The piece of crap plastic mount on my Nikkor 55-200 lens has broken off a tab and now will not fit on the camera properly. Some research shows that new plastic mount replacements can be bought and fitted to the lens in place of the old, broken one. But if I’m going to replace the mount, I’d rather put on a metal one.
Do they make a metal mount for this lens? Or am I stuck with buying another piece of shit plastic one that will probably just break again?
Okay, I’ll give you a bump and say, I doubt it.
In fact, I’ve never heard of a lens mount being offered as a consumer replacement item; where did you find it? And do they have any metal mounts? Since the size or the mount is the same regardless of which lens it’s on, you could put any mount on any lens.
Of course, having once dismantled an already busted lens for fun, I know never to think about trying to repair precision optics. So I’d leave it to the pros. Of course, for a $200 lens, you may want to look into an upgrade.
Is this the lens: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/381797-USA/Nikon_2156_55_200mm_f_4_5_6G_ED_AF_S.html
If so, at that price it’s not worth fixing. Do any of the DX lenses have metal mounts?
Replacement mounts are readily available from Nikon or many third party sellers on eBay. Search for “bayonet mount.” They cost about 15 dollars. It’s either fixxxxxx this or throw it away.
I caused serious damage to a Nikon lens when it fell 2 1/2 feet to a padded carpeted surface. The repair bill was about 50% of the new purchase price, and the lens never quite worked the same, despite Nikon’s claim that it would be restored to factory condition.
People’s rapt fascination with shaving a couple ounces off a device that’s meant for – in the case of professional cameras – high art is at fault here, as much as Nikon.
You pay for what you get. In this case you paid to buy into mass consumerism, that has little patience for inconvenience.
I am a sometime professional photographer. If you are worried about money, it doesn’t particularly matter what you do. Buy a third party lens. If you are worried about quality? There are two or three sites that review Nikon lenses. Go to one, and buy the best lens you can afford. $200 - $400 should suffice, for a fixed focus lense.
And be careful next time not to bump it on anything. That’s modern photography.
I didn’t buy the lens specifically, it came with the camera along with several other lenses. And it came with the plastic tab broken; I didn’t do it.
http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00WnoY
Sounds like replacing with a new mount, plastic or metal, often fails to produce stellar results. Lenses of this nature (inexpensive, light weight, kit lenses) aren’t really designed to be repaired. It can be done, but there may be additional damage and you may end up with a misalligned lens.
But the cost isn’t very much and the lens is a paperweight right now, so you have little to lose. Others seem to have done it and some report good results.
That’s the site I went to previously and it makes it look quite easy.
Either I fix it or it’s totally useless. If I can’t fix it, I’m out 15 dollars. It’s actually a good lens.
Argent Towers, it’s a little difficult to zoom in on your situation. ( Not a criticism! )
You’re writing things that are somewhat in conflict. I.e., you don’t seem to know much about lenses, but you feel that the one you have is “good”. I.e., if it’s new, then it’s under warranty: return it. I.e., you imagine that you can repair anything but the simplest lens problem, yourself … not clear. (Anything but the easiest repair is completely outside the abilities of almost all photographers.)
Plastic in cameras has many issues, but there are no longer any options – thanks to mass marketing to people who … out of physical condition as they are … object to an extra few ounces on their cameras.
Again. Go to a review site. Buy the top rated fixed focal lense you can afford. There are fantastic lenses under $400. By "fantastic’ read: Good enough to get your photos into National Geographic or Vogue.
I don’t get what is so difficult to understand about this situation.
I have two choices, and only two: attempt to replace the lens mount, or not.
The replacement mount costs only 15 dollars. The instructions on the site (the second one Telemark linked to) makes it look very simple to fix. If fixing it could save me 200 dollars, why not try to fix it?
If it’s under warranty, return it as defective. That would be preferable.
If it’s not, then try the replacement. Of course, you will utterly void any remaining Nikon warranty in doing so.
(And don’t assume this is a Nikon-specific problem. I had a much worse problem with Canon many years ago. That’s why I switched brands.)
I doubt it’s under warranty. I bought it used on eBay (along with my camera and 2 other lenses).