18-200mm nikon lens messed up... ideas???

Leica 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 Vario Elmar-T ASPH

11/15/2008 03:45:45 PM · #1

Hi... well the other day I took my 18-200mm nikon VR lens out of my bag, mounted it on my camera and found out that between like 150mm and 200mm it will not focus at infinity... it will focus just short of iunfinity, but once it hits infinity, it won't focus... i tried auto focus AND manual focus... it just won't focus at infinity... it will focus just fine on close objects, and it will focus at infinity from 18mm up to about 150mm... but it is messed between 150 and 200 only at infinity... i.e. if I am trying to focus on a car one block away, it just won't focus...

has this happened to anyone before??? any ideas???

thanks

MAK

Leica CL

11/15/2008 03:55:51 PM · #2

Is there another body you can try it on?

It could be an issue with your cam but to be honest it sounds like the effects of a heavy knock to the lens...

Try doing a factory reset on the camera itself first or better still go try it on a new body at a store.

Good luck, I know the pain.

11/15/2008 04:06:12 PM · #3

hmmm... well, that's worth a shot... i'll try it on my friends D300...

but my other prime lenses work fine on the D50 body... so it must have been knocked in the camera bag or something...

it's really no big deal... i don't really use the lens in that range at infinity...

if anyone else has had this problem let me know...

alfresco

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/15/2008 09:09:26 PM · #4

My 18-200 had a similar issue, power cycling seemed to reset everything. It only happened one day a few months ago, a couple of times. I hardly (read: never) use the lens so my sample size isn't great. I'll play with it tomorrow and see it the problem (if it happens) occurs happen infinity.

Results to follow.

11/16/2008 07:12:22 AM · #5

Originally posted by alfresco:

thanks (what is "power cycling" ?)

Lonni

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

11/16/2008 07:17:37 AM · #6

Power cycling normally means to turn something off then on again, but how you would do that with a lens is anyone's guess :)

alfresco

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/16/2008 09:17:18 AM · #7

This morning I have been unable to duplicate the results, ie - no problems focusing at all.

When the strangeocity was occurring for mine a friend was using it on his D50(ish, I forget exactly what he was using) - I wonder if it's a weak battery issue.

As to the power cycling: I was referring to power cycling the camera itself.

A similar issue from the nikon support site for other cameras and 18-200

and another thread from photo.net with similar issues but Fuji body.

Check your firmware, check your battery, then I would open a support case with Nikon if I were in your shoes. Unless your shoes were too small, then I would still open a support ticket with Nikon but I would be shoeless.

11/16/2008 09:19:00 AM · #8

welll, it's not a battery/firmware issue because it won't even focus manually...

alfresco

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/16/2008 09:34:06 AM · #9

I missed the "not focus manually" part - my reading comprehension skillz are low.

I recommend giving Nikon a buzz.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

11/16/2008 10:51:10 AM · #10

i'll give it a try... it's out of warranty... but it could be a common problem that could be fixed for $100-$150... any more than that and i'll just grab a used 70-300 VR for $300

snaffles

Nikon D7100

11/16/2008 11:00:45 AM · #11

Just tried mine at infinity and 150-200mm, both manual and AF...no problems here...hope you're able to get it fixed!

Message edited by author 2008-11-16 11:00:57.