Nikon AF Motor in Lens..aarrg!

run_Forrest_run

my recently purchased Nikon 18-200 lens decided to stop working under Auto focus right as the bride and goom walked down the aisle on Friday!

Thankfully I was only a guest and nothing to do with the official photography side of things (could U imagine if I was:eek:).

Anyway, I bought the lens in the US and I'm after contacting Nikon via mail there to find out the procedure about returns and repair (under 12 month warranty).

I suspect the AF motor in the lens has died. I cleaned the contacts and i tried other lenses on the body and those work fine. I will borrow another Nikon body and will try on that for the final test.

In the meantime, can anyone give me an idea on how much something like this might cost to fix...OK I don't expect U to know about specific repairs etc but if any Nikon owners had similar issues in the past maybe they could give me an idea.

I know it's under warranty but I would like to get an idea of repair cost anyway.

so angry right now...purchased only 2 months ago and treated like a new born baby :mad:

Thirdfox

Sorry to hear that - hope you were able to manually focus some of the shots needed!

You may have to send it back to the US - I remember Nikon US only give US warranties (5 years) rather than worldwide warranties (1 year). Unless you bought a grey-market one? In that case the warranty might be worse - one year local store warranty.

The camera isn't reporting any faults? And you are in A/M mode not M mode right (had to be asked, just in case it was a really simple problem)?

Good luck in getting it all sorted out quickly. (I have no idea about potential costs sorry).

quilmore

I think Nikon Lenses have true International warranty, but you'll never know until you try

what camera do you have? have you tested it in another camera?

as thirdfox, did you have a look at the M-A/M switch on the lens as well as the switch on the camera, both must be away from "M" for the lens to autofocus
even if they are, move them to M and then away and try again

also, check all contacts and grntly clean them if possible/needed

run_Forrest_run

I checked the M/MA switches lots of times. I also checked the overall camera settings in case I did something dumb (I even reset to factory defaults).
Still no joy.

I have a D80. The one other thing I did do was upgrade the firmware on Thursday from 1.01 to 1.10 but I don't know if this may have caused it.

I cleaned the contacts (with a quick rub!) and my other lens work fine with it.
I will borrow a D70 from a friend and try it on that.

I bought it in B&H. I've emailed Nikon USA last night so I will wait to hear back from them first.

Yeah, I was able to use manual focus for some shots...I had a real panic attack when the official photographer was gone and I was asked to take a shot of the bride and all her school and college friends...14 girls! It all turned out well in the end.

quilmore

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

my other lens work fine

what other lenses you have?
are they AF-S? (or with the motor in the lens rather than the old AF-D models where the camera moves the lens)

if the camera can drive an old lens but not your 18-200 AF-S it may mean some electronics are playing up either in your lens or on your camera
if your friend has a D70 try his kit lens (18-70), if that works in your camera then your camera is fine

firmware updates usually mess things up (if they ever do) immediately, I don't think it can be the problem

where are you based? I can give you a hand if you need to test your lens in another camera or an AF-S lens to try on

run_Forrest_run

quilmore wrote: »

what other lenses you have?
are they AF-S? (or with the motor in the lens rather than the old AF-D models where the camera moves the lens)

if the camera can drive an old lens but not your 18-200 AF-S it may mean some electronics are playing up either in your lens or on your camera
if your friend has a D70 try his kit lens (18-70), if that works in your camera then your camera is fine

firmware updates usually mess things up (if they ever do) immediately, I don't think it can be the problem

where are you based? I can give you a hand if you need to test your lens in another camera or an AF-S lens to try on

I have the kit lens (AF-S DX 18-135 mm) and a nifty fifty and both work fine on the body.

I am based in Cork (Douglas area), thanks for the info and help.

run_Forrest_run

I contacted Nikon Europe (in UK) and they told me to send it on to them for repair.

They stated that I must include a copy of the sales receipt (OK, I have that) and the warranty card (oops, I feckin don't have that...must have dumped it while dumping packaging etc when flying back from the States ) If I have to pay for the repair so be it.

Anyway, seeing as this is an expensive lens and it is the first time I am sending something like this off to be repaired can anyone recommend a good method of sending this to the UK?

Would An Post delivery service be good enough or should I look at getting a courier and getting additional insurance to cover anything that might occur in transit?

run_Forrest_run

quilmore wrote: »

I think Nikon Lenses have true International warranty, but you'll never know until you try

I tried and succeeded so yes, they seem to be good when it comes to international warranties, the lens is back up and running.

It turned out to be a problem in the VR mechanism.

magicbastarder

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

I contacted Nikon Europe (in UK) and they told me to send it on to them for repair.

for the laugh, i asked nikon how much it would cost to have them clean my film scanner. i think was told £52 per hour for the work, but they would not say how long it might take, or whether parts might be required. they would not commit to any price bar the hourly rate, not even to give me an estimate of how long it might take.
i cleaned it myself, saved me a lot of money and hassle.

run_Forrest_run

magicbastarder wrote: »

for the laugh, i asked nikon how much it would cost to have them clean my film scanner. i think was told £52 per hour for the work, but they would not say how long it might take, or whether parts might be required. they would not commit to any price bar the hourly rate, not even to give me an estimate of how long it might take.
i cleaned it myself, saved me a lot of money and hassle.

right, maybe they just don't want to do certain jobs, maybe it's not worth their time. dunno.