[mst]

In his review of the Tokina 16-28 Klaus mentioned the slightly annoying issue of sample variation, especially the high amount of decentered lenses we see in our tests.



Well, decentering (or any other issues) can happen with lenses of any manufacturer. When purchased new, you often have the chance to return for a full refund (especially in Europe), with lenses out of the grace period though your only hope is the manufacturer's service.



I have made mixed experiences with a few service facilities in the recent months, which I'd like to share here. Please note that these are not meant to be representative, they are just my experiences.



Let's start with the good ones:





Nikon



Since most of the lenses going through testing and trading here are Nikon lenses, I use their service more than other brands. I've had a few lenses which failed under warranty (including a 18-200 VR II which failed twice for two different reasons, plus a 24-70 with stiff zoom ring), they where all fixed for free, turn-around time was roughly one week.



I had to send in my 300 VR due to a locked aperture, which was fixed fast and at reasonable cost. However, afterwards the lens occasionally produced errors on the camera and showed inconsistent exposure. On its second trip to service, the mount and complete aperture was replaced for free (under warranty of the earlier repair).



Just recently I had to send in a PC-E 24 due to a defective screw (result of a failed attempt to switch the orientation of tilt and shift). The initial cost estimate was way above 400 EUR, since the screw was so ruined that it seemed impossible to remove, so the whole tilt mechanics needed to be replaced. Two days later, though, they send an update, noting they managed to loosen and replace the single screw, cutting cost down to 100 EUR (work) plus 2,32 EUR (new screw). Nice touch, since I already had agreed to the initially estimated price.



Note that all these jobs were not done by Nikon Germany's central service in Düsseldorf, but Kamera Service Albrecht (Nikon Cologne). So far, I've always been satisfied with the results, even if they needed more than one attempt. Certainly better than some of my experiences with CPS service in Willich (even though I'm not a NPS member). At least so far.





Tamron



As can be read in the Di 60/2.0 review, I have made some less than stellar experiences with Tamron Europe Service. Since then, however, the quality of their work and (!) communication has improved considerably. Just recently I had to send in a decentered 17-50/2.8 (non-VC), which came back almost perfectly centered. Well done.





Zeiss



I purchased a used ZM 28/2.8, which unfortunately arrived with a little wobbly main tube. Sent it to Zeiss directly and soon received a cost estimate (the lens was out of warranty already). They also discovered that the lens was slightly decentered and the focus action wasn't as stiff as it should be. Wasn't cheap (280 EUR), but the lens returned in a shape as good as new. In addition, the technician who actually did the repair called me twice during the procedure.





Leica



I've needed Leica service several times already. They 6-bit coded two lenses (at cost, of course), which took around 4 weeks (it was in the beginning of the M9 hype, I hear the turn-around times for coding have come down since then). I also had to send in a Leica lens because it needed focus calibration. Took them 3 attempts to get it perfect, however the service was fast (1 week) and free, despite the lens being long out of warranty.



A few months ago I happened to drive along Solms on a trip to visit a friend and spontaneously decided to ask for help with a lens hood that seemed wobbly to me. Stopped at their Customer Service Center, very nice place outside of the main factory. Got the lens back after no more than 5 minutes from the technician who fixed it. When storing the lens, I found a very tiny screw in the lens' pouch and asked the technician if this was the reason for the wobbly hood. He immediately replied: "No, that screw belongs to a Elmarit 135". Impressive.

Hood was fixed for free, lens was not under warranty (same lens as above, actually, a 75/2.0 APO).





Voigtländer/Cosina



Just one issue with two copies of the Skopar SL II 20/3.5. Both lenses showed significant overexposure (a known issue of the first batches) and needed to be sent to Japan. Took around 5 weeks (they were shipped back on March 9th ...), overexposure was fixed as expected, in addition both lenses were cleaned and looked like new ones. Service was free, both lenses were still under warranty.





Now off to the not so pleasing results:





Sigma



Some mixed experiences with Sigma so far. Had to send in a 70-200/2.8 II, where the HSM drive had failed. Lens was still under extended warranty, however this extended warranty is only available to the initial owner. So I got a cost estimate.

After explaining that the lens was loaned to me for testing, repair was executed fast and for free. However, even if I had to pay for it, an estimated cost of below 200 EUR to replace the HSM drive seemed rather low to me.



I purchased a 70-200/2.8 OS as review unit, unfortunately the lens was heavily decentered, which was especially visible at the long end wide open. Sent it in four weeks ago, got it back today. Some glass elements were replaced, obviously at the lens' front, since the frontmost part of the lens' tube is now tilted roughly 45 degrees. Not a big deal, unless you belong to the old-fashioned kind of photographers who prefer to use a hood:







Will send it back tomorrow.





Tokina/Hapa Team



Tokina does not have their own customer service in Germany, all service work is done by their main distributor, Hapa Team. In fact, they don't do any service work themselves, but send anything to Tokina Europe (in the Netherlands).



Both Klaus and me have had some less than stellar experiences with Hapa Team in the past, that's why we usually only buy new Tokina products for testing, so we can simply return them in case something is wrong (which once again prooved to be a good idea in the case of the 16-28/2.8).



However, there's one Tokina lens I always wanted to own as a light-weight but fast medium DX tele zoom: the 50-135/2.8. I don't remember exactly how many copies I tried (5 or 6), but all were decentered to a certain degree (more than I was willing to accept). I finally managed to find a well centered one around christmas last year, unfortunately that one showed heavy back focus, so I had to send it in. That was in January.



Since there was no feedback at all I asked for a status update by email about three weeks ago. Got no reply, so I asked again, this time in a bit harsher tone, after another 14 days. This time I got a reply (3 days later), which also included an apology for the lack of communication.



Turned out that Tokina Netherlands had returned the lens to them unrepaired. Next option would be to send the lens to Japan, however, for obvious reasons this currently does not seem to be a good idea. So, they were proud to announce they had managed to find a new one (remember the lens is already discontinued) which they were going to send as free replacement instead.



With the centering statistics of that lens in mind I immediately replied and asked to keep the initially sent in lens available, just in case the replacement lens showed signs of decentering.



This is what I got the next day:







See it?



It's more obvious in this image:







Mail messages sent since last week remained unanswered so far.



*sigh*



-- Markus