Hi. I also had a problem with VR in my Nikkor 400 / 2.8VR lens, it was repaired by the service in Düsseldorf Germany, arguably the best Nikon service in Europe. In Poland, the service also let me down. I wish you good health and successful frames.
Magnifique objectif... Pour avoir un bon service après vente, il faut avoir des personnes d'une compétences irréprochables, avec des procédures transparentes pour l'acheteur. Merci pour ta vidéo très intéressant
Hallo from the Netherlands Ragnis. Like to watch your vlogs a lot. Very informative video. Not surly agree on the focus speed of the 400 compared tot the 300mm. I have the 300 VR2 and that's really, really fast. You should have to do a side to side comparison to check.
4 ปีที่แล้ว
Hi! I did not compare them side by side, but still it felt to me that 400mm AF speed was a little bit faster. Not much, but still... :) It doesn't really matter actually, because with 400mm I don't have to use teleconverters so much which gives me an edge over 300mm anyway. :)
I understand your problem.... I switched to Canon after 25 years of Nikon. I had many problems with the Nikon service here in Hungary too. (slow, ultra expensive, unprofessional)
Hi Ragnis, I am in a similar position right now where I have the possibility of getting a very good deal on a used 400mm f/2.8 VR and selling my 300mm f/2.8 VR II (which I also love)... But 400mm f/2.8 is a dream I have had for a long while...! Can you tell me in what way the VR was failing (just not working or something more subtle) since I will want to check the 400 I'm getting before I commit to buy it? Your experince with the service department sounds terrible and I don't want to have that myself! Also, how do you find the weight difference with the bigger lens? Are you happy to have made the change now that it is fully working? PS. For a lightweight telephoto lens for walking in the forest, you should look at the 300mm f/4 PF
3 ปีที่แล้ว +1
Hi Geoff! The VR didn't work at all. The weight difference is noticeable. You may think (as I did before) that +1,7 kg more weight is not that big difference, but it is! So be ready for that. In most cases shooting handheld is not an option with this lens. The 400mm lens is great! It's fast and it's sharp, but be aware that you may not be able to use same slow shutter speeds as with 300mm. The 400mm lens amplifies camera shakes much more than 300mm and even with VR turned on, you still have to be very steady and careful. Am I happy with the change? That's difficult to answer! Yes, I really like it's ultrafast AF and it's nice to have an extra 100mm in focal length with f/2.8 aperture, but when talking about this particular piece I got for exchange, then so far I've had only troubles with the lens. About two months after the repair the manual focus stopped working! How did this happen - don't know! I didn't even use the lens in winter months. It just stopped working. That's insane! Luckily the AF is working fine and during the spring time I got the job done in most cases. After this extremely long 4-moths repair service I just didn't want to risk with losing my lens again in such a busy time (spring is my main time of the year when shooting wildlife). Right now I'm doing more landscapes and not so much wildlife, so today I finally went back to the Nikon Service. We'll see.... Hopefully this time it won't take 4 months again, but I'm ready for anything now, knowing Nikon's terribly slow service... Anyway, cosidering all these bad experiences I'm really starting to think it was not a good idea to exchange my perfect condition 300mm 2.8 VR II to this sad piece of 400mm which have so much troubles. By the way, I have a little suspicion that in Tripod Mode the VR still don't work (at least I don't see any differences), but I'm not sure. However in Normal Mode the VR works perfectly and I can easily use this Mode also on tripod, so I really don't care the Tripod Mode that much. VR with Normal Mode works perfectly in both ways, handheld or on tripod, so it get's the job done. If I were you, I would buy the 400mm for sure (if it's in perfect condition - please make sure, it is!), but if you have enough money to buy it without selling your 300mm, you should keep it! In some cases the 300mm could be better tool than 400mm and it would be perfect to have both lenses. I really didn't want to lose my 300mm, but I just didn't have any other option to get 400mm (didn't have this extra money that time), but now I think I will get my 300mm back one day, because I would really like to have them both.
@ Hi Ragnis, thanks for the detailed reply and advice. It sounds like your 400mm ownership has been a really stressful time! I will be really careful to test the lens thoroughly before I agree to buy it because I really don't want an experience like that! Unfortunately the lens is 350km away from me, but I would rather drive there and test it than have it shipped and find out there's a problem with it! I really hope your AF / MF issue is fixed quickly and without too much stress! I'm sure the weight difference is going to feel huge, I just tried picking up and shooting my 300mm with a 1.5kg weight taped to the tripod foot and the difference was cetainly significant! However, I'm not too worried about that as I have my 500mm f/5.6 PF for the times I want to carry my equipment further, so the 400mm would only be for times when I'm at a fixed location, or at least not moving about much... Of course, I would really like the newer FL version of the lens, but even used, the price is far away from what I can afford! I guess the price is good enough that if I buy it but really don't get on with it after a few months I can trade it again... I really wish I could keep the 300mm 2.8 becuase it's a beautiful lens, but I really cannot afford to keep both as well as my 500mm (which is too useful for hikes and longer trips). I hope that I will not miss it too much and can use the 70-200mm in the times where I need a light telephoto with a fast aperture. We will see!!
For Nikon it is a money making proceedure. As soon as you hand the lens camera over to them you lose control and the repairs go on for weeks and weeks. They replace parts that do not need replacing and say they have serviced(what the hell does that mean) the item and bill you for all of it. IF you use them,if you can get a replacement item whilst they do the repair, it gets done in a matter of days that way.
€14K objektiivi kohta on järelteenindus ja suhtumine alla arvestatava. Siit võiks lausa eeldada, et Nikkori peakorter võiks olla informeeritud või sekkuda. Nende maine mängus ning tegu pole mänguasjaga. Iga päev selle objektiivi omamist maksab raha ning mitte olla võimeline seda tasategema on tõesti vastuvõetamatu mistahes töökultuuri ruumis.
Sattusin su video peale, kuna endal just sarnane olukord. Juhtus õudusunenägu ja 600 f4 kukkus autokatuselt. Klaasid terved, aga teravus paigast ära. Eestis ei saadud teravust tagasi ja saadeti kaks kuud tagasi Saksamaale. Siiani pole öeldud mitte midagi rohkemat kui et uut infot pole. Kas saab üldse parandada jne… Lihtsalt vaikus.
Tervist! Ma vaatasin selle liiga pika video ära. Ja tavaliselt ma ei kommenteeri kunagi aga seekord pean ütlema, et Nikoni hoolduses ehk antud juhul Arwestis olen alati saanud ülikiiret ka professionaalset abi ja teenindust. Ma ei väidagi, et sul seekord langesin halvad asjad ja juhused kokku või on selle taga hoopis mingi muu asi aga minu kogemus on olnud alati suurepärane. Ja arvan, et ühe halva kogemuse põhjal nüüd tervet Nikoni korporatsiooni laimata on tõsiselt üle pakutud teema
4 ปีที่แล้ว
Tere! Tänan kommenteerimast ja lisan kohe mõned täpsustused: 1. Käesoleva video peegeldab vaid minu isiklikku kogemust, mis ei pruugi ega pea ühtima teiste kogemustega (ehkki olen kuulnud nurinaid Nikoni tugiteenuste suunal ka paljudelt teistelt). 2. Kindlasti ei ole tegemist laimamisega. Laimamine on kellegi kohta väite esitamine, mis võib olla solvav või sisaldada valeväidet. Mina räägin ikka nii nagu asjad on ja ei ole omalt poolt midagi juurde lisanud, mis ei vastaks tõele. Lisaks on mul olnud Nikoniga ka meeldivamaid kogemusi varasemalt, olen saanud tehnikat soodsatel tingimustel, korra on antud isegi asenduskere, kui vahetult enne pildireisi mu enda vana kere sai veekahjustuse. Rääkimata, et olen ligemale 10 aastat olnud tulihingeline Nikoni pooldaja. Seega mul puudub igasugune motiiv laimu levitamiseks. 3. Ma ei arva, et antud loos on süüdi terve korporatsioon. Väga võimalik, et tegemist on vaid konkreetse inimesega, kes Arwestis töid vastu võtab ja kes arvatavasti ei ole andnud omalt poolt maksimaalset panust olukorra parimaks võimalikuks lahendamiseks. Sellegipoolest on just vahetud teenindajad firma visiitkaardiks, kes väga suuresti kujundavad terve ettevõtte näo. Võin kindla veendumusega väita, et antud olukorda oleks saanud palju paremini lahendada (kasvõi ainuüksi suhtumise ja kommunikatsiooni poolest). Ma ei hakka spekuleerima, kas või kellel siin loos kõige suurem süü lasub, kuid 4 kuud tehnika remondiks on tänapäeva kiires maailmas igal juhul väga piinlik ja äärmuslik. Nikoni hooldus on tänase seisuga selgelt kõige aeglaem. Canon, Fujifilm, Leica, Sigma remondid on kõik oluliselt kiiremad ega kesta reeglina üle kuu. Isegi praegusel koroonaajal. Lisaks on viimased pool aastat olnud Nikoni Euroopa laod praktiliselt tühjad. Kliendid tahaksid osta tehnikat, kuid ei saa, sest Nikonil ei ole midagi saadaval (tõsi, viimane kehtib ka Canoni kohta kuigi Canoni seis on siiski tiba parem). Samal ajal teevad Fuji ja Sigma suuri müüke! Nikonil paistavad juba viimased paar aastat olevat üpris keerulised ajad. Loodetavasti tulevad sellest ikka välja kuidagi ja lisaks heale tehnikale muutub ka hooldus, teenindus paremaks.
You cannot blame the whole of nikon just because you had a bad experience, I have used some service centres in the past, some good some bad.
4 ปีที่แล้ว
Thanks for the comment! I'm a huge Nikon fan, but I can say, Nikon has definitely one of the slowest repair service in photography industry. Canon, Leica, Fujifilm and Sigma are all much more faster and almost never take more than a month maximum - even now with this covid situation! The Nikon's slow service is actually embarrassing, considering their position in the photography market! Not mentioning the fact, that during the last 6 months Nikon haven't had almost any products in their Europe warehouses. Many customers would like to buy cameras, lenses, kits etc, but they can't, because Nikon's got nothing... I know this, because I work in a photo store. It's obvious Nikon has some real difficulties in recent years and I really hope they can work their things out one day and will recover, but I wouldn't be surprised if Nikon will go to bankrupt and sell all their stocks someone else (Sony or Apple perhaps? Who knows!). However Nikon knows how to make a great equipment and it's pro level bodies and lenses are really awesome, which is the reason I like Nikon so much! No complains about this!
Hi. I also had a problem with VR in my Nikkor 400 / 2.8VR lens, it was repaired by the service in
Düsseldorf Germany, arguably the best Nikon service in Europe. In Poland, the service also let me down. I wish you good health and successful frames.
Thanks! Good to know! :)
Hello Ragnis! It is happy to see you again in the video.
Hallo Ragnis! Interesting video. I hope there will many nice videos 2021, Merry Christmas from Sweden // Hans-Olof
Magnifique objectif... Pour avoir un bon service après vente, il faut avoir des personnes d'une compétences irréprochables, avec des procédures transparentes pour l'acheteur. Merci pour ta vidéo très intéressant
Hallo from the Netherlands Ragnis. Like to watch your vlogs a lot. Very informative video. Not surly agree on the focus speed of the 400 compared tot the 300mm. I have the 300 VR2 and that's really, really fast. You should have to do a side to side comparison to check.
Hi! I did not compare them side by side, but still it felt to me that 400mm AF speed was a little bit faster. Not much, but still... :) It doesn't really matter actually, because with 400mm I don't have to use teleconverters so much which gives me an edge over 300mm anyway. :)
Sounds like a nightmare I’ve just bought one of the 400mm lens fingers crossed I have no problems with it 🤞🏼
I understand your problem.... I switched to Canon after 25 years of Nikon. I had many problems with the Nikon service here in Hungary too. (slow, ultra expensive, unprofessional)
Hi Ragnis, I am in a similar position right now where I have the possibility of getting a very good deal on a used 400mm f/2.8 VR and selling my 300mm f/2.8 VR II (which I also love)... But 400mm f/2.8 is a dream I have had for a long while...!
Can you tell me in what way the VR was failing (just not working or something more subtle) since I will want to check the 400 I'm getting before I commit to buy it? Your experince with the service department sounds terrible and I don't want to have that myself!
Also, how do you find the weight difference with the bigger lens? Are you happy to have made the change now that it is fully working? PS. For a lightweight telephoto lens for walking in the forest, you should look at the 300mm f/4 PF
Hi Geoff! The VR didn't work at all. The weight difference is noticeable. You may think (as I did before) that +1,7 kg more weight is not that big difference, but it is! So be ready for that. In most cases shooting handheld is not an option with this lens.
The 400mm lens is great! It's fast and it's sharp, but be aware that you may not be able to use same slow shutter speeds as with 300mm. The 400mm lens amplifies camera shakes much more than 300mm and even with VR turned on, you still have to be very steady and careful.
Am I happy with the change? That's difficult to answer! Yes, I really like it's ultrafast AF and it's nice to have an extra 100mm in focal length with f/2.8 aperture, but when talking about this particular piece I got for exchange, then so far I've had only troubles with the lens. About two months after the repair the manual focus stopped working! How did this happen - don't know! I didn't even use the lens in winter months. It just stopped working. That's insane! Luckily the AF is working fine and during the spring time I got the job done in most cases. After this extremely long 4-moths repair service I just didn't want to risk with losing my lens again in such a busy time (spring is my main time of the year when shooting wildlife). Right now I'm doing more landscapes and not so much wildlife, so today I finally went back to the Nikon Service. We'll see.... Hopefully this time it won't take 4 months again, but I'm ready for anything now, knowing Nikon's terribly slow service...
Anyway, cosidering all these bad experiences I'm really starting to think it was not a good idea to exchange my perfect condition 300mm 2.8 VR II to this sad piece of 400mm which have so much troubles. By the way, I have a little suspicion that in Tripod Mode the VR still don't work (at least I don't see any differences), but I'm not sure. However in Normal Mode the VR works perfectly and I can easily use this Mode also on tripod, so I really don't care the Tripod Mode that much. VR with Normal Mode works perfectly in both ways, handheld or on tripod, so it get's the job done.
If I were you, I would buy the 400mm for sure (if it's in perfect condition - please make sure, it is!), but if you have enough money to buy it without selling your 300mm, you should keep it! In some cases the 300mm could be better tool than 400mm and it would be perfect to have both lenses. I really didn't want to lose my 300mm, but I just didn't have any other option to get 400mm (didn't have this extra money that time), but now I think I will get my 300mm back one day, because I would really like to have them both.
@ Hi Ragnis, thanks for the detailed reply and advice. It sounds like your 400mm ownership has been a really stressful time! I will be really careful to test the lens thoroughly before I agree to buy it because I really don't want an experience like that! Unfortunately the lens is 350km away from me, but I would rather drive there and test it than have it shipped and find out there's a problem with it! I really hope your AF / MF issue is fixed quickly and without too much stress!
I'm sure the weight difference is going to feel huge, I just tried picking up and shooting my 300mm with a 1.5kg weight taped to the tripod foot and the difference was cetainly significant! However, I'm not too worried about that as I have my 500mm f/5.6 PF for the times I want to carry my equipment further, so the 400mm would only be for times when I'm at a fixed location, or at least not moving about much... Of course, I would really like the newer FL version of the lens, but even used, the price is far away from what I can afford! I guess the price is good enough that if I buy it but really don't get on with it after a few months I can trade it again...
I really wish I could keep the 300mm 2.8 becuase it's a beautiful lens, but I really cannot afford to keep both as well as my 500mm (which is too useful for hikes and longer trips). I hope that I will not miss it too much and can use the 70-200mm in the times where I need a light telephoto with a fast aperture. We will see!!
For Nikon it is a money making proceedure. As soon as you hand the lens camera over to them you lose control and the repairs go on for weeks and weeks. They replace parts that do not need replacing and say they have serviced(what the hell does that mean) the item and bill you for all of it. IF you use them,if you can get a replacement item whilst they do the repair, it gets done in a matter of days that way.
€14K objektiivi kohta on järelteenindus ja suhtumine alla arvestatava. Siit võiks lausa eeldada, et Nikkori peakorter võiks olla informeeritud või sekkuda. Nende maine mängus ning tegu pole mänguasjaga. Iga päev selle objektiivi omamist maksab raha ning mitte olla võimeline seda tasategema on tõesti vastuvõetamatu mistahes töökultuuri ruumis.
Huvitav video ja hea teada sinu kogemusest, aitäh jagamast ja palju ilusaid pilte nüüd kuis jälle pildistada saad!
Plaanisin ka ise kunagi Nikonit proovida ja tean ka teisi kellele on takistuseks saanud hooldus :-(
Sattusin su video peale, kuna endal just sarnane olukord. Juhtus õudusunenägu ja 600 f4 kukkus autokatuselt. Klaasid terved, aga teravus paigast ära. Eestis ei saadud teravust tagasi ja saadeti kaks kuud tagasi Saksamaale. Siiani pole öeldud mitte midagi rohkemat kui et uut infot pole. Kas saab üldse parandada jne… Lihtsalt vaikus.
Tunnen kaasa! :(
Tervist!
Ma vaatasin selle liiga pika video ära. Ja tavaliselt ma ei kommenteeri kunagi aga seekord pean ütlema, et Nikoni hoolduses ehk antud juhul Arwestis olen alati saanud ülikiiret ka professionaalset abi ja teenindust.
Ma ei väidagi, et sul seekord langesin halvad asjad ja juhused kokku või on selle taga hoopis mingi muu asi aga minu kogemus on olnud alati suurepärane. Ja arvan, et ühe halva kogemuse põhjal nüüd tervet Nikoni korporatsiooni laimata on tõsiselt üle pakutud teema
Tere! Tänan kommenteerimast ja lisan kohe mõned täpsustused:
1. Käesoleva video peegeldab vaid minu isiklikku kogemust, mis ei pruugi ega pea ühtima teiste kogemustega (ehkki olen kuulnud nurinaid Nikoni tugiteenuste suunal ka paljudelt teistelt).
2. Kindlasti ei ole tegemist laimamisega. Laimamine on kellegi kohta väite esitamine, mis võib olla solvav või sisaldada valeväidet. Mina räägin ikka nii nagu asjad on ja ei ole omalt poolt midagi juurde lisanud, mis ei vastaks tõele. Lisaks on mul olnud Nikoniga ka meeldivamaid kogemusi varasemalt, olen saanud tehnikat soodsatel tingimustel, korra on antud isegi asenduskere, kui vahetult enne pildireisi mu enda vana kere sai veekahjustuse. Rääkimata, et olen ligemale 10 aastat olnud tulihingeline Nikoni pooldaja. Seega mul puudub igasugune motiiv laimu levitamiseks.
3. Ma ei arva, et antud loos on süüdi terve korporatsioon. Väga võimalik, et tegemist on vaid konkreetse inimesega, kes Arwestis töid vastu võtab ja kes arvatavasti ei ole andnud omalt poolt maksimaalset panust olukorra parimaks võimalikuks lahendamiseks. Sellegipoolest on just vahetud teenindajad firma visiitkaardiks, kes väga suuresti kujundavad terve ettevõtte näo. Võin kindla veendumusega väita, et antud olukorda oleks saanud palju paremini lahendada (kasvõi ainuüksi suhtumise ja kommunikatsiooni poolest).
Ma ei hakka spekuleerima, kas või kellel siin loos kõige suurem süü lasub, kuid 4 kuud tehnika remondiks on tänapäeva kiires maailmas igal juhul väga piinlik ja äärmuslik. Nikoni hooldus on tänase seisuga selgelt kõige aeglaem. Canon, Fujifilm, Leica, Sigma remondid on kõik oluliselt kiiremad ega kesta reeglina üle kuu. Isegi praegusel koroonaajal. Lisaks on viimased pool aastat olnud Nikoni Euroopa laod praktiliselt tühjad. Kliendid tahaksid osta tehnikat, kuid ei saa, sest Nikonil ei ole midagi saadaval (tõsi, viimane kehtib ka Canoni kohta kuigi Canoni seis on siiski tiba parem). Samal ajal teevad Fuji ja Sigma suuri müüke!
Nikonil paistavad juba viimased paar aastat olevat üpris keerulised ajad. Loodetavasti tulevad sellest ikka välja kuidagi ja lisaks heale tehnikale muutub ka hooldus, teenindus paremaks.
Oled sa tutvunud selle objektiivi hinnaga enne kui sa oma postitust tegid? Ma arvan, et sa oleks pidanud.
You cannot blame the whole of nikon just because you had a bad experience, I have used some service centres in the past, some good some bad.
Thanks for the comment! I'm a huge Nikon fan, but I can say, Nikon has definitely one of the slowest repair service in photography industry. Canon, Leica, Fujifilm and Sigma are all much more faster and almost never take more than a month maximum - even now with this covid situation! The Nikon's slow service is actually embarrassing, considering their position in the photography market! Not mentioning the fact, that during the last 6 months Nikon haven't had almost any products in their Europe warehouses. Many customers would like to buy cameras, lenses, kits etc, but they can't, because Nikon's got nothing... I know this, because I work in a photo store.
It's obvious Nikon has some real difficulties in recent years and I really hope they can work their things out one day and will recover, but I wouldn't be surprised if Nikon will go to bankrupt and sell all their stocks someone else (Sony or Apple perhaps? Who knows!). However Nikon knows how to make a great equipment and it's pro level bodies and lenses are really awesome, which is the reason I like Nikon so much! No complains about this!