I said already that I will not cover this issue anymore, unless there is an official word from Nikon. The official word came yesterday from Nikon Europe:
"The 70-200mm f/2.8G ED AF-S VRII lens features a component in the lens design which may appear to have surface pits or a rough texture when viewed through the front lens element. This rough surface appears in a very small confined area within the lens barrel and is caused by air holes remaining in the metal portion of the lens during component construction. Due to the magnifying effect of the front element this rough surface will appear greatly enlarged when viewed through the front of the lens.
This components function is to reduce and remove internal reflections from the lens and due to this the texture of the surface will have no effect on the lenses performance or operation. Nikon would like to assure customers that the lenses optical performance remains unchanged and that this component will not release any dust or particles into the lens itself."
Everyone can relax now! If you have returned your lens, you can buy it back directly from Amazon for 2368,98, free shipping.
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Went to my favourite camera store today to look at the Nikon 70-200mm lens on a D3s. Had a good look at the front of the lens with a torch, and the thread has the same problem everyone is reporting – I could see very few speckles or flakes .. serial no. of the lens was 20026xxx. Shot some images using the D3s varying from ISO 500 to 12800 .. I’ve just had a look at them on the screen at 100% and am amazed at how clean and sharp the images are. Don’t know if the reported problems will have any long term effect on the lens, but what I have seen on my PC has blown me away!! I hope Nikon will address the concerns being expressed in the next batch of lenses – I really want one!!
But you did not buy this one?
No, haven’t bought the camera or lens at this time .. but I am certainly going to purchase the D3s. I’m waiting to see if Nikon move to correct the perceived problem before I make a move on the lens – if they choose not to, I’ll wait and see what further develops with lens already purchased [keep tabs on what's happening via chatroom sites].
“I’m waiting to see if Nikon move to correct the perceived problem ”
Well, that about sums it up, doesn’t it? Put another way, I won’t purchase the lens because there is nothing wrong with it even though it shoots perfect photographs. And exactly how do you fix a “perceived problem”?
Yes, nikon has posted the official statement on the rough surface inside the 70-200 VRII lens, but what about the peeling issue as in this post http://nikonrumors.com/2010/01/11/nikon-70-200mm-f2-8-vrii-problem-seems-to-be-wide-spread.aspx