I have a Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 lens which has been lying around for many years in a bag. I’ve just bought a new dSLR and would like to use this lens. However, the focus ring is now very stiff, likely because of particles sneaking in and causing extra friction.
How difficult and risky is it to disassemble the lens and do some cleanup to hopefully fix this problem?
I personally would take it to a reputable camera shop and get it cleaned by people who know what they’re doing and guarantee their work. It shouldn’t cost much more than $100, probably less. I clean my own dSLR sensors; I’ve even taken apart a D70 to convert it to an intrared camera with success. That said, I would never risk taking apart a lens I really cared about. I don’t want to say it can’t be done, but I don’t know of a single person crazy enough to have tried it.
I learned that lesson the hard way when after cleaning it myself, I was on vacation . . . and the end of a zoom lens, including the focus ring, came entirely off. I couldn’t wait to have it repaired, so had to buy a new lens. Do yourself a favor, and have it professionally cleaned. It’s not just a matter of getting rid of foreign particles; they’ll check it out for worn parts, etc.
Does anybody have an idea how much such an operation would take me back?
I got this lens and a couple more from my father, but I’m trying to get along with low expenses. Although I’ve heard that this lens should be pretty good, so it might still be worth some money to get it fixed up.
Dude, there’s only two posts.
Sorry, I meant to ask whether others have similar cost appraisals. So, $100 is to be expected.
Thanks panache45 and pulykamell, I’ll call around and see if there’s a place nearby which can do such repairs, and if the cost is extortionous I could just as well try by my own hand.
The 85mm f/1.8 is a very good lens. It’s one of best quality-for-price lenses in Nikon’s lineup, in my opinion.
If its a really expensive/valuable lens I would highly recommend against self repair.
What might be fairly safe to do is to just keep working the focus mechanism.
It’s not extremely valuable. A brand new comparable lens costs about $450 in my part of the woods. I’m hoping to get away cheaply by reusing the few good lenses my father has though, as my funds are limited.
I think that will just cause more wear. The mechanism probably needs new lubrication to come back to its old self.
A hundred bucks is cheaper than $450, and that lens is worth every last bit of $450. I’m wondering how much grit you have in that lens if the focusing ring is “very stiff.” That’s one of the lightest focusing rings I’ve encountered on Nikon lenses. You should be able to move it with your pinky without any resistance. The camera’s AF is set to “M” when you’re focusing, right? I guess it doesn’t matter, as you’re probably trying the focusing off the camera. Seriously, take it in.
Former camera repair tech from back in the day; Yep, really, take it in to a professional, don’t try to DYI. If you get it all apart and get it messed up, it’ll cost you more in the end.
Suggestion; you might get a discount taking in all your Dad’s lenses and getting them serviced in one bout.
We are actually a bit puzzled why it’s so stiff. He gave me 4 lenses which have all been lying in the same stowed away bag for many years. They worked perfectly when he put them away, and all but one still do. Only the 85mm seems to have “locked up”.
I haven’t yet received my camera, so I’m trying it off the camera. Anyway, thanks for the advice!
Returning it to Nikon itself showed to be costly. However, I managed to find a small third party certified Nikon repair company which was willing to do the job much cheaper. They even said that Nikon would have sent it to them anyway, just charging more. So, it seems like I’ll get away with roughly $100 as suggested, while Nikon charged nearly twice as a minimum.
Thanks everybody.
Yeah, for something like that I would find a trustworthy local camera shop to do, preferably one with Nikon certification. I should have mentioned that in the last post. Anyhow, if it turns out to be anything but normal dirt/grime issues, let us know. I’m curious, too, to hear why that lens would stiffen up like that.
There is no local repair center here, they seem to have died out. I had to send it to Stockholm to a seemingly like a nice little company, which mentioned that Nikon would likely send it to them anyway. They are certified. He did say that he was surprised that this lens has stiffened up, and so am I since it seems to be in a great condition otherwise and unlikely to have been physically damaged while sitting in a bag in a drawer.
It was nice that a cost evaluation was included in the normal price. He’ll contact me with a price offer later, but over the phone he came close to your $100 figure as a rough estimate. When they are done with it I’ll see if I can find out what the problem was, and will then resurrect this thread to let you know.
In that case, I’m going to guess there’s a light coating of rust on the innards. In the future you may want to put desiccants (the “DO NOT EAT” things) in your camera bag or anywhere where you store your camera gear.
I got the lens back yesterday and it’s as good as new. I didn’t get much out of them regarding what exactly they did, but he mentioned that it appeared to have bumped into something. He needed to replace one piece of the mechanism, but didn’t elaborate on what it actually was.
Thanks for the advice, it worked out well.