Dropped D700 & 70-200 f/4

[miguel_martinez4]

<p>Dear All,<br>

I managed to drop my D700 with the 70-200 f/4 attached from about hip height to concrete this morning. I tried to put my foot in order to slow the fall down but even still the CF card door opened. I'm a bit paranoid that I may have caused serious, yet unseen, damage. So far, on the positive:</p>

<ul>

<li>AF works, with the infinity-3m limiter and without</li>

<li>Zooming works</li>

<li>The lens hood didn't break or crack, at all</li>

<li>VR seems to work: 200mm @ 1/30s is perfectly feasible, even on a crop camera.</li>

</ul>

<p>However, there three points that worry me:</p>

<ul>

<li>the lens mount is oh so slightly bent near the serial number (see attachment). This worries me: there might be further damage inside</li>

<li>slightly shaking it perpendicular to the optical axis makes some small noises (might be normal)</li>

<li>the focusing ring seems a bit "sandy", but that could be paranoid</li>

</ul>

<p>The camera seems to operate fine, and takes cards without problems. Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be damage in the metal part attached to the damaged part in the lens mount. The aperture tab, however, is different to my D7k: on the D7k the L-shaped tab is parallel/perpendicular to the optical axis. On the D700, however, this seems to be angled.<br>

The clearest picture I've found on D700 mounts is this:<br>

http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NkfkAdOP-zM/UiYAONPtQ4I/AAAAAAAADiQ/gHsbL_KS4J4/s1600-h/_DXE6560EK%25255B6%25255D.jpg</p>

 

<p>If you have a D700, is your yellow pointed tab also angled? </p>

<p>If you have any suggestions on how to act/check for stuff, they'll be very welcome. I fear my clumsiness will be rewarded to the nearby NPS centre in Vauxhall (London, UK). Does any of you have an estimate of what an alignment check and/or bayonet repair may cost?</p>

<p>Regards,<br>

Miguel</p><div></div>

[thirteenthumbs]

<p>Does the lens go on and off the camera normally? Yes- leave as is and don't worry about it. No-have the mount ring straightened or replaced.</p>

<p>A test: Tape or pin some news print with fine printing such as classified ads flat against a flat wall. Set the camera with questionable lens up on a tripod 2 or 3 meters away making sure the camera is parallel and square to the wall. Photograph the news print with the lens wide open at both extremes of its zoom range with the camera set to Raw/Nef mode. Inspect the images at 100% on your computer for any variance in sharpness top to bottom/left to right. </p>

<p>I had a Nikon FA on a tripod tip over on a slight incline and hit concrete from about mid chest height. The tilt handle and top of the pentaprism hit the sidewalk. The mount ring on the camera bent out about 1/8 inch at the bottom between the mount screws making the lens very difficult to remove. I replaced the mount ring on the camera and all was good. You would not know it happened if not for the minor scratch on the pentaprism.</p>

[dan_brown4]

<p>Bummer.</p>

<p>Replacing a lens mount is a common service and doesn't cost a whole lot. I'd send it to Nikon for repair and to be checked out.</p>

[kohanmike]

<p>I dropped my D300s with a Sigma 50-150 OS attached, the sharpest lens I've ever used. The lens didn't focus properly after that so I sent it to Sigma and they repaired it, but it's never been the same since. I'm going to take the camera to Nikon, just a mile a way from me, to see if it needs a fix.</p>

[Kent Shafer]

<p>I dropped my D700 with 24-70, and the lens broke off at the mount. (Supposedly it was designed to break away in this fashion to reduce the likelihood of other damage.) Repair by Nikon in New York cost US$600—close to $700 with sales tax and shipping both ways.</p>

[miguel_martinez4]

<p>Thanks for all your answers! Those $600 seem a bit steep for a bayonet fix, but if they re-align the lens and make sure everything is fine... uff, I don't know. The lens actually mounts and unmounts as before on the D700. I'm pretty sure it's tighter than it used to be on the D7k, and that one has always been a bit tight. </p>

<p>Given that I live pretty close to Nikon UK, I'll call them and see if I can get an estimate and get rid of the shipping. I won't bother with the camera, though. That one seems to be in good shape. It will only bother me if the AF stops tracking my little toddler</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>but $600 to fix a $1400 lens is quite high.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>It is not too uncommon to accidentally bend the little lever at the 9 o'clock position near the lens mount; it is the mechanical control for the aperture diaphragm. Just bend it back gently with a pair of small pliers. The value for the D700 is pretty low by now; most likely it is not worth fixing, anyway.</p>

<p>You probably want to have a technician check the 70-200mm/f4 AF-S VR. The mount certainly shouldn't be dented that way.</p>

<p>I once had my 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR version 1 on my D700, mounted on a tripod. A gust of wind blew the whole thing over. There is a little dent on the side of the D700. Initially I thought there was no damage on the lens except for a broken hood. Months later I realized that the focusing ring had become rough. Nikon wanted $550 to fix the lens, and I declined. As long as I only use AF, which I do anyway, I don't see any difference.</p>

[dan_brown4]

<p>I don't want to defend Nikon repair pricing. However, I recall a few other reports on the 24-70/2.8 where stress on the lens mount resulted in some damage in the rear end of the lens barrel, and this caused the lens mount repair cost to be higher than would normally occur. The Nikon lens mount is pretty straight forward, and can even be user services if you can get the part(s).</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I am afraid that Nikon repair cost tends to be high for those "pro" lenses, such as various f2.8 zooms, i.e. my experience with the 70-200mm/f2.8. (However, they only charged me $135 to fix the mount on the 17-55mm/f2.8 DX AF-S when that was dropped and therefore bent inside a camera bag.) Not sure the 70-200mm/f4 AF-S VR falls into that same category.</p>

<p>BTW, the mount area on the 70-200mm/f4 AF-S VR near the serial number is at the bottom of the (D700) body when it is mounted. Since the lens mount is dented, I would also check the mount on the body around the 6 o'clock area for damage.</p>

[Not Here]

<p>Sad story. I also dropped my D700 with the 24-70mm attached. The shutter wouldn't operate so I knew I had problems. The lens seemed ok but I sent both to Nikon to be sure. I asked them to repair any damage and "service" both to factory specs. They repaired the shutter, replaced the mounting brackets on both and brought both back to specs. I was shocked at the cost, but I haven't had any problems since and recommend no one use a single point strap with a heavy combination like this. Oh yeah, the camera repair was $300 US and the lens $600 US. I would also recommend that you send it in, at least for a repair quote, just to see what they find... Mike</p>

[miguel_martinez4]

<p>Hello again everybody,<br>

Eventually, I sent the 70-200/4 to Nikon UK. It took them 7+3 days [1] to examine the lens. According to whatever they've done, only the lens mount is faulty. The bayonet replacement plus labor cost £78 (about $120). I accepted their estimate and will hopefully get the lens sometime next week.<br>

Thanks again everybody for your replies. Hopefully this thing will be as sharp as before. Since it wasn't painful really, I'll possibly send my D7k for a CLA.<br>

[1] I actually walked there with the lens myself, so I was positive the lens was there. Still it took them ~3 working days to acknowledge receiving it.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Glad it is a rather low-cost repair. Perhaps you are relatively lucky as in my case (see my previous post, 3 posts above). When an "external" item such as the lens mount is dented, apparently the repair is rather simple since they don't need to take the entire lens apart so that labor cost is limited.</p>