Oiling a screw drive motor?

[russbarnes]

I have a D810, D800 and Df. I recently acquired a Nikon 85mm f/1.4D and when using it on my D810 and D800 it exhibits the sort of AF noise I've heard before - it's neither silent or overly noisy. On my Df however it produces a pronounced whistling noise when the motor drives the AF anti-clockwise and it's irritatingly loud.

I was thinking about trying to treat the motor with a small amount of silicon lubricant to deal with the noise, which is most definitely generated by the body rather than the lens. Has anyone done this before, is it even recommended?

 

[primeshooter]

I have a D810, D800 and Df. I recently acquired a Nikon 85mm f/1.4D and when using it on my D810 and D800 it exhibits the sort of AF noise I've heard before - it's neither silent or overly noisy. On my Df however it produces a pronounced whistling noise when the motor drives the AF anti-clockwise and it's irritatingly loud.

I was thinking about trying to treat the motor with a small amount of silicon lubricant to deal with the noise, which is most definitely generated by the body rather than the lens. Has anyone done this before, is it even recommended?

Hi Russ, I own that particular lens, and it is an unusually noisy one. I even have had it serviced several times. One time they replaced the focus helicoid and lubricated the gearing. But the noise was more or less the same.

I note that it's the camera here but don't know if I would self-lubricate it...

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[T O Shooter]

If you can find a D600 to mate it to, the D600 should oil it.

 

[russbarnes]

I have a D810, D800 and Df. I recently acquired a Nikon 85mm f/1.4D and when using it on my D810 and D800 it exhibits the sort of AF noise I've heard before - it's neither silent or overly noisy. On my Df however it produces a pronounced whistling noise when the motor drives the AF anti-clockwise and it's irritatingly loud.

I was thinking about trying to treat the motor with a small amount of silicon lubricant to deal with the noise, which is most definitely generated by the body rather than the lens. Has anyone done this before, is it even recommended?

Hi Russ, I own that particular lens, and it is an unusually noisy one. I even have had it serviced several times. One time they replaced the focus helicoid and lubricated the gearing. But the noise was more or less the same.

I note that it's the camera here but don't know if I would self-lubricate it...

 

[primeshooter]

I have a D810, D800 and Df. I recently acquired a Nikon 85mm f/1.4D and when using it on my D810 and D800 it exhibits the sort of AF noise I've heard before - it's neither silent or overly noisy. On my Df however it produces a pronounced whistling noise when the motor drives the AF anti-clockwise and it's irritatingly loud.

I was thinking about trying to treat the motor with a small amount of silicon lubricant to deal with the noise, which is most definitely generated by the body rather than the lens. Has anyone done this before, is it even recommended?

Hi Russ, I own that particular lens, and it is an unusually noisy one. I even have had it serviced several times. One time they replaced the focus helicoid and lubricated the gearing. But the noise was more or less the same.

I note that it's the camera here but don't know if I would self-lubricate it...

 

[MisterHairy]

Sounds like impact damage to me.

 

[russbarnes]

As below:

"I have tested our Df against other cameras (D4s, D750 etc) on a D lens and I can admit that the noise of the AF motor is slightly different, with a kind of "whistling" when focusing anticlockwise.

It seems therefore that this is common to this model, and may be due to a different motor, gearbox, but also camera chassis not damping the sound as well as other cameras.

Also, I cannot recommend to use any lubrication as we cannot tell which part of the AF transmission is actually generating the noise, would it benefit from the extra lubricant and most importantly whether the substance you are planning to use will contaminate other components in the result (i.e. the AF sensor) or even damage internal parts due to chemical reaction.

If you feel that your Df may be faulty, I can only recommend to send it to us for testing and possible adjustment / repair."

I'll be holding onto mine as a result but the noise is somewhat irritating. I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this previously.

 

[Marianne Oelund]

As below:

"I have tested our Df against other cameras (D4s, D750 etc) on a D lens and I can admit that the noise of the AF motor is slightly different, with a kind of "whistling" when focusing anticlockwise.

It seems therefore that this is common to this model, and may be due to a different motor, gearbox, but also camera chassis not damping the sound as well as other cameras.

Also, I cannot recommend to use any lubrication as we cannot tell which part of the AF transmission is actually generating the noise, would it benefit from the extra lubricant and most importantly whether the substance you are planning to use will contaminate other components in the result (i.e. the AF sensor) or even damage internal parts due to chemical reaction.

