Nikon Z 800mm, Amazon renewed (Grey version?)

[brian willis]

I just got the new Z 800mm lens at Amazon.com ("Amazon Renewed") for over $800 bucks below the official Nikon USA asking price. Opening it today I found that it is perfect: The lens had no marks on it at all that I could find, all the accessories were included and looked new, and the packaging was exactly like seen in Youtube unboxing videos (except for the Nikon seals). Now I am thinking, this is not a "renewed lens" but rather is probably a new Grey lens. First, does anyone know how I can tell the difference (call Nikon with the serial number?). Second is grey still an big "issue" with Nikon USA (to this day I have never had to send a lens in for repair but all my previous lens are official Nikon USA), and, if it is, are there now other reliable repair shops that can fix this lens other than the official Nikon repair facility. I did not get a Nikon warrantee card (not unexpected on a "renewed" lens and instead did get the Amazon 3 yr drop and spill insurance), but if there are no third party shops that can repair this lens I might return it. It is now the most expensive lens in my kit, so I would be very unhappy if it broke and could not be repaired.

[mike_halliwell]

What does the label on the box say?

 

[robert_bouknight1]

I looked on Amazon just now.  At the $'s invested in that lens, I think I would want to be able to have it repaired if necessary in the next 10 (or more) years, so I understand your concern.  

Probably try to call Nikon to check the serial number.  A lot of US nikon gear has US in the serial number.  Otherwise, It might be worth the additional $800 for a new warranted lens.  Does Nikon still have the 5 year lens warranty?  I have purchased a few refurb items, seems like there was a short warranty associated with those items and some docs in the box, but I can't remember.

Edited August 25, 2023 by robert_bouknight1

[ShunCheung]

Did you get that 800mm PF from Electronics Basket via Amazon? I don't think they are an authorized Nikon USA dealer. In that case it could be gray market. You can find a list of authorized Nikon USA dealers on their PDF: https://cdn-6.nikon-cdn.com/where-to-buy/nikon_img_auth_dealers.pdf

Nikon Z-mount lenses have 8-digit serial numbers starting from 20002001. In a few cases the serial number starts with a 3 instead of 2 when it is a special edition of an existing lens with superficial differences, such as a few retro lenses designed for the Zfc. The 800mm PF sample shown below has the very first serial number. That image is from a Nikon web site. Nikon USA Z lenses do not have the "US" prefix in front, unlike some F-mount lenses do (but not all F-mount lenses). Since there is only one set of serial numbers world wide, there is no way to determine the intended market based on serial numbers, unless you have a master list to compare against.

For Nikon Z camera bodies, you can determine the intended market based on the first digit or in some cases first two digits of the serial numbers. E.g. Nikon USA Z bodies start with a 3, Canadian ones start with a 4, and Europeans start with a 6 ....

 

 

[brian willis]

Thanks for the replies! Yes I got it at Electronics Basket via Amazon as shown by ShunCheung. Given that they are described by Amazon as a refurbisher I did not expect them to necessarily be an official Nikon Dealer. I expected it was a returned lens by someone disappointed with their purchase and was happy to save the money if the glass was clean. The red flag that it might be grey was only raised when I got the lens, which was absolutely perfect (not even the slightest smudge on the barrel) and packed exactly as in Youtube unboxing videos. Very frustrated with Nikon for this problem: If they are going to enforce the no repair of Grey items they really need to provide a serial number database so as to clear up this issue. I am still pondering if I should keep the lens (since it is a nice savings, but....). I sent a query to Electronics Basket but have not yet received a reply. I will post again when I get it.

[ShunCheung]

Over the years, I have intentionally bought a few gray-market lenses because of the fairly significant savings. E.g. in 2001 I bought a 300/4 AF-S because of the $900 vs. $1000 price difference. So far only one required repair, a 200/4 AF-D macro. Authorized Photo Service fixed that for me. Back then there was a significant price gap for the 200 macro.

