Nikkor 18-200 VR DX Zoom problem

As a Canon devotee, I said I would post this query from my D200-owning
friend (Greater love hath no man than this ... {:-)

He bought a new Nikkor 18-200 VR DX lens for his D200, but it has an
annoying problem. If he tilts the camera down to check the lcd screen,
the zoom falls forward to the long end under its own weight. A second
lens, after much hassle with the suppliers, was obtained - which did
exactly the same. If he checks the screen, or if he is shooting at an
appreciable down angle, the lens slides out to full zoom all by itself.

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not
fixable, period.

Colin D.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On 19/02/2007 4:41 AM, Colin_D wrote:

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not
fixable, period.

Thom Hogan says in his review of this lens:

"I should note that some users claim it is loose and subject to zoom
creep; that isn't the case on my sample."

Colin_D wrote:

As a Canon devotee, I said I would post this query from my D200-owning
friend (Greater love hath no man than this ... {:-)

He bought a new Nikkor 18-200 VR DX lens for his D200, but it has an
annoying problem. If he tilts the camera down to check the lcd screen,
the zoom falls forward to the long end under its own weight. A second
lens, after much hassle with the suppliers, was obtained - which did
exactly the same. If he checks the screen, or if he is shooting at an
appreciable down angle, the lens slides out to full zoom all by itself.

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not
fixable, period.

Yes, I think that's normal behavior. Some copies will be a bit more
stiff when new but still loosen up with use.

"Colin_D" wrote in message
.. .
As a Canon devotee, I said I would post this query from my D200-owning
friend (Greater love hath no man than this ... {:-)

He bought a new Nikkor 18-200 VR DX lens for his D200, but it has an
annoying problem. If he tilts the camera down to check the lcd screen, the
zoom falls forward to the long end under its own weight. A second lens,
after much hassle with the suppliers, was obtained - which did exactly the
same. If he checks the screen, or if he is shooting at an appreciable
down angle, the lens slides out to full zoom all by itself.

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not fixable,
period.

Colin D.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Rubber band. Problem solved.

"Rudy Benner" wrote in message
...

"Colin_D" wrote in message
.. .
As a Canon devotee, I said I would post this query from my D200-owning
friend (Greater love hath no man than this ... {:-)

He bought a new Nikkor 18-200 VR DX lens for his D200, but it has an
annoying problem. If he tilts the camera down to check the lcd screen,
the zoom falls forward to the long end under its own weight. A second
lens, after much hassle with the suppliers, was obtained - which did
exactly the same. If he checks the screen, or if he is shooting at an
appreciable down angle, the lens slides out to full zoom all by itself.

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not fixable,
period.

Colin D.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Rubber band. Problem solved.

I have the same lens, and find the lens creep the only annoying behavior of
the lens. Otherwise, it is a joy to use. I'm interested in the rubber band
solution you refer to. Could you please elaborate on the size of rubber
band you use for this fix and exactly where on the lens you place the band?

Thanks.

This is fairly common behavior for this lens. If you have it zoomed all the
way back to 18mm, it typically doesn't creep, but if you zoom out any at all
past 18, and point it down, it will probably creep out toward the high endof
the zoom.

To avoid this while carrying the camera, just zoom back to 18mm or use the
rubber band solution mentioned earlier.

"RG" wrote in message
m...

"Rudy Benner" wrote in message
...

"Colin_D" wrote in message
.. .
As a Canon devotee, I said I would post this query from my D200-owning
friend (Greater love hath no man than this ... {:-)

He bought a new Nikkor 18-200 VR DX lens for his D200, but it has an
annoying problem. If he tilts the camera down to check the lcd screen,
the zoom falls forward to the long end under its own weight. A second
lens, after much hassle with the suppliers, was obtained - which did
exactly the same. If he checks the screen, or if he is shooting at an
appreciable down angle, the lens slides out to full zoom all by itself.

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not
fixable,
period.

Colin D.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Rubber band. Problem solved.

I have the same lens, and find the lens creep the only annoying behavior
of
the lens. Otherwise, it is a joy to use. I'm interested in the rubber
band
solution you refer to. Could you please elaborate on the size of rubber
band you use for this fix and exactly where on the lens you place the
band?

Thanks.

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:41:50 +1300, Colin_D wrote:

He bought a new Nikkor 18-200 VR DX lens for his D200, but it has an
annoying problem. If he tilts the camera down to check the lcd screen,
the zoom falls forward to the long end under its own weight. A second

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not
fixable, period.

It is characteristic of the lens. But Nikon claims if you send it in they
will fix it. I haven't gotten around to sending mine in, as I'd rather not
be without it for a few weeks. Though I suppose in the dead of winter is a
good time.

Don www.donwiss.com/pictures/ (e-mail link at page bottoms).

"RG" wrote in message
m...

"Rudy Benner" wrote in message
...

"Colin_D" wrote in message
.. .
As a Canon devotee, I said I would post this query from my D200-owning
friend (Greater love hath no man than this ... {:-)

He bought a new Nikkor 18-200 VR DX lens for his D200, but it has an
annoying problem. If he tilts the camera down to check the lcd screen,
the zoom falls forward to the long end under its own weight. A second
lens, after much hassle with the suppliers, was obtained - which did
exactly the same. If he checks the screen, or if he is shooting at an
appreciable down angle, the lens slides out to full zoom all by itself.

Does anyone know if this is characteristic of this lens, or know of a
reasonable fix, short of rubber bands? The agents say it is not
fixable, period.

