sending my lens for repair to Taiwan. NRC from nikon rumors-70-200 VR1 restoration.

My 28-70 AFS died in a wedding a few months back and wasnt sure who to send it to. the repair centers here are not skilled and dont have the machinery or the know how to repair complex things. I brought the lens to the nikon importer here a few months back and he said he sends these repairs to Nikon japan. I brought it to another repair place and they said the same. they just dont have the skill/know how or the machinery to repair complex things. and this goes for all gear. they can repair basic things, but heavy complicated repair, they send it out and I wanted to save the money id pay the middle man and send it out myself.

I was considering melville USA. I spoke to Tim there and was told between $250-400 and its possible the SWM isnt broken but maybe some bearings that need replacement. I was almost completely closed on sending it to them, then I saw the 24-70 article NRC did just recently.
Google Translate

on nikon rumors
Weekly Nikon news flash #253 | Nikon Rumors

and before that, I saw the fabulous restoration they did on the 70-200, basically bringing it back from the dead.
Amazing restoration of old Nikon lenses | Nikon Rumors

and I wanted to try them. contacted them and got a quick reply from Daniel. very friendly and polite. I got a price quote. very open and honest. He said he might even be able to repair the motor and a replacement is not always necessary. Tim from Nikon Melville said they repalce the motor and dont try to repair it. so in this case, I might be able to save bucks with the repair.

send to nikon mellvile NY:
plus-nikon will have all the necessary machinery and they follow everything by the book
minus-bad service by many turns me off. being so "big" isnt a plus and im worried I wont get the proper repair done as its a mass repair place. I dont want to send the lens sent it again because they didnt do it properly

send to NRC Taiwan
plus- personal service is a huge plus for me. instead of going through the answering service, I can send him an email and get a super quick reply. theres always someone to talk to and I dont have to go through the beaurocratic crap. its like buying at a mom and pop shop vs wallmart.
plus-I think it will be cheaper. so mom and pop have great personal service and are cheaper. win win
minus-new place, worried all will be ok. im sending my lens basically to an unknown out in no where land so it makes me nervous all will be fine. basically I only know NRC through those links above.

Ill let you know how it goes. tomorrow im sending the lens out EMS. this may not be relevant to those in the US but it may be to smaller countries that are in the same situation as me. the repair places here are not so competent and there arent other options besides sending it out of country for repair.

You can try your luck with other authorized centers but there is a likelihood of getting it delayed due to lack of parts or specialized tools.

Nikon Service Centers will have all ther requisite tools, parts and skill. They don't have the best service but if you are pressed on time, they are the better option. It will take atleast one month before you get it back to overseas location.

You sound like you've been shooting for a while, as a pro, I would assume that you'll have back-up lens?

gqtuazon said:

You can try your luck with other authorized centers but there is a likelihood of getting it delayed due to lack of parts or specialized tools.

Nikon Service Centers will have all ther requisite tools, parts and skill. They don't have the best service but if you are pressed on time, they are the better option. It will take atleast one month before you get it back to overseas location.

You sound like you've been shooting for a while, as a pro, I would assume that you'll have back-up lens?

Click to expand...

Yes, I use the Tamron 28-75 2.8. A nice lens. but I do want to have my nikon back. at times the Tamron takes a bit more to hunt then I like. yesterday I did a bar mitzvah and it had a hard time in critical moments and it frustrated me.

yes, you are right, the reason I was pretty much locked to sending my lens to nikon melville NY, was that they have pretty much all the parts they need (since they service tons of people) and if not would get new stock in all the time. problem is, I know turn around time for them is more than what NRC said they can do and he said repair time 1-3 days. even if he did it in 1 week, most of the time is transit from me to him and back. so the bulk of the time, its not sitting in his place. I know with nikon NY they would take at least a week at the most minimum (in my wet dreams) and most times 2 weeks and over a month. they have a huge line of things they need to repair. I spoke with Tim there and he said that those repair take time. I already prepared myself that from the time I send it, till the time I received it, could be 2 months. 7-10 days deliver to location. repair taking up to a month (best case) then shipping to a friend, another week , then back to me another 7-10 days and a few days to get it released from customs (with proper papers I have showing it being sent out)

but the bigger problem is that if I sent the lens to nikon US, they would not send the lens back to me. he said they will only ship it to a US address, which means more time and money spent in transit, so overall for my speicifc situation and the position im in, NRC is the way to go.

and the biggest problem I came across, the crap customer service nikon gives. too much BS and not enough customer orientation. NRC is very personal and friendly with VERY fast replies. Ive sent Nikon mail and it took a long time to reply and twice had to resend the message to get a reply.

so all in all, going with NRC saves me money and time and I get a personal service. if I have a problem with the lens after repair, I just send them a message and they reply, no "press #5 for repair, #6 for parts..." BS id have to deal with if I went with nikon NY. you know how frustrating it is when youre on the phone and you cant get to a real person. we all know how we just want to punch a person through the phone if we could from frustration.

and NRC do seem very skilled and competent. did you see the lens they brought back from the dead? WTH! im glad I waited on sending the lens to nikon NY. I contacted NRC and it just was very smooth. no bullshit, send me your email so we can send you a proper form crap like nikon does. real personal and friendly service. im not affiliated with them. I just want to give others who are in my situation another option. this isnt relevant to those in the US so much but more to other countries like in europe who dont have really good camera repair shops. I also think it would be cheaper to repair out of country with the euro being so high.

