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Hiya folks,
I'm overseas on holiday and have been eyeing off a 28-70mm f/2.8 that is sitting at the local Nikon dealer.

The lens emits a high pitched squeak when focussing.
Test images seem fine - in that the focus isnt out of whack. Images are sharp.
This is the only one they have, otherwise I'd just get another.
Could it be the body? I was only using the stores display D200.

Found a few threads on Photonet boards, some suggest it is from a lack of use and is 'self healing'.
The sales guy seemed distraught when I pointed out the problem. Not sure if I will be able to get an answer from the local repair tech.
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Ic6n
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00AfCO
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BWwV

Would appreciate any comments on what I should do... Thanks in advance.

There should not be any noise. I would not buy a noisy one, that's for sure.
Cheers,
Gerard

Not sure where you are overseas but some ppl have told me if it is not a reputable dealer.... then on some occasions it may be a reconditioned lens... and they are offloading as a new lens.

My experience tells me if a lens is not operating right the first time, probably best to just pick up another or move onto the next shop.

Just making things right, that is the AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8 lens right?

When I got mine, it works perfectly and produces very near silent and immediate focusing.

One of my lens had very pitch squeak, but it is an old 300mm prime AF lens. The squeak came from the gear drive mechanism which the lubrication seem to be drying off. Tho nothing much is wrong with the lens, it produced sharp and precise focused photographs.

I'm not sure for AFS lenses, I don't think they run on gear drives but coil motors. It might be something with the lube, but better let a service centre find out.

Tho, if it happened on brand new, and you have a receipt. Just go into the local Nikon service centre and ask for what is going on to be sure of it.

el nino wrote:Hiya folks,
<Snip> 28-70mm f/2.8 that is sitting at the local Nikon dealer.

The lens emits a high pitched squeak when focussing.
<snip>
Could it be the body? I was only using the stores display D200.

<snip> some suggest it is from a lack of use and is 'self healing'.

Mine doesn't emit any unusual or disturbing noise so I would safely assume that none of them should if they are brand new and in good working order. perhaps this is not new or has had a rough life as a demo model. Maybe it's been handled heavily or even dropped. If it's 'squeaking' then it is out of alignment and should be avoided, no matter how much you want it.

Resist the urge to buy it if you are in doubt as to it's serviceability.

It could be the camera so you should try it with your camera instead. I doubt this though.

There is no such thing as self healing with electronics. There are varying degrees of broken. Some make noise and others don't. Some make noise at first and then it goes away. That doesn't mean it's fixed. It means you can't hear it broken any more. Trust me, electronics is my career and this paragraph is based on many years experience.

Enjoy your holiday

Thanks heaps guys. Appreciate all the comments.
Sometimes its nice to be told that I'm not the only anal one. I was shocked about the noise.

I'll take in my own camera body in on Monday, but I doubt it is the body, the noise was from the lens and I tried a 17-55 (SWM) and 85mm (no silent motor) in store, which were both silent.

Was dubious about the 'self healing' nature of the lens from comments about people exercising the lens for a few minutes to get rid of the noise. I dont believe that one should drop money on a new item (cheap or expensive) for it to be compromised.

Regarding the dealer:
Its in Sri Lanka, and I've bought stuff from them in the past. I trust the manager and he assured me the lens was new, and had been in a dry box in the back of the shop. So I dont think anything dodgy is going on.

Killakoala wrote:Enjoy your holiday

Thanks dude. Visiting my folks and its always nice to see them. Situation the country is crap though.

Factor in around $AU800-900 for replacing the about to be borked silent wave motor. Is it still a bargain?