repair a Nikon Coolpix p90

[Leonard-just-Leonard]

<p>Today I encountered the most annoying thing... while cleaning the lens to take some sunrise shots, I noticed there was a fleck of dust that would not come off.</p>

<p>It's BEHIND the outtermost piece of glass at the front. grrrr... it looks to me like the lens could be disassembled with a 3 pronged tool to unscrew the front, blow out the dust and screw it back together.</p>

<p>Simple right? nope... I went to a local jewlery store, no such thing and they (wisely) won't even attempt to fix it. Sure there is a warranty, it's only 6 months old, but what a pain in the (pick a word) to get it done... Who wants to live without their camera for 6 weeks while it gets hauled off to the repair centre in Vancouver by mule train?</p>

<p>Obviously if I try to pick it apart that kinda voids the warranty so either way I am outta luck. Is there some kind of Argon type of gas sealing the lens?</p>

<p>BTW, is the 70-300mm f4.5 zoom a good choice for $600.00 or would you cough up the extra money to get an f2.8? I saw you can get a Nikon D300s kit with an 18-70mm zoom for <strong><em>only</em></strong> $2549.99! yikes. I was looking for a reason to finally get a "real" camera, but a tiny speck of dust isn't a good enough reason to drop 4 grand +/- without the winning lottery ticket in my hand...</p>

<p>Plan B is to send it in for repair and go back to using the Nikon s10 I dropped one time too many but still kinda sorta works.</p>

[porter]

<p>When you say $600 more for an f/2,8 I assume you mean the 70-200 macro? I don't know what your purposes are, but on my D90 300mm is the bare minimum I would ever want for my telephoto lens (and the 70-300 has VR...) So if you need it now I would suggest the 70-300 VR. It's a great lens especially for the price.<br>

Once a new AFS version of the 80-400 is made I'll be getting that. Maybe you can wait?</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>how do you get 4 grand from $2549? and who's selling a D300s with an 18-70, which was the kit lens for the d70 eons ago, at that price? fyi, you can get a D300s body for $1500 new, right now, online, from J&R. the 70-300 VR is about $530 new at B&H.</p>

<p> </p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>ps if your coolpix is under warranty, send it in. that's what warranties are for. dithering around isnt going to make that mule train journey any shorter.</p>

<p>pps 70-200 or 70-300? depends on what body you have and your shooting style. if you're not earning a living off of photography or independently wealthy,it's hard to justify the 70-200 VR (II) which sells for just under $2400 new or more than 4x the cost of the 70-300VR. the 2.8 is better for portraits and action, 300mm gives you more reach for wildlife. basic rule of thumb is, if you dont know you need it, you probably don't.</p>

 

[Kent Shafer]

<p>A fleck of dust should not have any effect on your pictures. Maybe you can just live with it.</p>

[phule]

<p>[[A fleck of dust should not have any effect on your pictures. Maybe you can just live with it.]]</p>

<p>On a point and shoot, indeed it can. I have a Canon A650 that has a piece of dust on the inside of the outer lens element and it is very obvious when shooting in sunny conditions. Not just toward the sun but reflections can cause it to show up too.<br>

The bright white circle? That's my piece of dust.</p>

<p>http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4292404036_1e07542cb0.jpg</p>

[ronald_smith6]

<p>Dust/dirt can impact IQ on a small sensor PS cam, due to huge depth of field. I'd send it back, don't be the hero and void your warranty.</p>

[Leonard-just-Leonard]

<p>yeah, I will probably just bit the bullet and send it in! I really like that camera and don't want to be without it, but that little chunk of whatever it is in there will just bug me.</p>

<p>oh well.</p>