Damage to lens - advice!

ohms12

ohms12

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Omar
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Hey folks, just looking for a bit of advice really. I have a Nikon 18-200 VR II lens which I accidentally knocked against a rock whilst taking a long exposure shot..

Besides repeatedly kicking myself and just about crying, closer inspection revealed not too much damage. The lens itself is absolutely fine, not even a scratch, there's no focus issues and it shoots just as it always has. Phew.

There is superficial damage to the outer ring though, which I would like to get sorted. It makes it a bit of a pain in the ass if I want to change filters etc and I just don't like having broken things!

Apologies for the crappy iPhone pics, i've intentionally left the flash on to aid clarity. Any advice as to whether the outer ring can be fixed/replaced? Any guesses as to how much? Thanks. :)

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And after the accident, I made sure to buy a filter for protection!!

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Oh dear...

I suspect the outer ring is part of the top body assembly, so a strip down will probably be in order, which will add to the cost. I would be wanting everything else checking over as well, to ensure it's not knocked the focus out or done any damage inside.

Hope it's not too expensive for you ...
 
........that's what insurance is for! Haha.

Might give em a buzz.
 
Omar, a word of warning about filters and advice re an alternative (which you should already have!). If you had had a filter fitted, the glass would have sgattered and may well have caused more damage to the front element, not to mention leaving slivers of glass in the area. It may well also have got jammed on the front of the lens, possibly requiring specialist (expensive) attention. Even coated lenses set up reflections between themselves and the front element causing image degradation and flare.

With your lens there is (or should be) a lens hood which would have stopped the damage your lens suffered better than any filter can! The hood will also reduce flare rather than inducing it since it (the hood) will stop light falling directly on the front element of the lens.

If you go down the insurance route, you may well get a new lens rather than a repair of your old one - the replacement might be a cheaper option for the insurers. You could stress that you don't know what damage might have occured inside and ask if they (the insurers) will entertain a claim at a later date should such damage manifest itself in time.

Hope YOU didn't hurt yourself - a lens is easily replaced, broken bones etc are a bit harder!
 
If its anything like my 24-70, the filter ring is separate and cheap as chips. It's the labour cost and sending the lens in that will cost.

When my lens magically ended up on the floor the filter thread basically ripped itself apart, but that was the least worrying of the damage tbh. It was sent to fixation who repaired it and my insurers paid out. As I recall from memory the filter thread ring was just a few £, but I don't know if it would be much of a job to fit it, as obviously my labour charges included repairing a long list of other things :)
 
Nod said:
Omar, a word of warning about filters and advice re an alternative (which you should already have!). If you had had a filter fitted, the glass would have sgattered and may well have caused more damage to the front element, not to mention leaving slivers of glass in the area. It may well also have got jammed on the front of the lens, possibly requiring specialist (expensive) attention.
Click to expand...

Sods law that I was typing my response as you posted this.

THIS is pretty much exactly what happened to my 24-70 mentioned in my previous post. Filter shattered, half jammed itself onto the thread and the other half ripped free of the thread damaging it. It was the shattered glass that caused a fair few scratches to the front element and it was replacing and repairing this front element that made up the vast majority of the repair bill. I think the front element alone was around £250 + VAT :thumbsdown:

I've still got filters on my lenses though :lol:, a lens falling onto the filter and the filter shattering scratching the front element was to me, a bit of a freak accident. I'm more concerned with scratching / chipping the front element on walls, bag buckles etc. as I'm moving around with the camera.
 
And a fitted hood will prevent that (and improve image quality rather than reduce it...)
 
Nod, thanks for that. Fair point you make really. My camera is always in an out of bags and getting rattled about etc, I know a few times when i've knocked the front element. Maybe i'll get the hood on more often when out and about though. :thumbs:

Fixation got back to me saying the front ring would be around £20 and the labour £45 - £60. If there is more than that, i'll only find out once they have it. If I were to send it, do you reckon they'd tell me if it required more work in the estimate...? I've never had to send anything away for something like that before, obviously i'd have to pay for it to be delivered and sent back to me too.
 
They should assess the item and give you a full repair estimate. Obviously this can change once they start taking bits apart and looking at the internals but they have a fairly good idea at what they're doing.

They send you this estimate and you confirm whether you're happy with this and whether they should proceed.

If you're not happy I believe they charge a nominal fee before they release it to cover their time and admin inspecting the lens and preparing the estimate. Not unreasonable imho or they would get swamped with assessments and people refusing to go ahead with repairs. I can't remember how much this fee is off the top of my head but its not a drastic amount I don't think.

If you're happy and confirm they proceed with the repairs and once complete and itemised they send you a final invoice which is payable before they release the lens. The assessment fee is waived if you proceed with the repairs.

This is my understanding of how the process works and pretty much how it went with my repair as I acted as middle man between fixation and my insurers forwarding quotes, invoices and correspondence until it was time to pay the final invoice - then the insurers stepped in to pay fixation directly.
 
Thanks for that, makes sense.

Problem I have is this. To remove only the front ring around the front element is a 5 minute job. I could do it, it's one sticky ring to remove, 3 screws under that. That's literally it. I wonder if Nikon will sell me the part..
 
Cheers guys, i've give em a call on Monday. Failing that, eBay it is!
 
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