Something loose inside Nikkor 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 G ED lens

[Fuzzy Focus]

I have a well used AFS Nikkor 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 G ED lens. There is something loose inside the lens. Especially when zoomed out to 200mm, when I press the shutter button to autofocus there is an audible "clunk" sound and the image will shift downward a few degrees. The resulting photos will have black vignette shapes in the two upper corners. The lens normally had some vignetting at longer focal lengths. These two black shapes are new. Obviously something that is involved with the autofocus mechanism has broken or come loose. Is this something that can be fixed by Nikon? Thanks for any advice!

 

[briantilley]

I have a well used AFS Nikkor 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 G ED lens. There is something loose inside the lens. Especially when zoomed out to 200mm, when I press the shutter button to autofocus there is an audible "clunk" sound and the image will shift downward a few degrees. The resulting photos will have black vignette shapes in the two upper corners. The lens normally had some vignetting at longer focal lengths. These two black shapes are new. Obviously something that is involved with the autofocus mechanism has broken or come loose. Is this something that can be fixed by Nikon? Thanks for any advice!

It seems more likely that there is a fault with the VR system in your lens. It's probably worth having the lens looked at by a reputable servicing agent.

 

[Craftsman70]

It seems like a common problem with the 18-200's that the VR flat cable inside the lens comes loose after a few years (held in place by double-sided tape!) causing the cable to become damaged and affect the functionality of the VR system.

I have one now that has that problem.

 

[jshen808]

Try switching "off" the VR on the lens,

and see if this eliminates the sounds.













..

Cheers!

--
....................Cheers, John.....................
.....If I don't respond to your post,.....
...it means you're on my ignore list...

 

[johnchap2]

Rather than worry a lot about it, buy a used one in good condition from a reliable seller. Or take this opportunity to replace it with a better lens. Like old cars and old refrigerators, lenses and cameras do go bad and are far cheaper to replace than repair.

 

[Craftsman70]

Rather than worry a lot about it, buy a used one in good condition from a reliable seller. Or take this opportunity to replace it with a better lens. Like old cars and old refrigerators, lenses and cameras do go bad and are far cheaper to replace than repair.

Each lens is a little different... the OP might have gotten a great copy of the 18-200 (which is hard to do) and may want to hold on to it. With a replacement, even if it is listed in good condition and the seller is reliable, the OP might not get one that is equally good or have other non-disclosed issues only to be discovered after a few weeks of use.

 

[Peter in Canberra]

It seems like a common problem with the 18-200's that the VR flat cable inside the lens comes loose after a few years (held in place by double-sided tape!) causing the cable to become damaged and affect the functionality of the VR system.

I have one now that has that problem.

please tell me that isn't so! While not a pro lens, this is not a cheap lens either. For something that costs Aust$1000 I would be pretty disappointed if that is the level of construction. Reduces my faith in big tech companies even further.

 

[Craftsman70]

It seems like a common problem with the 18-200's that the VR flat cable inside the lens comes loose after a few years (held in place by double-sided tape!) causing the cable to become damaged and affect the functionality of the VR system.

I have one now that has that problem.

please tell me that isn't so! While not a pro lens, this is not a cheap lens either. For something that costs Aust$1000 I would be pretty disappointed if that is the level of construction. Reduces my faith in big tech companies even further.

Trust me when I say I'm disappointed as well!

Here's a thread on the subject of replacing the cable - https://www.clubsnap.com/threads/fixing-a-vr-problem.694049/. You can see in post 12/13 where the cable is and the broken cable removed.

In the following 18-200 disassembly video due to this issue, you can clearly see the problem at this bookmarked spot in the video -

 

[Fuzzy Focus]

Thank you all for your feedback. It's disappointing, but I did get a good 10 or 11 years out of that lens. I may still see if I can get a repair quote. I do really like the lens, it's a good walk about lens. The zoom range is nice. I've been considering getting a new camera body, so it'll be one or the other, I guess.

 

[jshen808]

Thank you all for your feedback. It's disappointing, but I did get a good 10 or 11 years out of that lens. I may still see if I can get a repair quote. I do really like the lens, it's a good walk about lens. The zoom range is nice. I've been considering getting a new camera body, so it'll be one or the other, I guess.

The 18-200mm lens works good with my D7500 20.9mp camera,

but the lens doesn't work as well with my D3300 24.2mp camera.

Cheers!

 

[Sagittarius]

Thank you all for your feedback. It's disappointing, but I did get a good 10 or 11 years out of that lens. I may still see if I can get a repair quote. I do really like the lens, it's a good walk about lens. The zoom range is nice. I've been considering getting a new camera body, so it'll be one or the other, I guess.

The 18-200mm lens works good with my D7500 20.9mp camera,

but the lens doesn't work as well with my D3300 24.2mp camera.

Cheers!

Maybe it needs some tuning for D3300. The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

 

[jshen808]

Thank you all for your feedback. It's disappointing, but I did get a good 10 or 11 years out of that lens. I may still see if I can get a repair quote. I do really like the lens, it's a good walk about lens. The zoom range is nice. I've been considering getting a new camera body, so it'll be one or the other, I guess.

The 18-200mm lens works good with my D7500 20.9mp camera,

but the lens doesn't work as well with my D3300 24.2mp camera.

Cheers!

Maybe it needs some tuning for D3300. The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

Nope.

I originally purchased my 18-200mm lens to use with my D40 6.1mp camera,

and the resulting images from the combo was good & sharp with good focus.

