Nikon 24-70 2.8G Zoom Stuck Service Cost from Nikon UK

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bigearl91

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Hello,

Just wanted to give a heads up in case anyone was wondering.

My zoom was sticking mainly at 50mm, but also sometimes at ~28mm. If I turned the lens upside down it seemed to be pretty smooth. Anyway I knew that it wasn't ok so thought may as well get her off to Nikon for them to look over it. Being a common problem I thought I should let you guys know the cost.

With carriage, a new zoom rubber (also a commonly worn item - fyi focus one was fine), a new front filter ring screw cover, new zoom guides, clean, and functionality & alignment check - basically parts, service and labour. It came to just short of £290 inc. VAT.

Anyone got any other quotes from them or are we looking at the same? Does a flat rate sound about right for this common repair? It does say the job may be reestimated but this was the final invoice for me to pay. The lens is waiting for me at home.

Cheers
Earl

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Had a problem with the zoom on my 70-200. Repairs cost around £275 4 years ago. Also from Nikon.
 
I've had LOTS of problems with the zoom rings on Nikon pro lenses - 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200. When I get into the office I'll dig out some numbers for you.
 
My previous 28-70 f2.8 had 2 repairs. 1 is £700 to replace focus motor and service etc. the second one is £150 to fix the focus which got stuck and it won't focus in auto or manual.

Sound about right for Nikon service.
 
Here's some recent data on the cost of repairing the zoom mechanisms on Nikon professional zoom lenses. All these repairs were carried out at the Nikon UK Service Centre in Kingston. I can't easily find out exactly what the symptoms were in each case, but they were usually the zoom starting to feel rough or sticky or notchy.

May 2016 ... 14-24/2.8 .......... £509
May 2016 ... 17-55/2.8 DX ....... £462
Aug 2016 ... 80-200/2.8 D ....... £372
Feb 2016 ... 80-400 G VR ........ £367
Jul 2016 ... 70-200/2.8 VR II ... £317
May 2016 ... 80-400 G VR ........ £317
Dec 2016 ... 80-400 G VR ........ £305
May 2016 ... 14-24/2.8 .......... £269
May 2016 ... 14-24/2.8 .......... £267
Jun 2016 ... 24-70/2.8 G ........ £266
May 2016 ... 24-70/2.8 G ........ £266
Apr 2016 ... 24-70/2.8 G ........ £266
Feb 2016 ... 24-70/2.8 G ........ £266
May 2016 ... 80-400 G VR ........ £255
Oct 2016 ... 80-400 G VR......... £147
Aug 2016 ... 70-200/2.8 VR II ... £137
Mar 2016 ... 24-70/2.8 G ........ £121
Oct 2016 ... 14-24/2.8 .......... £113
Apr 2016 ... 80-400 G VR ........ £90

It's interesting to see that the repair prices of the 24-70mm lenses tend to be quite consistent. My subjective impression before I dug out and tabulated these figures was that all the Nikon pro zooms are troublesome, and they are all potentially expensive. But this suggests that, whilst the 24-70s aren't any less troublesome, they tend not to be the most expensive to repair.

Hope this helps!
 
Very consistent with the 24-70 - the additional cost from mine would like be the added materials I requested. The wee front ring and zoom rubber as part of the service.

Interestingly, my 14-24 is in perfect functioning order, however even whilst knowing it is a delicate beast, I am getting more and more confident lugging it about - this price has made me think twice. £509 as an assumption seems like a barrel replacement?
 
Here's one -

Are the pro zoom more prone to failure OR do they get used harder leading to failure more often? o_O
 
I think the most expensive repair on my previous 28-70 f2.8 is the focus motor. Things like that eventually wears out if you keep using it. I guess you probably be ok if you not a full time pro.
 
Do you drop the lens? A stuck zoom is caused most likely by a damaged helicoid ring which can happen on impact. Fixation quoted me £355 + VAT though included is a new 5th lens group unit as well.
 
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As far as I am aware it wasn't caused by a drop. Just loosening runners/rollers along the zoom barrel (excuse the pish terminology I am no lens specialist).

I spoke with Nikon prior to sending it off as I was aware this could have been the case, they told be the repair could be roughly £220 best case, £450 worse case, and above that a write off. I didn't want to send a technically working lens bar the stiffness to them for them to decide it was a £450 repair. I'm assuming the £450 would be that the drop = barrel crack and not merely loosening I have read about with regards to this lens.

Again this is just speculation. There is probably a scale of "drop" severity (with actual fact it seems like a design/construction flaw, maybe better locktite should have been designed in at an extra cost to RRP unless of course the barrel is actually cracked in which case £££££££££££££££££££££££).

I don't have much experience with this issue personally though, so what I just said could be a load of sh!te :p

Cheers
Earl
 
Does it actually bother you when using it? If is working fine in terms of focuing, sharp images, I would just leave it personally. Can always send it back if needed in the future. Is going to be expensive repair anyway .....
 
badboy1984 said:
Does it actually bother you when using it? If is working fine in terms of focuing, sharp images, I would just leave it personally. Can always send it back if needed in the future. Is going to be expensive repair anyway .....
Click to expand...
This is what I am putting up with. Dropped mine and think I have broken the helicoid but it still focuses fine and images are ok so living with it, although its a b!tch to turn :rolleyes::D
 
RichieTee said:
This is what I am putting up with. Dropped mine and think I have broken the helicoid but it still focuses fine and images are ok so living with it, although its a b!tch to turn :rolleyes::D
Click to expand...

My previous 28-70 f2.8 focus motor squeak for sometime, it will cost alot to replace, I eventually grind the focus motor out for another 2 years before it finally die and then I replaced along with service and swapped out new parts. The lens become new after that. I sold it not long ago to a TP member with service warranty because I no longer need that lens, and I got the 24-120 f4 VR in a trade deal.
 
badboy1984 said:
Does it actually bother you when using it? If is working fine in terms of focuing, sharp images, I would just leave it personally. Can always send it back if needed in the future. Is going to be expensive repair anyway .....
Click to expand...

It bothered me as it would sometimes lock, release torque and it unlocked, but also it had this horrible snorty rattley judder sound.

You're right though if it isnt broke dont fix it. I couldnt live with these issues, some may call them minor but the thing was failing and I thought repair it before the damage gets worse :)
 
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