Help needed with stuck 80-400

[Jerry van Dijk]

This morning I tried to capture a very nice setting moon, only to find out that my Nikkor 80-400 (old version) got stuck! I could only move the focus ring from the closest focussing distance to 12 ft, but not further. Same thing on AF. Zooming was still possible, but was very heavy and even got stuck once.Focus limit button was set to off. I tried fumbling with the focus limit button while turning the focus ring, as wel as turning the focus ring while switching between MF and AF, but no luck. I tried turning the focus ring while excerting some inward pressure on the front of the lens, but also without luck. I don't want to use more force because I'm afraid I'll damage something permanently.Any advice on how to deal with this problem is greatly appreciated!

[John Rowell]

This lens does not have an internal focus motor, but relies on the camera motor to drive focus. The first thing I'd try is to unmount the lens and see if the focues ring operates smoothly. If it does, it may be the motor in the camera is shot. Do you have any other lenses that rely on the camera body motor? If still stuck when dismounted, and remounting and removing the lens again doesn't seem to free it up, then it sounds like a trip to Nikon service may be your only option.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks, John. The problem is there when unmounted from the camera as well, so it doesn't seem related to the camera motor. I think it has something to do with the moving parts in the lens, since the zoom function also seems affected.

[Randy Stout]

JERRY:

Has the lens been dropped or bumped hard recently? If often takes a while for the damage to show up, as a damaged part fails completely down the line.

Randy

[Jerry van Dijk]

Randy, the lens has dropped out of my camera bag 2 years ago, from a kneeling position. The only obvious damage then was a bump in the filter thread on the front. I have used it a lot since without any problems, so I assumed that no other harm was done. Do you think that it can take as long as two years for such damage to show up?
In any case, a trip to a service point seems in order.

[Randy Stout]

Jerry:

It is possible that damage did occur with the fall, and a part finally failed. Zooms with a fairly wide range of focal lengths are esp. vulnerable. Was the lens extended when it fell? (I would guess not, based on your description)

Randy

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks Randy. No, it was not extended as you already suspected. The front really took the hit, it sort of dropped in a vertical position. I was very lucky to have no damage on the front glass.