Took apart a lens...

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Blade Canyon

Senior Member
Dead.jpg


The auto-focus on my AF-S Nikkor 28-70 2.8 (precursor to the modern 24-70) went kaput during a class last week. Nikon estimates $600 to repair the lens. I bought it for $800 in the last year... Ugh.

Final decision: buy a new Tamron 24-70 2.8 with VR (VC) to replace it. That done, I decided to disassemble this $800 paperweight, just in case there might be some obvious and very easy thing to fix. Not so. After seeing the gizzards on this baby, I have a whole new appreciation for the engineers and the cost of these AF zoom lenses. It might be reasonably efficient to mass-produce these on an assembly line, but to take the whole thing apart to fix the auto-focus or even get rid of dust or fungus... that's easily a $600 job.

Now I have this cool Terminator-looking hunk of glass on my shelf to remind me the lens game changed when AF came out. Just take an old manual lens and build in a computer better than anything the Apollo program had.
 

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Rob Bye

Rob Bye

Senior Member
I've seen the videos showing Nikon's lens production, and they made it clear to me these modern lenses are not user serviceable. If you don't want it as a shelf trophy, disassembling a dead lens seems like a good bit of fun. :)
 
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Ironwood

Senior Member
Yeah, I can relate to your story :rolleyes:.
Quite a while back I thought it would be a good idea to dismantle a Nikon AF55D, to repair some sticky aperture blades, OMG, I didn't realize what I was in for.
I ended up fixing the aperture blades but created another problem, the aperture ring doesn't lock into the smallest aperture like it should now, I am not pulling it apart again to try and fix that, I can use it as is :eek:.
 
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FastGlass

Senior Member
LOL. Holy crap. My 70-200 has a few dust specs behind the front element and I thought I would "simply" take it apart and clean it. After looking at this. Me likey dust specs.
 
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Krs_2007

Senior Member
Yep, go to pantry, get trash bag, insert parts, tie knot and throw away before the boss got home. Even after that there would still be evidence left somewhere.


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paul04

Senior Member
Its hard to believe all that is in one lens. Maybe they make it so complicated so you have to take it back for repair, and not do it yourself.
 
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Blade Canyon

Senior Member
weebee said:
Did you buy it new a year ago?
Click to expand...

This lens isn't in production anymore. They stopped making it in 2007. I bought it used this year instead of paying for a more recent 24-70 2.8. In this case, buying used didn't pan out, though I have a great deal of used equipment that has survived for years after purchase.

This lens had obviously been disassembled before because two screws would not come out, and the heads were stripped down so the Phillips screwdriver could not bite.
 
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weebee

Senior Member
Oh, I was hoping that was the case. Though, it stinks it failed on you. It is amazing just how complex these lenses are.
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
That's too bad. :( It's a shame you can't reassemble it. It could have been used in manual focus, yes? :confused:
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Man... I love takin' things apart.

You're to the spot where I usually get, though. No way in HECK I'm gonna get that together again... HA!
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
I see from the pictures youre not at all impulsive and very organized with marking parts so you can reassemble hahaha

I took apart my 85 1.4 AIS lens. the threading had dirt and it was slipping and quite jumpy. took it apart, cleaned it, reasembled and boom, like new. repair place gave me some BS excuse that screws upon screw there were breaking and needed to be reseated. what liars repair places are. I dont trust them for a millisecond. them and motorcycle garage mechanics. the worst.
 
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