You need to evaluate whether that is worthwhile for you.

[mike_halliwell]

1 hour ago, ShunCheung said:

E.g. in 2001 I bought a 300/4 AF-S because of the $900 vs. $1000 price difference.

Err, you went 'grey' for $100?

Grey here in the UK, saves you £1000 +

 

[ShunCheung]

1 hour ago, mike_halliwell said:

Err, you went 'grey' for $100?

Grey here in the UK, saves you £1000 +

Kind of difficult to save £1000 on a lens that is only $1000 to begin with. 😃  I saved 10% and it paid off. I recall that for the 200mm/f4 AF-D macro, the difference between gray and non-gray was like $1000 vs. $1400; it was quite big around 40%. Since that lens has no AF-S motor and there was no VR back then, I figured that not much could go wrong, but eventually the aperture ring broke, which was a common problem for that particular lens.

The calculations for a 800mm PF lens would be quite different.

[joseph_smith3]

Calling Nikon to confirm grey vs USA is a good idea. I also thought if you registered the lens at NikonUSA and the serial number was accepted, then you knew the lens was USA and not grey. I would appreciate any comments on this from those of you more knowledgeable than I am.  

[brian willis]

joseph_smith3: Today I registered my "Amazon Renewed" Nikon Z 800mm at the Nikon USA site, where I also previously registered all my other Nikon Z gear, and there were no issues.  I also confirmed that Amazon itself is an authorized Nikon vendor and Electronic Basket is listed as a vendor for Amazon renewed rather than a separate end user vendor, so I hope that you are correct that successful registration indicates it is not a grey lens! I am still waiting for Electronic Basket or Amizon to answer my query directly. Very frustrated there is no clear way to get a definitive answer (until you send a lens in for repairs!). I am a long-time Nikon user, but at times I really wish I had switched to Canyon rather than retooling with a lot of Nikon Z lenses...This behavior by Nikon is simply unacceptable!

[mike_halliwell]

11 hours ago, ShunCheung said:

I recall that for the 200mm/f4 AF-D macro, the difference between gray and non-gray was like $1000 vs. $1400; it was quite big around 40%.

Isn't that ~ 29% ? (400/1400x100)

[ShunCheung]

Out of curiousity, I just registered one of my gray-market lenses on the Nikon USA web site. I bought it 11 years ago and since it was gray, I didn't bother to register back then. Nikon USA's web site takes it no problem just now.

Since the serial numbers for Z lenses start from 20002001 (not 20000001) with a few exceptions, we can be quite sure that no lens has the serial number e.g. 29001234 as I don't think Nikon has sold 9 million of any particular Z lens model. You can try registering such lens. It looks like Nikon USA doesn't do any serial number verification when you register so that the fact that their web site takes a lens does not prove that it is a Nikon USA model, I am afraid.

[mike_halliwell]

30 minutes ago, ShunCheung said:

I just registered one of my gray-market lenses on the Nikon USA web site

Is there any benefit, real or imagined, to registering an item with Nikon?

[ShunCheung]

For Nikon USA, when you register a product, you are supposed to enter the serial number, date of purchase, and where you buy it from .... Therefore there is a record in case your camera or lens is stolen. Of course nothing prevents you from entering 1000 Z9 under your account. That is all self-reported information, not some kind of proof of purchase and ownership. However, if 10 months later your lens needs warranty service, a record with Nikon may help indicate that the item is still under warranty, should you lose the original receipt.

Since Nikon knows that I have a D850 and a Z9, etc., when there is new firmware available for those models, they send me e-mail about it. But typically I read about new firmware versions on web fora or FaceBook groups.

