Nikon 17-55 f2.8 Manual focus problem

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Mark
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So I bought this lens in the summer of last year. Today I looked at it after a month or two hiatus and it's not working properly...or atleast worse than it did before.

On autofocus it does the job (focusing) lightning fast. No problems.

When I switch or override to manual focus I need to be spinning that focus ring 20 times to get it to focus from one end of it to the other. Before it was sloppy manual focusing and still took a bit of turning but now it takes forever.

I'm guessing this is something I'll have to send it in for? Anybody else ever had this problem? Costly repairs ahead?
 
That sounds unusual. We get to see loys of lens faults but never anything like that. Still, the good news (such as it is) is that it's a valuable lens and it's worth spending £200 or so (my guesstimate) on a repair.

Before you send it off though, here's a thought. The Nikon AF-S lenses have full time manual focus, right? So what happens if you focus automatically and then just turn the focusing ring, without switching into full MF mode? Is it just the same as when you do go into full MF mode??
 
That sounds unusual. We get to see loys of lens faults but never anything like that. Still, the good news (such as it is) is that it's a valuable lens and it's worth spending £200 or so (my guesstimate) on a repair.

Before you send it off though, here's a thought. The Nikon AF-S lenses have full time manual focus, right? So what happens if you focus automatically and then just turn the focusing ring, without switching into full MF mode? Is it just the same as when you do go into full MF mode??

It does it all the same. In M/A mode when I override it and in M mode (and M mode on the body, thought I'd try switching that off anyways).

I phoned in to the store I bought it from and it's possible that they can locate my proof of purchase and the world wide guarantee will allow me to give it in to the service center here. Probably towards the end of this week i'll give it in.
 
One other thought - does it do this on both the D90 and the D60? The reason I ask is that the D90 has the old-style mechanical AF linkage and the D60 doesn't, so if it exhibits this behaviour on both bodies then we can rule that out as a possible factor.
 
Ruled out. Just tried it now. Guess it'll have to go in :(
 
Sorry Mark. I was hoping to find a way of identifying what/where the fault might be, but no luck. Guess it'll have to go in.
 
Sounds like the external part of the focussing ring has somehow disengaged from the helicoil that cotrols the in-and-out movement of the lens elements...
Sounds like a fault and not user-error - I'd lobby hard for a fix under warranty as it's under 12 months old...
Hopefully you registered it with Nikon?
 
Hey, thanks StewartR.
I phoned into the store I bought it from. Said they can dig up the proof of purchase and I can send it in for repair here in Poland.

Would registering it make any difference?
 
Well, I sent the lens in today. I'll let you guys know how it pans out. Also made a quick clip of it. Posting it now on youtube. Really weird problem.
 
As promised.

[YOUTUBE]bxmKHQFOgok[/YOUTUBE]
 
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