By the way; if it is not a problem; where are you situated?

cant say. to the right of the US. its my personal preference to have some anonymity.

ok, the lens arrived to NRC. wow, never had an EMS package arrive to the US that fast.

opened it up. he says the motherboard is faulty.

and english was hard to understand and was told:
there are 3 bearing to the SWM that ride on them or spin it around. those apparently are worn out. hence the intermittent squeak it had. it also wouldnt work sometimes and I had to mount and remount the lens and then it did. not sure if the bearing are the motor itself or a part that works with it. not sure if the motor is in good condition. were communicating back and forth and trying to find a solution.

he recommends I not repair motor bearings as itll help with repair costs but the bearings are broken (I think he means defective/worn) and in the future it will affect it working intermittently. I think theyre simply worn out although the photos show them in nice condition. I think its best to replace them now. heres the part I didnt understand.

he said there are plastic and metal bearing to replace. now I dont know if he meant the option is to use a metal bearing or a plastic bearing, or I need both. at the current situation the motherboard and shipping is acceptable but adding the bearings bumps up the price. nothing is finalized but Daniel from NRC is very professional from what I see. and I think getting personal service is a huge plus. you wouldnt get this service from nikon

all I can say is the lens is sexy with the armor around or naked! such a thing of beauty.

Ok, so repair was very reasonable and he already fixed it. TAKE THAT NIKON!!! less than a week of repair.

btw, there are very few people who know the inner workings of a SWM and most will just replace and not try to fix it. these guys are pros on the highest level.
超音波馬達 損壞分析 @ NRC Nikon Repair :: 痞客邦 PIXNET ::

Google Translate

he noticed the lens had a ding to the focus inner ring and repaired it at no extra charge and now the focus is silky smooth. he said the bearing might fail later but not worth dealing with at the moment because something else would probably fail before it. there are different part that are the weak link. at the stage its in, its fine. he's seen much worse. hes not trying to sell me something I dont need. everything is already repaired and ready. super fast replies. extremely friendly. very honest. takes the time to explain what hes doing. sends pictures so you can see what he does. im so happy because no one gets this kind of service. everything is always hush hush till its repaired and then they stick it to you. I sent payment and within a week should get it back. so shipping is $100 from europe area to Taiwan and back. figure in the us itll cost $50 back and forth so the $50 extra for shipping will be saved with time and probably better prices than Nikon or even APS. 2 weeks vs 2 months. sounds like a win win.



so to those who are in a rush and need an expert to fix your gear, consider NRC. price wise, they are very fair and I would say on the cheap side. nikon quoted me much more than NRC.
also Daniel the repair technician is a pro photog himself. he knows how to use gear and repair it. I think thats a plus as well.

waiting patiently for my lens and will give my final verdict.

Just updating this post . total time back and forth was 3 weeks at most from what I remember. and thats to him, repair and back. price was reasonable. $350 including shipping express and he fixed the ding and replaced the worn focus ring as well. also made an adjustment on the mount which was offset. man the thing zooms, very quiet and precise. shot an event yesterday and im very happy. need a bit more testing as I prefered to shoot with my 70-200 85 and 105 over the 28-70. the test is in low light in weddings with fast moving subjects.

the procedure for sending a lens out of country isnt so fun. a lot of BS bureaucracy. basically, went to customs, showed them the lens, told them it needs to be repaired out of country. they print u out a form with your pertinent info and write the lens serial on it and what the item is as well. then I take it and pack it and I made a copy of the paper and placed one in the box and taped another copy on the outside of the box and wrote "for customs. lens inside is for repair and to be sent back, please dont charge customs fees to receiver"

on return the other copy was added to the outside of the box and customs released it of fees as they confirmed the serial of the lens. you must do this step or you will be charged customs. possibly if you show a paid receipt with serial showing you bought it in your country they will let it pass when you explain it was repaired. Daniel the manager also includes a repair invoice for them.

I have to send him the 70-200VR1. I was at a wedding and the lens was on my shoulder and I stupid and it hit something when I went up some stairs to mount my off camera flash. focus ring is very stiff to move.

btw, from what someone on another forum posted, nikon no longer repairs the 80-200 SWM version. not sure where though. japan, US, or his country. so basically, repair choices are getting more limited.

Daniel was very professional, replied usually in hours and take into consideration we have over 60 emails back and forth. 60! try 10 with nikon and see how that goes. fast personal friendly service. Im sticking with him. not sure if he does flashes/cameras though.

the NRC youtube channel is here. very interesting to see how lenses are repaired.
https://www.youtube.com/user/520pf/videos