600TC Lens collar freely rotates after drop

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foxysport said:
I would still treat this carefully and not assume that the (mostly) mechanical issue you are experiencing is the whole story. In my case, the whole combination of Z9+600TC was 'working' but focusing was behaving erratically (YMMV). It turned out the very expensive aperture focusing unit was broken and that was the part that required the longest waiting time to order, rebuild the whole thing, and re-calibrate. It is delicate machinery that (a mental note for myself) needs to be checked regularly as well.

The best of luck Marcus!
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Ouch, that is not good, a real heart sinker of a moment! Thanks, this is pretty much the biggest investment I have ever made, so you can bet I am taking it all very seriously. I will report back here with outcomes as I know more. Ringing Grays at 10am this morning...
 
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So.. I ring Grays this morning who tell me I need to send it to DK AVS Ltd, another Nikon repair centre. After using their Live chat to speak to someone (no telephone number, which always starts me worrying!) they tell me to send it in to the Nikon Repair Centre (UK) obviously this would then be outsourced to a Nikon repair centre of their choosing. Not a great customer experience, the guy in Grays said they'd had issues with Fixation, but then went on to talk about them being a competitor, as linked to WEX. Anyway, I spoke to a human being at Fixation, and awaiting pick up tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes once I get an update after Wednesday..
 
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Marcus said:
So.. I ring Grays this morning who tell me I need to send it to DK AVS Ltd, another Nikon repair centre. After using their Live chat to speak to someone (no telephone number, which always starts me worrying!) they tell me to send it in to the Nikon Repair Centre (UK) obviously this would then be outsourced to a Nikon repair centre of their choosing. Not a great customer experience, the guy in Grays said they'd had issues with Fixation, but then went on to talk about them being a competitor, as linked to WEX. Anyway, I spoke to a human being at Fixation, and awaiting pick up tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes once I get an update after Wednesday..
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Grays always used to use Fixation for their repair work and I suspect that the WEX take over is the reason they don't now. I've used Fixation several times and have always had great service - once they only took 1 day!!

I used to live near their Vauxhall branch. The other advantage is that now you can drop off and collect from any WEX branch.
 
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dabhand16 said:
Grays always used to use Fixation for their repair work and I suspect that the WEX take over is the reason they don't now. I've used Fixation several times and have always had great service - once they only took 1 day!!

I used to live near their Vauxhall branch. The other advantage is that now you can drop off and collect from any WEX branch.
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Thanks Graham, my experience from this forum and beyond is they have a decent reputation, so I wasn't ready to use an unkown quantity. especially as there was no one 'manning' a phone in . I like direct contact with a human these days, especially with something of this nature..
 
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Assuming you've tried to remove the lens from the camera. I dropped my Z9 with the 500 pf on it and thought I got away with some scuffs, until a few days later tried to remove the lens and it was, along with a TC stuck.... Anyway, definitely, as others have said send the gear to Nikon (I'd send the camera too re the integrity of the lens mount), once (as I'm reading above) you figure out just where to send it with some confidence!
 
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ssheipel said:
Assuming you've tried to remove the lens from the camera. I dropped my Z9 with the 500 pf on it and thought I got away with some scuffs, until a few days later tried to remove the lens and it was, along with a TC stuck.... Anyway, definitely, as others have said send the gear to Nikon (I'd send the camera too re the integrity of the lens mount), once (as I'm reading above) you figure out just where to send it with some confidence!
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Thanks Steven, it is in transit with DPD to Fixation in London, who should receive it tomorrow. I checked IBIS, manual and autofocus, engaged and disengaged the TC, looked very closely at the lens mount on the camera and the connection on the lens, all looked OK and no sign of visible breakage, cracks or fractures etc. I carried on shooting after the fact, and have gone on to process many of the images, and they are all absolutely fine. Hopefully not too long a wait now for parts on the repair side of things

Marcus
 
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So a quick update from Fixation re the repair. Estimate is in as below - Take away from this? Don't drop your s**t! Praying they have the parts in stock, and not too much by way of a wait - Insurance company have been informed..

TRIPOD ATTACHING RING UNIT£330.941£330.94
TRIPOD KNOB UNIT£86.921£86.92
SCREW£2.991£2.99
PIN£3.381£3.38
WASHER£4.511£4.51
NAME PLATE£113.271£113.27
SCREW£3.672£7.34
MOUNT£90.261£90.26
Labour£345.601£345.60
Estimate total: £985.21
 
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wotan1 said:
Better than replacing it but ouch.

Will they raise your insurance premium if you make the claim?
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Not sure, I only started the insurance at the beginning of the year, so there well may be a sting in the tail. But I do pay the excess of £500 - Will also update on this as and when
 
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My repair job was noticeably more expensive but yeah, the above added up to a tidy sum for you--sorry to hear.

