Service/Repair or Replace?

[kurtwall]

Hi, everyone,

I was on a photowalk yesterday when I slipped and fell in some mud. Injured in the fall were my dignity (quickly fixed), my jeans (easily washed), and my Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens that came with my D60. I was able to clean the mud off the lens, but I can hear grit in the lens housing when I turn the zoom ring. I've quit using it to reduce the likelihood of doing real or further damage to the interior components or lens elements.

My questions: Is this lens worth the cost of servicing and cleaning or repairing (as necessary) and the cost of shipping plus insurance to and from the Nikon service facility in southern California? I've read nightmare tales about dealing with NikonUSA's lens repair service and with Nikon's customer service generally. Should I see this as an opportunity to upgrade to a nice mid-range prime zoom, such as the Tamron f/2.8 17-50mm (about $US450 new) or the Sigma f/2.8 18-50mm (about $US420 new) or the Tokina f/2.8 16-50mm (about $US550 new)? I know I'm not willing to pay more than $100 for shipping, insurance, and repair for the Nikkor lens, which is the cost of buying it new.

Thanks!

Kurt

[RichardTaylor]

Are you happy with the kit lens?
If so then fix it.
If not then replace it.

[OsmosisStudios]

Whats your budget for replacing it?

[candleman]

that sux,

check with your home/contents insurer to see if they cover accidental damage.
i know our stuff is covered if the kids push the TV over or give the computer something to drink.


other than that its possibly a good excuse to upgrade depending on how much Nikon will charge to clean it.
my guess is it will cost so much in labour and parts you would be beter off buying a new one.

[kurtwall]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

Are you happy with the kit lens?
If so then fix it.
If not then replace it.

In terms of picture quality, I've been pretty happy. Using it for manual focus has been a hassle. I really don't think it was intended for use with manual focus.

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Whats your budget for replacing it?

$US500 max, preferably less. I'm more interested in the wide angle end of the range, but I also want some kind of coverage up to the short end of my 70-300 telephoto.

[OsmosisStudios]

The Nikon 16-85 is a hair over: ~$630.

You can get a Nikon 18-70 f/3.5-4.5 for well under, though: ~$380.

Its a great lens: super sharp (even wide open), good focal length, not super-slow aperture, excellent build.

[kirbinster]

I would not have it fixed. As you can buy the lens for $100 or less on Craigslist. It will cost you to ship and insure, not to mention what Nikon charges you as I would not expect them to cover accidental "abuse" under warranty. Thus, you are probably talking about spending $75 or more. You might want to see if once it dryes you can use come air pressure to clear out the grip - or maybe try home surgery yourself.

[kurtwall]

Thanks for the input. The guys at my local camera shop also advised against getting it repaired. So, I'll try some minor surgery myself and if that doesn't work start saving my pennies for a replacement. In the meantime, I'll use rental lenses when I want a mid-range zoom. I can get by without it for a lot of the shooting I do.

[jnelson]

In my experience, home surgery quickly turns to disaster. I experienced this with the 18-135 that I bought from you. Shortly after receiving it, the gritty noise that i heard from the autofocus ring resulted in some sort of AF mechanism piece to fall right smack dab in the middle of the glass. I called around for service estimates but it wasnt worth the cost to repair it so i dove in myself. I was quite unsuccessful, but did manage to use one of the glass elements over my iPhone camera for some amazing macro shots

I ended up replacing it with a Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 and am very happy with it.

[kurtwall]

Originally Posted by jnelson

In my experience, home surgery quickly turns to disaster. I experienced this with the 18-135 that I bought from you. Shortly after receiving it, the gritty noise that i heard from the autofocus ring resulted in some sort of AF mechanism piece to fall right smack dab in the middle of the glass. I called around for service estimates but it wasnt worth the cost to repair it so i dove in myself. I was quite unsuccessful, but did manage to use one of the glass elements over my iPhone camera for some amazing macro shots

I ended up replacing it with a Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 and am very happy with it.

Ugh. That's awful. I'm embarrassed that the lens turned out to be such a lemon for you -- the refund offer still stands, BTW -- it was okay for me, just not enough reach.