Strange Clicking Sounds from 70-200mm VR Lens - Advice?

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Strange Clicking Sounds from 70-200mm VR Lens - Advice?

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Baba Ganoush

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Joined: Nov '10
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For the last couple of days, I've been encountering a strange problem with my 70-200mm lens, which is attached to my D7000. When I turn the camera on, about half the time I hear a soft clicking sound that I've isolated to the barrel of the lens, apparently at the very end of the lens close to the bayonet mount. If I then press the info button on the camera, the monitor screen fails to turn on, refusing to display the normal information screen. If I gently shake the camera + lens, doing a figure 8 motion through the air, I sometimes hear more clicks coming from the lens, in which case the screen remains dark. On the other hand, if I repeat this gentle bit of shaking several times in a row, this action seems to "awaken" or "cure" whatever in the lens is preventing the screen from lighting up. The screen then appears illuminated, with all the proper camera settings displayed. The problem doesn't show up every time I turn the camera on; as best I can tell, it happens randomly. So far, each time that it's happened, the problem's been intermittent and been "fixed" by my gently tilting and swaying the camera with the attached lens from side to side.

The lens is brand new; in fact, I've had it for less than a year, so it's still within the 5-year warranty period. If the problem persists for much longer (and I have no doubt it will), I will be mailing the lens off to Nikon for warranty repair. My question to Forum members who own this same lens is, Have any of you experienced the identical problem with your copy of the 70-200mm, and if so, (1) were you able to to fix the problem yourself or did you end up sending your lens to Nikon for repair, and (2) what did the source of the problem turn out to be?

Posted 1 year ago #
spraynpray

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Hey Baba,

I think that by holding the camera when you make it display the fault, the (heavy) lens is suffering an intermittent connection with the body.

I reckon you need to go to a shop and try another lens, and also try your lens on another body at the same time because if it turns out to be a build-up of manufacturing tolerances between that particular body and that particular lens, they will return the lens to you as no fault found which will multiply your misery by a factor of ten!

Posted 1 year ago #
TaoTeJared

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Never had that with my 70-200mm. Does it work (VR, focusing etc.) otherwise?

It could be the body as well. I know a while back someone had something similar and the lens was ok but the body was bad even though it was the only lens that caused it. Ended up the weight of the lens had yanked the body mount and it took that weight to cause the issue.

I would take both in for ppl to look at it. Could be the VR unit died could be something with the camera (even if other lenses work).

Posted 1 year ago #
dormant

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Joined: Apr '09
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I had a "clicking" problem with my 18-200 VR when I turned the camera on. If you looked through the viewfinder, the image jumped at the same time as the click. Turned out to be a faulty VR.

Posted 1 year ago #
Baba Ganoush

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Joined: Nov '10
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dormant said:
I had a "clicking" problem with my 18-200 VR when I turned the camera on. If you looked through the viewfinder, the image jumped at the same time as the click. Turned out to be a faulty VR.

Having read various warnings on this and other forums about the effect of the weight of this particular lens, I've always been careful to pick up, hold, and carry my camera + lens by the barrel of the lens, not by the camera body, supporting it at the point of the tripod ring. I managed today to find and download a copy of the service repair manual for the lens from the Web. Based on the diagrams shown In that document, I'm convinced the puzzling sounds I hear are coming from the VR unit of the lens, not the camera. I took your suggestion and looked through the OVF whenever I powered the camera on. Each time I heard a noise from the lens, I noticed the lens failed to achieve focus and, in particular, the green focus indicator light on the lower left-hand side of the viewfinder failed to turn on. I think this confirms that the VR unit of the lens has failed and needs to be repaired by Nikon. I plan to ship the lens back in a few weeks, after I receive the D800 camera I have pre-ordered. As was also suggested here, it would be good to confirm that the problem occurs when the lens is mounted on a different camera body. I'm convinced it will and that the lens will have to be sent back for warranty repair. Thanks everyone for your help.