..

Also regarding "fine-tuning", the D3300 camera does not have that feature.

..

Again, with my D7500 camera, no "fine-tuning" was needed, yielded good results.

..

Below are a few "out-of-camera" images from my 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera,

they are jpegs extracted from within the raw files, my extractor did not save the exif.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.

--

Cheers!
....................Cheers, John.....................
.....If I don't respond to your post,.....
...it means you're on my ignore list...

 

[jshen808]

..The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

While on paper it does not seem to be that big of a difference.

But to my copy of the 18-200mm lens, it was very noticeable.

..

Maybe someone with their D7200 24.2mp camera and 18-200mm can chime in,

to show some "out-of-camera" pictures without post processings for us to see.

..

Cheers!

--
....................Cheers, John.....................
.....If I don't respond to your post,.....
...it means you're on my ignore list...

 

[Sagittarius]

Thank you all for your feedback. It's disappointing, but I did get a good 10 or 11 years out of that lens. I may still see if I can get a repair quote. I do really like the lens, it's a good walk about lens. The zoom range is nice. I've been considering getting a new camera body, so it'll be one or the other, I guess.

The 18-200mm lens works good with my D7500 20.9mp camera,

but the lens doesn't work as well with my D3300 24.2mp camera.

Cheers!

Maybe it needs some tuning for D3300. The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

Nope.

I originally purchased my 18-200mm lens to use with my D40 6.1mp camera,

and the resulting images from the combo was good & sharp with good focus.

..

Also regarding "fine-tuning", the D3300 camera does not have that feature.

You can always send camera and lens or lens itself to Nikon for tuning if needed.

..

Again, with my D7500 camera, no "fine-tuning" was needed, yielded good results.

..

Below are a few "out-of-camera" images from my 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera,

they are jpegs extracted from within the raw files, my extractor did not save the exif.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.


Nikon 18-200mm lens & D7500 camera combo.

I am still not convinced that 21 MP vs. 24 MP will provide a difference in sharpness. I could see it happening with 36MP.

But this argument is useless without controlled tests.

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Best regards

 

[jshen808]

Actually, I did send my D3300 camera to Nikon Repair for them to check the focus accuracy on my camera.

Currently, my D3300 camera is paired with the Nikon 10-20mm lens, and shoots fine.

Sensor resolution & lens resolving is something I won't get into discussing, because there are way too many opinions.

Everyone just have to rely on their own personal experiences, to live & learn, and not get into theories of discussions.

..

Cheers!

--
....................Cheers, John.....................
.....If I don't respond to your post,.....
...it means you're on my ignore list...

 

[Fuzzy Focus]

I just saw that the Nikon repair facility in Los Angeles is closed in compliance with COVID19 safety directives. I live in northern Santa Barbara county, so the LA facility would have been the one I would send my lens for repair - I don't want to send the lens all the way to New York. So I guess I'll just have to wait until things open up again, some day.... Or maybe I'll buy a new camera!

FYI - Nikon's New York repair center is still open, but with safety restrictions.

Thanks for all of your responses and feedback. I appreciate it very much.

 

[ovrebekk]

..The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

While on paper it does not seem to be that big of a difference.

But to my copy of the 18-200mm lens, it was very noticeable.

..

Maybe someone with their D7200 24.2mp camera and 18-200mm can chime in,

to show some "out-of-camera" pictures without post processings for us to see.

..

Cheers!

24.2MP offers an increase in linear resolution of less than 8% compared to a 20.9MP sensor.

Hence I would agree that if you can easily see a difference there is something more at play than just the difference in resolution, such as differences in focus, sharpness settings etc between the cameras.

 

[jshen808]

..The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

While on paper it does not seem to be that big of a difference.

But to my copy of the 18-200mm lens, it was very noticeable.

..

Maybe someone with their D7200 24.2mp camera and 18-200mm can chime in,

to show some "out-of-camera" pictures without post processings for us to see.

..

Cheers!

24.2MP offers an increase in linear resolution of less than 8% compared to a 20.9MP sensor.

Hence I would agree that if you can easily see a difference there is something more at play than just the difference in resolution, such as differences in focus, sharpness settings etc between the cameras.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers!

 

[ovrebekk]

..The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

While on paper it does not seem to be that big of a difference.

But to my copy of the 18-200mm lens, it was very noticeable.

..

Maybe someone with their D7200 24.2mp camera and 18-200mm can chime in,

to show some "out-of-camera" pictures without post processings for us to see.

..

Cheers!

24.2MP offers an increase in linear resolution of less than 8% compared to a 20.9MP sensor.

Hence I would agree that if you can easily see a difference there is something more at play than just the difference in resolution, such as differences in focus, sharpness settings etc between the cameras.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers!

You welcome

 

[jshen808]

..The difference between 24.2 and 20.9 is not that big.

While on paper it does not seem to be that big of a difference.

But to my copy of the 18-200mm lens, it was very noticeable.

..

Maybe someone with their D7200 24.2mp camera and 18-200mm can chime in,

to show some "out-of-camera" pictures without post processings for us to see.

..

Cheers!

24.2MP offers an increase in linear resolution of less than 8% compared to a 20.9MP sensor.

Hence I would agree that if you can easily see a difference there is something more at play than just the difference in resolution, such as differences in focus, sharpness settings etc between the cameras.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers!

You welcome

I'll give you a hint,

it's not the sensors resolution,

it's actually the lenses resolving.

Cheers again!