Colin D.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Rubber band. Problem solved.

I have the same lens, and find the lens creep the only annoying behavior
of the lens. Otherwise, it is a joy to use. I'm interested in the rubber
band solution you refer to. Could you please elaborate on the size of
rubber band you use for this fix and exactly where on the lens you place
the band?

Thanks.


Look at the lens, see the window that shows the distance setting, you want
to have a fairly loose fitting elastic band just ahead of that, it will
provide a little friction to discourage zoom creep.

You want it overlapping the edge of the zoom ring and that portion of the
lens immediately behind it. Its the only spot that will work.

The diameter of the lens is about 3 inches, a 2 inch rubber band is just
about right, its about a 1/4 inch wide. Find one that is a nice bright
colour, folks will think its something exotic and will ask you what its for
and where they can get one. Be inventive, lies are more believable than
truth.

Experiment, you will not break anything. If it breaks, replace it, very
cheap.

I carry my camera hanging behind me, I found the lens always zoomed out,
putting on the rubber band solved the problem. Its amazing what a little bit
of rubber can do.

Look at the lens, see the window that shows the distance setting, you want
to have a fairly loose fitting elastic band just ahead of that, it will
provide a little friction to discourage zoom creep.

You want it overlapping the edge of the zoom ring and that portion of the
lens immediately behind it. Its the only spot that will work.

The diameter of the lens is about 3 inches, a 2 inch rubber band is just
about right, its about a 1/4 inch wide. Find one that is a nice bright
colour, folks will think its something exotic and will ask you what its
for and where they can get one. Be inventive, lies are more believable
than truth.

Experiment, you will not break anything. If it breaks, replace it, very
cheap.

I carry my camera hanging behind me, I found the lens always zoomed out,
putting on the rubber band solved the problem. Its amazing what a little
bit of rubber can do.

Thanks for the reply. Since my post, I did a bit of additional research on
the subject. In addition to the rubber band solution, I read about another
solution to the problem using tape. I gave this a try, and it seems to have
solved the problem without a couple of the negative issues associated with
the rubber band solution. The tape solution goes like this:

1. Extend the lens to maximum zoom.

2. Using common household electrician's black tape, cut a length just under
1 1/4".

3. Attach the strip of tape longitudinally (front to back) on the outside
of the inner-most lens barrel (farthest away from the camera body). I
attached mine to the top of the lens

4. I also ran an identical strip 180 degrees around the barrel on the
bottom side, just for symmetry, which may or may not be necessary.

This solution seems to have effectively stopped the zoom creep, without
having any noticeable effect of the zoom action of the lens. The tape
appears to provide just enough friction to stop the creep, but not enough to
impair manual zooming. It offers several benefits over the rubber band
solution, at about the same cost (next to nothing). First, it is virtually
cosmetically invisible, (black on black). Second, there is nothing to get
between your fingers and the lens, so it is functionally invisible as well.
Third, it does not cover either the zoom or focusing numbers on the lens. I
will be monitoring the black tape for signs of wear. If anyone sees any
pitfalls with this solution, I would be happy to hear them.

"RG" wrote in message
...


Look at the lens, see the window that shows the distance setting, you
want to have a fairly loose fitting elastic band just ahead of that, it
will provide a little friction to discourage zoom creep.

You want it overlapping the edge of the zoom ring and that portion of the
lens immediately behind it. Its the only spot that will work.

The diameter of the lens is about 3 inches, a 2 inch rubber band is just
about right, its about a 1/4 inch wide. Find one that is a nice bright
colour, folks will think its something exotic and will ask you what its
for and where they can get one. Be inventive, lies are more believable
than truth.

Experiment, you will not break anything. If it breaks, replace it, very
cheap.

I carry my camera hanging behind me, I found the lens always zoomed out,
putting on the rubber band solved the problem. Its amazing what a little
bit of rubber can do.

Thanks for the reply. Since my post, I did a bit of additional research
on the subject. In addition to the rubber band solution, I read about
another solution to the problem using tape. I gave this a try, and it
seems to have solved the problem without a couple of the negative issues
associated with the rubber band solution. The tape solution goes like
this:

1. Extend the lens to maximum zoom.

2. Using common household electrician's black tape, cut a length just
under 1 1/4".

3. Attach the strip of tape longitudinally (front to back) on the outside
of the inner-most lens barrel (farthest away from the camera body). I
attached mine to the top of the lens

4. I also ran an identical strip 180 degrees around the barrel on the
bottom side, just for symmetry, which may or may not be necessary.

This solution seems to have effectively stopped the zoom creep, without
having any noticeable effect of the zoom action of the lens. The tape
appears to provide just enough friction to stop the creep, but not enough
to impair manual zooming. It offers several benefits over the rubber band
solution, at about the same cost (next to nothing). First, it is
virtually cosmetically invisible, (black on black). Second, there is
nothing to get between your fingers and the lens, so it is functionally
invisible as well. Third, it does not cover either the zoom or focusing
numbers on the lens. I will be monitoring the black tape for signs of
wear. If anyone sees any pitfalls with this solution, I would be happy to
hear them.


Excellent. My only concern would be the tape coming loose and jamming
things. I hate it when things get jammed. Causes gnashing of teeth and
rending of clothes and potty-mouth language.

In addition to black tape, I also have red, blue, white and green tape.
These are used to mark phases. Not hard to guess what I do in my real life.

I will try it.