[brian willis]

I just got conformation from the vendor the lens from "Amazon renewed" is indeed an "International version" ... aka Grey! I did not get any warning when I registered the lens at Nikon USA, so there is no way you can determine the lens status until you send it in for repair. I guess I need to return it, but certainly would have liked the 12% discount! Despite being labelled Amazon as "renewed", it is clearly a new lens in a never opened box. If it were not for Nikon's no repair rule I would have loved to keep this lens. That said, I don't want to risk it as I read in my recent browsing that Nikon put new restrictions on selling parts to non-authorized repair ships in the USA, so even if you were to find a shop that would repair a grey Z lens that shop would have to order parts from an international supplier (so it would be a long wait!)

[mike_halliwell]

I'd keep it.

I bought grey at a time where official purchase was 6 months to a year backorder. Crazy supply 'issues'.

Cost, at-least 10% off and delivered in 10 days.

Has a non-Nikon warrantee, no idea if it's worthy. Lens is perfect and trouble free .....

Great, great lens.... 🙂

[ShunCheung]

Dieter Schaefer reminded me that Nikon had this lens on a refurbished sale last month. On July 21, I received an e-mail from Nikon USA, and they had the 800 PF refurb for $5000. However, apparently they only had very few at that price and they were sold out in a matter of minutes, I think. Nikon USA will periodically have refurb sales, but availability for this lens refurb is still limited, and one needs to act fast.

[dave_dube]

You can try using it for a few weeks to determine whether it will just sit on a shelf unused. While it's nice to have the lens, it's important to consider whether it will actually be useful in practice. If it's a lens that you will frequently use, it may be worth investing in a USA product. After all, what's an additional $800 in the grand scheme of things?

[brian willis]

Dave-dude. Ya I just returned it and am about to order a full priced USA version from a authorized Nikon distributor. I hope that I will get some fun hobby wildlife photography use from such a long lens, but my immediate use is a professional job (I could rent maybe, but expect futures uses so I am buying). I currently use my older 500 mm quite often but it does not auto focus on my Z body, which is a bit of a pain.

[ShunCheung]

The only 500mm Nikkor that cannot AF with Nikon Z is the 500/4 AI-P lens, unless you are talking about a mirror lens. All of those are manual focus with any Nikon body.

There is also the Z 400mm/f4.5 S that is very good and it pairs well with the Z 1.4x TC.

[brian willis]

ShunCheung: I guess I misspoke, by current "long lens" is a Tokina AT-X400 F5.6, which has been great and has literally travelled around the world with me several times. Given all its miles it still works very well on my D200, but as I said does not autofocus on my new Z7ii. I am a geologist, not a professional photographer, but I take a lot of photos of rock walls, at times from greater distances to construct long photomossaics (kilometers) and at other times of small features from many tens to 100s of meters away. My 400 at times does not have enough reach, and I was thinking the new z 800 mm would solve that and be a lot sharper. However, now that I held it for a day I am starting to have second thoughts: Not because is was heavy to carry (it was great) but rather the size of it would make it a beast to travel with. Maybe I should look more carefully at the z 400 with teleconverts before jumping to reorder another z 800mm. Thanks for making me think before I jump. Cheers.

[mike_halliwell]

500mm PF would be ideal. It's small, light, very sharp and takes TC1.4ii very well.

🙂

[brian willis]

Mike. Ya but not a z lens so I would have to stack converter and then telecenter. The 200-600 is about to come out, but I am worried it will not be in the same class of sharpness. 

[mike_halliwell]

1 hour ago, brian willis said:

not a z lens so I would have to stack converter and then telecenter.

True, but no issues regarding IQ.

😉

Regarding the 180-600mm, I'll wait until it's really out in the wild before thinking about that one...!

Edited August 27, 2023 by mike_halliwell

[dave_dube]

Brian, based on the information you provided about your lens needs, I would highly recommend the 400mm f/4.5 with converters. I personally own this lens along with a 1.4x TC, and have found it to be exceptionally lightweight and quick to focus. With this option, you can easily switch to a shorter lens when necessary, and achieve well-lit shots for the majority of your subjects.

Edited August 27, 2023 by dave_dube