Posted 1 year ago #
SkintBrit

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Joined: Jul '10
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Good luck Baba, let us know the outcome, as often on this forum, we hear about the symptoms but not the final diagnosis.

Posted 1 year ago #
Baba Ganoush

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SkintBrit said:
Good luck Baba, let us know the outcome, as often on this forum, we hear about the symptoms but not the final diagnosis.

Will do. I had the VR switched off for the entire day today and had no problems. Tomorrow I'll switch VR back on to see if the problem presents itself again. I really want to hold onto this lens until my new camera arrives since I have a few scenes I shoot for testing purposes when I get a new lens or, in this case, a new camera. After that's done, it can be shipped off for repair.

Posted 1 year ago #
Baba Ganoush

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Joined: Nov '10
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Status of the clicking sound from my 70-200mm lens: True to my word, I am back to report on the status of the "problem" I was having with my lens when I used it with my D7000. I held off on sending the lens back to Nikon for warranty repair and instead waited for my D800 to arrive so that I could try the lens on a different camera body. Since early May I've been using the lens fairly regularly on my D800 without incident: perfect focus (no focus microadjustment required) and no clicking sound from the lens. I've also been using it every once in awhile with my D7000 and seen no repeat of the problem with that camera. Whatever the cause of the lens' temporary misbehavior, it seems to have fixed itself. All's well that ends well.

Posted 7 months ago #
bossa

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Joined: Jun '12
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For the record: You're meant to switch OFF the VR on these lenses every time (and before) you turn off the camera. Otherwise, the VR system doesn't park the element it controls correctly and might leave it 'free' to move around. One recommendation is to, with the LENS OFF THE CAMERA, wobble the lens gently to try and hear if the VR system is slopping around inside. If it is then you need to reconnect the lens and switch the VR ON and then OFF again and repeat the process to ascertain if the 'slop' still exists. The internal elements should not exhibit any major movement when the VR element is 'parked'. This can correct some, seeming, strange behavior.

Posted 7 months ago #
msmoto

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Joined: Mar '10
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Mmmm... as I see it, if the VR function is not operating, i.e., no shutter release or AF button is pressed, and the lens is not making any of the usual fussing it does during VR, then the actual mechanism is "parked" and the camera can be turned off and lens removed. The problem comes if the lens is in VR process and the camera is turned off, then the lens will rattle around. But, as I understand the instructions, turning off the VR is not necessary before dismounting the lens as long as the camera is turned off.

Posted 7 months ago #
bossa

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That makes sense but it's not "by the book. My 70-200 VR II manual states that if you hear things clunking around with the camera turned off then you must power up and switch the VR off or risk damaging the lens.

Posted 7 months ago #
msmoto

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Ah, yes, if the lens is stuck in the "VR" mode, I think you are correct. One must get it back into the "parked " position to stop the clunk. Thanks.

Posted 7 months ago #
Baba Ganoush

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Joined: Nov '10
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bossa said:
One recommendation is to, with the LENS OFF THE CAMERA, wobble the lens gently to try and hear if the VR system is slopping around inside. If it is then you need to reconnect the lens and switch the VR ON and then OFF again

My lens is working properly now...no sounds from it at all, on-camera or off-camera. I've never switched VR off before dismounting a lens, but I never dismount a lens without shutting the camera off first.

BTW, in case anyone is interested, I've been getting gorgeous images with the 24-120mm f/4 lens that I use as the walk-around lens on my D800. I bought the lens at a discount as an open box item from my local Nikon shop where I also bought my D800. I'm aware this lens (as well as its predecessor) doesn't have a great reputation, but apart from the excessive vignetting, which is easily fixed during developing in DxO Optics Pro or Adobe Lightroom, my copy delivers sharp pictures with excellent color and contrast from the center of the FOV to well out close to the edge. Large panoramas with this lens are a breeze. And I can find NO problems with any of the camera's left focus points even though my camera came in one of the earliest batches of D800s that were shipped to the USA.

Posted 7 months ago #

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Strange Clicking Sounds from 70-200mm VR Lens - Advice?

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