My lens and battery grip finally repaired - after 4 months!

They sure don't make camera stuff the way they used to. Worse, it takes ages to get seemingly straightforward repairs done!

Last year in September, my Nikon AF-S DX VR ED 18-200 F3.5-5.6G developed a peculiar problem - I could not focus under around 1 meter at 18mm. Though the minimum focus distance is 0.5 meters, the focus ring just gets stuck somewhere around 1 meter. Even rotating the ring doesn't move it closer to 0.5 meters (thanks to the SWM mechanism, there's no "bite" between the focus ring and the actual focus mechanism). At tele, the lens focuses down to 0.5 meters. Thus, the need to send in for a seemingly straightforward repair.

Next, the white plastic latch that holds the left battery in place in the battery grip of my D200 somehow broke. I know that it's plastic and plastic is far from indestructible, but then, I don't use my camera in an aggressive manner or hostile environment. I'm usually shooting events (annual dinner, weddings), sports (from the safety of the sidelines) or people (lately, my baby girl). Not knowing how it broke, it's still broken nonetheless, so time to send in for repair as well.

Now, I sent my lens and battery grip for repair on 3 September 2008. To cut a long repetitive story of how I called to follow up, Nikon staff say they'll call me back but never do, I call again, and so on, I only managed to get my stuff back last Saturday. That's 5 months (to be honest, it was ready two weeks ago, but I was not free to pick it up). Never did figure out why it took so long.

I was charged ~ RM1000 for the lens repair and ~RM200 for the battery grip (~RM200 to change the plastic tab that holds the battery in place). Exactly why was I charged RM1K for the lens repair? Apparently, they had to:-

1. Replace the VR unit
2. Replace the VR FPC
3. Replace the SWM
4. Replace the 2nd Group Tube

Now, I may not be a camera engineer, but from the looks of the above, I'd say they'd probably be better off throwing away my lens and getting me a new one. Once again, I have no idea what kind of handling can cause practically every functional component of the lens to malfunction at the same time! Don't tell me the longer the name of the lens, the more things there are to break down!

I was quite upset - I was planning to get a D700 for Christmas, but due to this incident, I have put my plan on hold until my faith in Nikon returns. Now, the 18-200 may not be a top-of-the-line pro lens, but at RM2K+, it's not exactly a budget lens either. I just came back from South Korea, where my D200 and Tamron 17-50mm survived temperatures as low as -18C (then again, so did my Panasonic Lumix FX-520). Wonder if the 18-200 would have made it back alive...?

I am not bashing Nikon, merely stating the facts. I have been an avid supporter of the Nikon brand of Digital Cameras and DSLRs, ever since my first digital camera (Coolpix 775). However, the reliability and durability of their gear, and their quality of support leaves me wanting. Not to mention the high costs involved.

Option now:-

1. Ditch Nikon for good, through that will mean starting again from scratch, switch to the "white lens" side?
2. Stick with Nikon, and write off this incident as "expensive bad luck experience", and get myself a D700 soon?

See how it goes....