Sigh, yeah, each time I go out now with this, especially swinging the equipment around in my hands plus stepping on anything uneven or slippery is something I now do with full attention, but still no guarantees sadly.
 
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foxysport said:
My repair job was noticeably more expensive but yeah, the above added up to a tidy sum for you--sorry to hear.

Sigh, yeah, each time I go out now with this, especially swinging the equipment around in my hands plus stepping on anything uneven or slippery is something I now do with full attention, but still no guarantees sadly.
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Yes I went through all the stages of grief after it happened! 😤😂
 
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foxysport said:
I went: "oh no no NO NO!"
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It is gut wrenching isn't it. I was in the middle of quite a few personal projects as well, so having to shelve those has hurt a bit. Photography is my de-stresser and my escape route from work and 'normality' as it is for many of us, so I guess I will have to just spend the time annoying my family until it is returned! 😆
 
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Still no sign of part from Nikon - It will be two weeks this Tuesday.

A question regarding the breakdown of labour fixation sent me. I noticed they state set up and recalibrate and check & clean, as part of the overall service. Am I correct in thinking Nikon Z Series lenses do not need calibration, and is reserved for F Mount lenses? This slightly concerned me as I wouldn't want them faffing about with re calibration if not necessary. Thought?

Thanks
 
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I think you’re right in that z lenses should not need calibration. I wonder if they said that as they’ll feel they need to check the lens after repairing it. As Dave mentioned in reply #2 there may be internal damage.
 
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Patrick M said:
I think you’re right in that z lenses should not need calibration. I wonder if they said that as they’ll feel they need to check the lens after repairing it. As Dave mentioned in reply #2 there may be internal damage.
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Thanks Patrick, yes that is possibly the case - I will check with the technician tomorrow exactly what they mean by this..
 
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Marcus said:
Still no sign of part from Nikon - It will be two weeks this Tuesday.

A question regarding the breakdown of labour fixation sent me. I noticed they state set up and recalibrate and check & clean, as part of the overall service. Am I correct in thinking Nikon Z Series lenses do not need calibration, and is reserved for F Mount lenses? This slightly concerned me as I wouldn't want them faffing about with re calibration if not necessary. Thought?

Thanks
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There’s calibration on an optical test bench that involves aligning lens groups under collimated light and then there’s AF Fine Tuning that can be done by end users in the field. The latter shouldn’t be needed for Z lenses, the former is needed for all complex optics especially after a lens has been dropped.
 
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DRwyoming said:
There’s calibration on an optical test bench that involves aligning lens groups under collimated light and then there’s AF Fine Tuning that can be done by end users in the field. The latter shouldn’t be needed for Z lenses, the former is needed for all complex optics especially after a lens has been dropped.
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Fantastic, thanks for clarifying Dave. I can now go into the call well equipped!
 
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Marcus said:
Still no sign of part from Nikon - It will be two weeks this Tuesday.

A question regarding the breakdown of labour fixation sent me. I noticed they state set up and recalibrate and check & clean, as part of the overall service. Am I correct in thinking Nikon Z Series lenses do not need calibration, and is reserved for F Mount lenses? This slightly concerned me as I wouldn't want them faffing about with re calibration if not necessary. Thought?

Thanks
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Any lens needs calibration in case lens elements had been removed during repair or elements may have shifted laterally or longitudinally due to the impact.
The question is what they mean by "recalibration".
I's guess it's a general term they are using to say: We tested the lens (and we cleaned it).
Replacing the broken tripod attachment would actually not require any calibration.
However, minimal changes to the distance from the last lens element to the flange are imaginable.
 
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Krümelkraft said:
Any lens needs calibration in case lens elements had been removed during repair or elements may have shifted laterally or longitudinally due to the impact.
The question is what they mean by "recalibration".
I's guess it's a general term they are using to say: We tested the lens (and we cleaned it).
Replacing the broken tripod attachment would actually not require any calibration.
However, minimal changes to the distance from the last lens element to the flange are imaginable.
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Hi Krümelkraft,

I just got off the phone with Fixation, and the very helpful lady there rang through to the technician, who reported back it is just a general term to ensure it was tested as you said above.

The frustrating thing is that all the parts are in minus the knob that tightens the collar down. Frustratingly close!! She said she'd keep me in the loop if it appears in their orders.

Marcus
 
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Marcus said:
Hi Krümelkraft,

I just got off the phone with Fixation, and the very helpful lady there rang through to the technician, who reported back it is just a general term to ensure it was tested as you said above.

The frustrating thing is that all the parts are in minus the knob that tightens the collar down. Frustratingly close!! She said she'd keep me in the loop if it appears in their orders.

Marcus
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That's frustrating.
I guess the know was broken? Otherwise they could use the old one^^

And why the heck would they replace the name plate? Just to make money?
 
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