More help and advice needed .... Lens issue
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Hopefully someone can offer me advice on the best way forward. I am aware my contract is with the shop, but at the moment I'm trying to establish what the hell is going on. - Thanks, Martin
I have an issue with a Nikon 18-200 mm lens which has always been "soft" - stupidly, I thought it was me, but pictures with my other lenses are fine. The lens has certainly got worse as the local carnival pictures I took a couple of months ago were 100% unusable. After the first repair (VR module replaced) the lens performed excelleny for 15-20 shots, then the fault returned. The VR module has been checked and is apparently not faulty, no this I think rules out the possibility that the camera was causing the VR module to fail (+ the fact my other lenses with VR are fine).
Camera settings etc .. are not the issue. I can take pictures with the 18-200 mm lens are they are poor, swap the lens and instantly things are sharp. I have tested it on two different cameras. I have tried 5 different lenses on both my cameras, all produce good results.
From the phone call I had with Nikon today, it appears that they are sticking to the fact they say the lens is within tolerance. I sent the pictures to show otherwise and got the same answer. To be fair, they have requested more example pictures, but I can't see things moving on from here.
The Stoke repair centre originally looked at the lens. The first time the VR module was replaced and it was serviced. It worked fine for 15-20 shots when I got it back. The second time it was sent to them they could find no fault, at first. When I example pictures they looked again and according to the voicemail left for me, they found the lens was "not doing to well" on the resolution checker, and they would have to send it to Nikon UK. When I spoke to them on the phone, they explained that they had compared it to another 18-200 mm lens, and it clearly wasn't right. It was mentioned that it was out-of-spec when compared to some charts.
I think we can probably agree that the shop (xxx in Newbury) wouldn't have sent the lens away twice if their testing hadn't found an issue. It is also reasonable to say that Stoke wouldn't have sent the lens to Nikon if they found no fault.
Nikon sent the lens back to Stoke who are sending it back to me. They (Stoke) have explained that Nikon found no fault. They have checked and compared the lens again, to another 18-200mm and now it's performance is much closer.
So, how can this be, I presume at the moment the lens was not dismantled by Nikon UK, as testing found no fault. However, according to the approved service centre (Stoke) it's performance has now changed. Can it be the case that simple physical movement of the lens is enough to cause an issue ? If the lens' performance has changed, something physically must have changed?
The first two show the out-of-camera performance of the 18-200, clearly unacceptable.
For this pic, I focused on the eyes ...
This is an example with my 70-300mm Nikon lens.
Hopefully someone can offer me advice on the best way forward. I am aware my contract is with the shop, but at the moment I'm trying to establish what the hell is going on. - Thanks, Martin
I have an issue with a Nikon 18-200 mm lens which has always been "soft" - stupidly, I thought it was me, but pictures with my other lenses are fine. The lens has certainly got worse as the local carnival pictures I took a couple of months ago were 100% unusable. After the first repair (VR module replaced) the lens performed excelleny for 15-20 shots, then the fault returned. The VR module has been checked and is apparently not faulty, no this I think rules out the possibility that the camera was causing the VR module to fail (+ the fact my other lenses with VR are fine).
Camera settings etc .. are not the issue. I can take pictures with the 18-200 mm lens are they are poor, swap the lens and instantly things are sharp. I have tested it on two different cameras. I have tried 5 different lenses on both my cameras, all produce good results.
From the phone call I had with Nikon today, it appears that they are sticking to the fact they say the lens is within tolerance. I sent the pictures to show otherwise and got the same answer. To be fair, they have requested more example pictures, but I can't see things moving on from here.
The Stoke repair centre originally looked at the lens. The first time the VR module was replaced and it was serviced. It worked fine for 15-20 shots when I got it back. The second time it was sent to them they could find no fault, at first. When I example pictures they looked again and according to the voicemail left for me, they found the lens was "not doing to well" on the resolution checker, and they would have to send it to Nikon UK. When I spoke to them on the phone, they explained that they had compared it to another 18-200 mm lens, and it clearly wasn't right. It was mentioned that it was out-of-spec when compared to some charts.
I think we can probably agree that the shop (xxx in Newbury) wouldn't have sent the lens away twice if their testing hadn't found an issue. It is also reasonable to say that Stoke wouldn't have sent the lens to Nikon if they found no fault.
Nikon sent the lens back to Stoke who are sending it back to me. They (Stoke) have explained that Nikon found no fault. They have checked and compared the lens again, to another 18-200mm and now it's performance is much closer.
So, how can this be, I presume at the moment the lens was not dismantled by Nikon UK, as testing found no fault. However, according to the approved service centre (Stoke) it's performance has now changed. Can it be the case that simple physical movement of the lens is enough to cause an issue ? If the lens' performance has changed, something physically must have changed?
The first two show the out-of-camera performance of the 18-200, clearly unacceptable.
For this pic, I focused on the eyes ...
This is an example with my 70-300mm Nikon lens.
Edited by mph999 on Wednesday 16th September 23:49
Ravell said:
Simpo Two said:
I'd say it's back-focusing a little.
Seconded, in the picture of the face, the eyes are out of focus, but the bit of the sideburns and edge of the hair can be seen in focus.Thanks for the advice, we'll see how we go when I get it back.
Martin
Well I've got it back and it's quite frankly not acceptable. Nikon say it's within tolerance.
Anything upto approx 105mm is acceptably sharp, over that and the results look like this.
Seems I now have a battle on my hands, the shop claim that as Nikon say there is no fault there is little they can do, although to be fair they currently have the lens and one chap has taken it home to use and evaluate.
I think it is fair to say that the results from this approx £500 lens fall below what an average person would describe as reasonable, and thus the issue should be rectified by refund or replacement, all I want is a lens that actually does what it says on the tin. It was under one year old when it first went in for repair. I've now tried 7 other lenses on my cameras and none show this issue.
Martin
Anything upto approx 105mm is acceptably sharp, over that and the results look like this.
Seems I now have a battle on my hands, the shop claim that as Nikon say there is no fault there is little they can do, although to be fair they currently have the lens and one chap has taken it home to use and evaluate.
I think it is fair to say that the results from this approx £500 lens fall below what an average person would describe as reasonable, and thus the issue should be rectified by refund or replacement, all I want is a lens that actually does what it says on the tin. It was under one year old when it first went in for repair. I've now tried 7 other lenses on my cameras and none show this issue.
Martin
Edited by mph999 on Monday 28th September 19:59
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff