During Memorial Day weekend, the bayonet mount on my 200-400mm lens jammed with the aperture ring stuck at minimum aperture. This is the second time this happened on this lens. i sent the lens to Nikon on May 28. Its still under warranty. On May 29, it was put on hold because they did not have the part to fix it. This week it was still on hold so I called and explained that I needed the lens for a trip for which I am leaving on July 9. They tell me today that the part won't arrive until July 15 at the earliest. When I complained that I can't believe it takes 6 weeks to get a part for a current lens, they said they would try to find one. I received an email back saying sorry but no parts available. Essentially tough luck about your trip.

I notice that you posted this on a couple of sites. If you have photographers insurance, a rental to replace a damaged lens may be covered.

Especially when I ordered something from Hong Kong and got it in THREE DAYS! Can't nikon find an express shipper in Japan?

I sure hate seeing Nikon Service as the object of a Hall Of Shame post as overall Nikon Service is excellent.

On this one point regarding the length of time it takes to retrieve a part that is not in stock at the local service centers I must agree that the wait time is excessive. I have offered to pay a surcharge to have my part air shipped from where ever the part is to no avail. When it is time to wait for parts you wait for parts. I must stress that this is my only complaint with Nikon Service; they have been outstanding in all other regards over many years with my frequent use of their expertise.

I have to think it is more than shipping, as the parts wait can in extreme cases be multiple months. In one case for my old 600f/4 it had been nearly 4 months when finally NPS "gave up" and sent me the lens belonging to the head of service in exchange for mine as they weren't really sure when they'd ever get the part.

That was a long time ago though (2001 or 2002) and I've never had anything that extreme since. --David

I made the same offer here with the same result.

Under warranty doesn't seem to speed things up -- even for a lens that has been around for a while.

I had a D70 get the popup flash and part of the top knocked off by some running kids at a festival. It was fairly new at the time and it too Nikon three months to fix it. Not warranty, I know, but new and hard to get parts for.

Now I don't worry about US warranties and send my equipment to Authorized Photo Servive in IL www.nikoncamerarepair.com/ and get it back ASAP. Especially as an NPS member.

Hi Sue,

Welcome to the forums. Thanks for your input.

Regarding NikonCameraRepair.com:
1. How long do they warranty their repair work?
2. Do they fix grey market Nikon gear? (you mentioned that you were not worried about US warranties)

Sue--I've heard good things about Authorized Photo Service as well, although I've stuck with Nikon for all my Nikon digital camera service--partially out of habit since in the beginning only they could service the digital stuff.--David