NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: Randy Stout on March 25, 2017, 21:38:43
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Good day all:
I just acquired this lens, and it is in very nice shape, except for something I noticed yesterday on its first serious outing. When zooming, if I held the ring too tight, it would bind and resist movement. If I used a light touch, very slight resistance, but it moved pretty well
I found that when shooting, holding the camera with R1C1 on the front of the lens, I tended to squeeze a bit more than when just handling the lens itself, and ran into this 'sticking' issue. I almost want to put a drop of armorall
silicon lubricant under the ring, but of course won't, because of where it might end up.
Thoughts and advice appreciated!
Randy
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My AF 70-180/4.5-5.6D ED Micro-Nikkor does the same. I've thought of adding a tiny drop of pure Teflon lubricant. When dry only Teflon is left behind. I've worried about fogging the lens. I'm not sure about the vehicle use is and wonder when it might go before it dries.
I'd like to know how the lens is built. The ring deforms under far too light pressure and this is clearly a design defect. My similar vintage AF 80-200/2.8D ED (new) doesn't have this problem.
Dave Hartman
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I had not noticed it until now but checking, I notice the same behavior on the back up copy which I don't use often. The one I regularly use is normal. I'll start swapping them more often ...
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Thanks David and Bruno:
Sounds like it may be a fairly common issue, perhaps less so if used regularly. I will just have to keep working with it!
Cheers
Randy
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There is possibily two issues with mine: one is pinching the zoom ring to tightly and some other plastic on plastic binding. I'm the original owner of this lens and it's always been this way. It's an annoyance but it hasn't stopped me from using the lens. I should have taken the lens in for service when it was new. I lived in driving distance of Nikon USA's west coast service center.
Dave
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this is one of the reasons why I switched to manual lenses :o :o :o
I am not sure but this maybe one of those cases wherein a ribbon is being impinged like the case for the 80-200 ::)
let me ask a repairman friend, that is if I catch him on his break.
http://www.nodevice.com/manual/newmans/nikon/AFMCED70-180F45-56DPLpdf/get33298.html
check if this is still working...
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My specimen of the 70-180 also exhibits the sticky zoom ring syndrome. However as I rarely if ever operate the lens without tripod support, the symptoms are very mild at most and don't bother me much. I am far more annoyed by the poor design of the tripod collar of this lens. As a matter of fact I delayed my purchase of this lens for years because of the tripod foot issue, until I could negotiate a heavily cut-down price setting of it from Nikon by showing them the bad design. They agreed and I got a very special deal on it. I then spent some time improving the tripod support to make it "passable". Adding a longer hood also helped improve quality under adverse light conditions.
For those unfamiliar with the 70-180 Micro, it is the only true zoom Micro-Nikkor in existence. That makes it very useful for close-up work as one can finely adjust the framing of the subject by a slight zoom change. It has some remarkable features amongst foremost of which is its effective aperture will not change with magnification. Its f/4.5-5.6 wide open figure might not seem special, but when the lens reaches its close limit (up to about 1:1.3X magnification), it is actually faster than many other competitors starting at f/2.8.
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Here are the sectional views, exploded.
http://allphotolenses.com/public/files/pdfs/3c6f3b03382e07453e7824d796ac953c.PDF
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It is fairly easy to disassemble, I was a bit disappointed by the internal build quality when I opened mine,,, most important take great care of the small guide shoes that transfer zoom and distance settings,,,
I sold it
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My specimen of the 70-180 also exhibits the sticky zoom ring syndrome. However as I rarely if ever operate the lens without tripod support, the symptoms are very mild at most and don't bother me much. I am far more annoyed by the poor design of the tripod collar of this lens. As a matter of fact I delayed my purchase of this lens for years because of the tripod foot issue, until I could negotiate a heavily cut-down price setting of it from Nikon by showing them the bad design. They agreed and I got a very special deal on it. I then spent some time improving the tripod support to make it "passable". Adding a longer hood also helped improve quality under adverse light conditions.
For those unfamiliar with the 70-180 Micro, it is the only true zoom Micro-Nikkor in existence. That makes it very useful for close-up work as one can finely adjust the framing of the subject by a slight zoom change. It has some remarkable features amongst foremost of which is its effective aperture will not change with magnification. Its f/4.5-5.6 wide open figure might not seem special, but when the lens reaches its close limit (up to about 1:1.3X magnification), it is actually faster than many other competitors starting at f/2.8.
It was fascinating to look at the focal length data for my outing. Shots from 70mm to 180mm , with most between 100-140, but some at all focal lengths. What a liberating experience to be able to frame so easily without doing the foot zoom!