If you feel that your Df may be faulty, I can only recommend to send it to us for testing and possible adjustment / repair."

I'll be holding onto mine as a result but the noise is somewhat irritating. I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this previously.

That is an excellent response from Nikon, showing that they actually took the time to run their own comparison for your benefit. I could only dream of receiving this level of customer service from Nikon USA.

I agree with their points regarding adding lubrication. There is probably reduction gearing between the motor and the visible output shaft, so disassembly would reasonably be required in order to apply any lubricant.

 

[russbarnes]

As below:

"I have tested our Df against other cameras (D4s, D750 etc) on a D lens and I can admit that the noise of the AF motor is slightly different, with a kind of "whistling" when focusing anticlockwise.

It seems therefore that this is common to this model, and may be due to a different motor, gearbox, but also camera chassis not damping the sound as well as other cameras.

Also, I cannot recommend to use any lubrication as we cannot tell which part of the AF transmission is actually generating the noise, would it benefit from the extra lubricant and most importantly whether the substance you are planning to use will contaminate other components in the result (i.e. the AF sensor) or even damage internal parts due to chemical reaction.

If you feel that your Df may be faulty, I can only recommend to send it to us for testing and possible adjustment / repair."

I'll be holding onto mine as a result but the noise is somewhat irritating. I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this previously.

That is an excellent response from Nikon, showing that they actually took the time to run their own comparison for your benefit. I could only dream of receiving this level of customer service from Nikon USA.

I agree with their points regarding adding lubrication. There is probably reduction gearing between the motor and the visible output shaft, so disassembly would reasonably be required in order to apply any lubricant.

 

[bflood]

My first question would be "do you have another screw-drive lens you can try?" If you get the same noises when using a different lens, it's the camera. If you don't get the noise, it's the lens.

And I agree whole heartedly with Nikon about not oiling it yourself. The lubricants used in lenses don't evaporate and drain off, so any noise generated in the lens is most likely due to some outside substance getting inside - adding an oil won't solve the problem if the contaminant isn't cleaned out. Plus, of course, you run the risk of getting oil in places where you never want it.

If you lived in Las Vegas, I'd be glad to let you try a couple of my lenses to see what happens. Actually, if you just VISIT Las Vegas, I be glad to help. If you have or can beg/borrow the use of a screwdriver lens, that should tell you where the problem lies. Whether it's enough of a problem to motivate you to send it to Nikon is a decision only you can make.

 

[primeshooter]

As below:

"I have tested our Df against other cameras (D4s, D750 etc) on a D lens and I can admit that the noise of the AF motor is slightly different, with a kind of "whistling" when focusing anticlockwise.

It seems therefore that this is common to this model, and may be due to a different motor, gearbox, but also camera chassis not damping the sound as well as other cameras.

Also, I cannot recommend to use any lubrication as we cannot tell which part of the AF transmission is actually generating the noise, would it benefit from the extra lubricant and most importantly whether the substance you are planning to use will contaminate other components in the result (i.e. the AF sensor) or even damage internal parts due to chemical reaction.

If you feel that your Df may be faulty, I can only recommend to send it to us for testing and possible adjustment / repair."

I'll be holding onto mine as a result but the noise is somewhat irritating. I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this previously.

That is an excellent response from Nikon, showing that they actually took the time to run their own comparison for your benefit. I could only dream of receiving this level of customer service from Nikon USA.

I agree with their points regarding adding lubrication. There is probably reduction gearing between the motor and the visible output shaft, so disassembly would reasonably be required in order to apply any lubricant.

 

[MRM4350]

I have three AF-D lenses that I use almost exclusively on my Df, and D7000. They all sound the same on either camera. The 24-85 has a whinier sound going from infinity to close than when going the other way, and it sounds the same on both bodies.

50 f/1.8, 35-70 f/2.8, and 24-85 f/2.8-4.

 

[russbarnes]

I have three AF-D lenses that I use almost exclusively on my Df, and D7000. They all sound the same on either camera. The 24-85 has a whinier sound going from infinity to close than when going the other way, and it sounds the same on both bodies.

50 f/1.8, 35-70 f/2.8, and 24-85 f/2.8-4.