As you will have read from my previous post, and seen the proof, my all singing and dancing pro lens is not what it’s cracked up to be. In fact, I have had consumer grade £100 Sigma’s that perform better.
Anyway, the service level from Nikon leaves more than a little to be desired.
The lens went to Nikon overnight Monday, arriving Tuesday, after the dealer had spoken to Nikon and informed them that I really needed this lens back by the weekend and that I was a registered Nikon Pro Service user.
Well, the lens arrived Tuesday, where it sat ‘in a crate’ for 24 hours (eek) before it was even booked in. I have now been informed it could be up to 10 days (and that’s working days) before they even look at it. Then it will have to be repaired and shipped back.
This means I could be without the lens for three weeks or more.
I my opinion, as the defect is due to manufacture and poor quality control it should simply be replaced. Nikon’s opinion is that it should be repaired, in their own good time, and if that puts by business in danger then tough.
After all, I can always buy another one – that way I would have a spare to cover these issues. Like I have £1295 sitting around just in case! Hello – there is a recession on.
But, it would seem I have no choice.
I have to say that the service sucks.
So, let my offer some advice to all the readers of this blog.
DON’T BUY NIKON
DON’T TRUST NIKON TO HELP YOU
DON’T EXPECT PROFESSIONAL USER SERVICE TO MEAN ANYTHING OTHER THAN THEY SEND YOU A CHEAP PEN AND NOTEPAD.
CHECK EVERY LENS YOU BUY FOR DISTORTION AND OTHER FAULTS – REGARDLESS OF PRICE AND EXPECTATIONS – QUALITY CONTROL IS LOUSY
OH, AND DON’T BUY NIKON or have I already said that?
WHEN I NEXT UPGRADE – I WON’T BE.
Hi Jan,
I sympathise with your experience of NPS, which sometimes fails to live up to its promise (though I’ve had some good experiences over the years too, to be fair).
Your 24-70 sample looks to be about the same as mine as far as barrel distortion goes. It’s not great in this respect, but it makes up for this little niggle in other areas IMHO. It really is a pretty good lens, by almost any measure – and in some respects it’s outstanding.
While I can understand your frustration, I’d be surprised if similar lenses from other manufacturers are significantly better – or if they are, there’ll be tradeoffs elsewhere. Lens design is all about compromise, after all. I doubt whether barrel distortion is caused by any QC or assembly issues – I’d have thought it’s more likely to be a function of the optical design. But I’m quite prepared to be proved wrong.
Er, and at risk of pouring oil on the fire, can I point out that, contrary to your assertion in your previous post, you actually spotted this problem 6 months ago? This is from your November 08 post about the lens:
“So, is there anything I don’t like?
Well, yes, just one thing. Pincushioning. At 24mm on full frame there is some serious pincushioning. This can be removed in post production…”
Quite so. And so can barrel distortion
It’s a good lens, and if – as you say – you don’t make a habit of shooting straight lines very much it’ll turn in some great results. As for NPS’s shabby customer service, well, that’s a whole different matter…
Thanks for pointing out my error, I did indeed spot it but was not aware just how bad it was until I did some straight line shots. These were then compared with some other examples (from identical lenses owned by fellow photographers) and with a Sigma 24-60 f2.8 (which did indeed cost me £100). The sigma results were significantly better, and the results of direct comparison with fellow lens owners proved that my particular lens had a defect.
Can I point you here http://www.nikond1.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=11111&forum=23&PHPSESSID=80933afe7cbb61fc7f4331e9dbe31cba for a discussion on the lenses issues and some comparison shots (direct with same lens owner by other Nikon users) which illustrates the point. It would appear you also have a ‘lemon’ example.
What gets me Jan is the way Nikon UK rip us off here. The customer service and attitude to my colleagues in Europe is utterly amazing compared to what we see in London. Canon are just as worse, the don’t care that you have £60,000 worth of equipment and spend 4 hours driving through bad traffic to get to them for 10am . . where as go to the service centre in Tokyo where you are greeted with a smile, a 20 day job takes 23 mins and you go away WANTING to pay them, but they insist the job is done for free!!