured optical characteristics? It wouldn't help with those samples that have gone out-of-adjustment through rough handling, but might give buyers some peace of mind.<br>

 

<p><em>Disclaimer:</em> I've never had any lens issues myself (except for one Tamron SP zoom which I physically wore out over a 21 year period!) but I'm not exactly a heavy user or collector.</p>

</p>

[walterh]

<p>With the Nikon pro-lenses I would not worry too much.</p>

<p>Nevertheless as e.g. some cases of the early samples of the 17-35mm f2.8 were reported (later no apparent problem except for the squeaking) posting here is a good idea to find such problems .-) Apparently there is no such problem reported for the lenses in question.<br>

If you get one of the very rare cases of a pro- lens not being up to spec you are backed up by good service.</p>

<p>This can be different for some cheaper Nikkor lenses and some of the older very wide primes like the 20mm f2.8 (slight center alignment problems from AI to AFD versions), 24mm f2.8 (quite a few dogs of the very cheap AFD version ) and 28mm f2.8 (a few dogs of the AFD version ). I owned four of the D70 kit lenses, the 18-70mm. All four were slightly different. One was exceptionally good near f8. I would test any such a lens if possible before ordering. While I found occasional sample variations between lenses off the shelf, casual testing in the store would only show larger problems. One example: I once was tempted to buy a 24-120mm Nikkor AF Zoom. A few images in the store showed horrible ghosting and flare and terrible distortion at both ends. A five minute test prevented me to obtain this lens on an impulse due to the "bargain" price :-)<br>

I doubt that one might see more than such basic design problems of a lens rather than detect quality control problems of a lens with excellent design without a proper test setup.</p>

 

[Jim_Tardio]

<p>Unfortunately, sample variation is a very real situation...more so with third party lenses. But don't let that stop you from purchasing. Most "variations" are subjective and you'll be told by Nikon that they fall within the acceptable range.</p>

<p>A fairly common problem with zooms, and some primes, is uneven focus across the frame. For example, the right side may be sharp, but the left side will be slightly less sharp. Depending on your subject matter, you may never detect this even if it is present.</p>

<p>It's nothing to lose sleep over. In the small likelihood that you detect a problem, it is usually an easy fix.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>I don't worry over perfection out of the box, but over the warranty handling. Luis G nails the bottomline of this: manufactering is a human job. There is no 100% perfection. I work in a support-related job, and I see this all the time - still, most I work on is improvements to how we handle it after-sales, since often the solutions to improve pre-sales are just too expensive compared to the sales prices and margins.<br>

So, a good shop is worth more than a few complaints on forums, I think.</p>

[bmm]

<p>I'm interested every time I read these threads because they leave me undecided as to whether some other people are particularly difficult buyers, or whether I don't do enough testing. Then again as I live in Sydney but buy mainly from B&H or a couple of Japanese online stores, my necessity to trust that what I am sent is ok is high, and my opportunity to choose between lenses is low. (Fortunately I've been very happy with the performance of each of the 7 lenses that I have purchased). The only lens I've ever had a really good test of before committing is one which I bought second hand and locally.</p>

<p>Of course, sayign that I would not hesitate to complain and ask for a return if there was an evident major defect, and in particular I have a close look at front and rear glass as my very first thing.</p>

<p>My question though is - to those of you who do test and compare very carefully, what exact tests do you do when you receive or buy a lens? How do you assess front, or back, or uneven focus for example? Uneven sharpness? Inability to focus to infinity? And the other things you have raised? What are the things you look for and more importantly how do you go about satisfying yourselves about them in a camera store or at home with a brand-new purchase?</p>