FOUND!!!!! Nikkor 16mm f/3.5 fisheye disappeared

[atpaula]

My copy SN 275076 was left at Marty's Camera of Queens, New York for an AI conversion, 2 weeks ago after I got the AI kit from a guy in California.
When I returned there the other day guess what? The lens had disappeared!!!!!
I went to the police station to report it but the officer told me It was not a theft case, but a business case and I had to sue the guy.
I told I live in Brazil and heard "I'm sorry!!!".
The guy seemed genuinely upset by this episode and got me a much less than mint copy of a 16mm f/2.8 AIs, with the lame plastic cap from the AF model and a scratch on the front element coating.
His shop is such a mess and I'll regret until next century to have left the lens there.
I'm so pissed off because this lens has a special meaning to me. It was the first fisheye model I tried, some 35 years ago.
Who would imagine that I would lose such a gem in the very safe USA, a guy from such an unsafe place as Brazil.
Now there is a big hole in my beloved collection so I'll have to start a painful search for a good copy.

[Hugh_3170]

Commiserations.

I would be watching the Ebay listings for a 16mm f/3.5 with the same SN 275076 as yours.  Maybe all of us on this site should do so in order to lend you a hand.  Got any friends in the area of this NY shop who could look in from time to time?

Pardon the pun at such a sad time, but this dealer sounds "fishy" to me.

Footnote:  It would be a very good idea to post a warning about this shop on website's such as www.yelp.com to warn others of this bad behaviour from the shop.

[pluton]

Since the shop [apparently] refused to take full responsibility for their mistake(crime???), it is important to let the word go forth to all who may listen.  Yelp.com is a good place to start.

[Frank Fremerey]

register on all lists stolen equipment: http://photo.net/registry/search-one-manufacturer?manufacturer=Nikkor
https://photographers.ie/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Nikon-stolen-equipment.pdf

So if ever the lens enters an official Nikon repair facility it will be rerouted to you.

It is not wrong to write a classy review of that shop too...

[Hugh_3170]

Good idea Frank - sorry, but I forgot about these links.

register on all lists stolen equipment: http://photo.net/registry/search-one-manufacturer?manufacturer=Nikkor

https://photographers.ie/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Nikon-stolen-equipment.pdf

So if ever the lens enters an official Nikon repair facility it will be rerouted to you.

It is not wrong to write a classy review of that shop too...

[the solitaire]

I am very sorry to hear that you lost a lens by leaving it in the care of a camera shop. A place where you would expect things to not disappear!

I am also very upset to hear the shop owner replaces your lens with damaged goods. Personally I would not have accepted that solution, but instead would have insisted on a financial solution instead. Search ebay for a copy of the lens in about the same condition as the one you left there and have him reimburse you for the loss right there and then.

I know these 16mm f3,5 pre-Ai fish eyes are not easy to find, and their total production number is somewhere around 4500 lenses manufactured (and another 1500 for the optically slightly improved Ai version)

I do hope you will find a replacement for the lens. I know I really like my copy, and use it quite a bit.

[atpaula]

Thank you all for the simpathy and tips.
I'll report this case in those places.
I don´t have friends in NY that could go there for me.

[atpaula]

If anyone has one for sale or knows where to find one, please let me know.

[Akira]

Sorry to hear that, Aguinaldo.   

I've found one on ebay, but its serial number was different.

[richardHaw]

wow, that sucks 
dangerous

[atpaula]

You would not believe that:
After looking everywhere for a new copy of this lens I found one at B&H used section this weekend.
I bought it immediatelly.
As they don't ship used merchandise abroad, I told them to ship it to a friend's house, by the way, she sold me that fisheye 3 years ago.
Guess what: when the lens was delivered and she sent me the pics, I saw THAT WAS THE ROBBED LENS!!!!!!!!!!
It came back to the very person who sold it to me.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!!!
Now I'm waiting for B&H's response for this imbroglio.

[Akira]

Congrats, Aguinaldo!

If you can prove that the lens is the very one that was stolen, you shouldn't need to "buy" it again, I guess.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

They will have a hard time explaining away from that fact... Of course you should expect a full reimbursement of the purchase price. And an apology.

One does not "lose" the ownership of an item just because it has been stolen.

[Fons Baerken]

Wow

[John Geerts]

Nice, that appears to be a happy ending.