Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Photo Equipment Repair Advice Needed

When our beloved gear falls to the ground, our heart will sink with it, usually both break on impact.  Anyone who has done any out-of-warranty repair work will know how expensive it is to get photo equipment repaired.

Last June my D810 with the AF-S 28-70mm f2.8 fell to the gravel ground when the tripod toppled.  It was a short fall as the tripod legs were not extended, and both camera and lens didn't seem to suffer any damage, and both were working.  But few months later, the lens would not focus; it just racks to infinity and stays there.  Of all the wide angle lenses I have used, the AF-S 28-70mm f2.8 is my favourite.  I had used the Canon 28-70mm f2.8L, as well as 17-35mm f2.8L, 17-40mm f4L, 16-35mm f2.8L and 16-35mm f2.8L II, and none of them were as sharp as this one.  I have gotten some very fine images from this lens with the D810 and I really want to get this lens fixed, but I keep putting it off.

Frankly, Nikon repair costs scare me.  Their estimate and repair cost often is half cost of a new lens, and I am left with two choices for repair in Toronto: Toronto Camera Service or Sun Camera Service.  Both have very good reviews.

Toronto Camera Service is very close to me, but I have never dealt with them before.  One the other hand, I have good experience with Sun Camera.  I once sent the 24mm f1.4L to Canon to remove a large piece of metal shaving from inside the elements and Canon sent it to Sun Camera, which is an authorized Canon Repair centre, and they did a really good job.  I also had my Canon 135mm f2.8 Soft Focus lens that was dropped with broken AF switch and wouldn't focus, and they fixed it for $99, that included cleaning the lens elements that had a lot of dust, which I think is very reasonable.  But, they are just so far away from me.

If you have ever repaired an Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f2.8 lens, how much did you pay for the repair?  I want to get a ball park figure before going for an estimate, which carries a fee from both repair centres.

Sugar Beach in the Morning - Fujifilm Fujinon 4.5cm f1.9 Rangefinder Lens on Sony A7.

6 comments:

  1. I followed mikeno62 and repaired my Canon EF 24 70 F2.8. I replaced the USM assembly and it is working perfectly right now. Click on the link to check out his work on Nikon 28 70 2.8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql_rE7-jfXw

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    1. Wow, I am not that adventurous! That would be too much for me to undertake :)

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  2. You can contact Russel at Kominek camera, he has an idividual that specializes in Nikon cameras. You can get an estimate before the work is done.

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    1. Thanks Professor. I thought Russell has retired.

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  3. I used the service in CRIS, authorized service at the time around 2012 for Pentax gear with https://www.criscam.com/ and I find them reasonable in US though the wait time was long at 5+ weeks when parts needed to be shipped from Japan to US for the actual repair. It doesn't hurt to get a quote from CRIS or other places.

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    1. Thanks my friend. I am trying to do this within the Greater Toronto Area.

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