Randy
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It is fairly easy to disassemble, I was a bit disappointed by the internal build quality when I opened mine,,, most important take great care of the small guide shoes that transfer zoom and distance settings,,,
I sold it
Eric: Do you think that the sticky zoom operation is from lack of lubrication of the ring, or perhaps another issue like Richard described? Or is the ring just too flimsy, and when squeezing it, it collapses enough to drag? Or all of the above!
Appreciate everyones input.
Randy
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Sounds like Dr. Lens doesn't think the build quality makes this lens worth his time and trouble.
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The outright binding is the zoom ring itself is deforming under pressure. I can operate mine with just my thumb or very light two finger pressure to avoid that binding. The binding and releasing (slightly jerky zooming) may have something to do with a group that slides by cam action. It feels like two plastic items sliding against each other. If figured you just put up with the problem to enjoy the other features of the lens. The binding is a feature of the early plastic phantastic age or so I surmise.
I think I paid about $1,150.00 (USD) for my lens. I stood at the counter at Lee-Mac Camera holding the lens for about ten minutes before buy it. I didn't set it down for fear someone else would buy it. I'd have paid $200.00 more for better build quality.
Dave Hartman
I noted a similar binding in the AF 28-105/3.5-4.5D zoom at the wide end.
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I really can't say, unless it changes with where you position the fingers and pinch the focus barrel,,,
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I just bought one in excellent condition, 2nd hand of course. It's perfect in all respects except for one thing; the focussing is sticky at the very short end, between 0.4 and 0.37 m. It's smooth for the whole upper range.
Procirep - the official repair service for Nikon in my part of the world (Belgium) says they stopped support for this lens, do not have parts anymore and thus can not fix this.
Erik Lund said that this lens is fairly easy to disassemble. What could be the reason for this sticky focussing at the short end, and could i fix it myself without access to any spare parts if needed?
Does anybody have any other suggestions?
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I answered my PM before seeing this ;D Se below:
Hi, welcome to NikonGear!
The 70-180mm is "fairly easy" to work on, yes but one mistake and it's manual focus only,,
Most likely the lens has suffered a minor impact while at close focus distance, the focus is in the front and guided in curved slots with small nylon rollers, as long as the rollers are not lose it's afe to use the lens.
A pro technician would be able to repair it to make the focus less sticky at that small range as well but it will never be as new!I would leave it as it is and avoid using it at that range.Please repost your question on the forum and for for further questions so everybody can benefit from the questions and answers
Maybe richardHaw has worked on the lens as well,,,
https://richardhaw.com/lens-repair-articles/ (https://richardhaw.com/lens-repair-articles/)
https://imaging.nikon.com/imaging/information/story/0018/ (https://imaging.nikon.com/imaging/information/story/0018/)
Here you can see the slots/guides Page 10
https://www.nodevice.com/service-manuals/lens/nikon/af-zoom-micro-nikkor-70-180mm-f-4-5-5-6d-ed/258837#p1
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To repair an impact damaged lens requires either a smoothening out of the area which has damage and live with that slight inaccuracy in focus feel, or replacement of the tube with the slots and guide rollers if they are damaged, there could be damage to the tube that holds the guide rollers as well,,, all very costly and parts for such lenses are very scares,,,
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Thanks Erik for your kind replies.
As i understand it now, i'll just keep using it as it is...
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i am intrigued by this sticky zoom ring thing :o :o :o
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Hello Richard,
Thanks for your reply. The zoom ring works perfectly, it's the focussing which is "sticky" at the shortest end, between 0.40 and 0.37m. This means that, when turning the focussing ring, it turns smoothly from infinity all the way down to 0.40m, but beyond 0.40m and down to the shortest focussing distance of 0.37m, it's harder to turn, and feels like something is stuck in between rings you are turning. The 0.37m is still a hard stop.
kind regards
Geert
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Sticky Zoom vs. Sticky Focus :o :o :o
On most Nikon AF especially the AF-S Zoom lenses the mechanical extension of the lens is the zoom function and focus is done internally or as IF these lenses a susceptible to impact damage on the zoom function; The slots getting a hard hit from the nylon guides.
On this lens it's the focus ring that is most vulnerable to this damages of the focus slots since it's the focus ring that extents the lens. see images in the link above.
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i am intrigued by this sticky zoom ring thing :o :o :o
It's really easy for you to work on this lens, and a very unique Nikkor lens zoom design! Good luck :o 8)