Right I'm new to this DSLR game I have recently got a Nikon D60 with the standard 18-55 kit lens and have managed also to pick up a 70-300 Nikkor lens from fleabay. The problem is that its MF only and the focus ring is a bit stiff which obviously makes it a bit difficult for fine focus adjustments.

My question is, how do I make it less stiff? would it be wise to strip the lens down taking pics for reassembly as I go or is there anything else I can do? I have no idea how lenses are put together so don't know if I can get to the focus gear(?) without having to remove any or all of the glass. I don't want to be paying a lot for a pro to clean it and am willing to give it a try myself with the help of a guide and some knowledge.

Thanks.

WD40

you mean "lens repair experts" 🙂

Pieface my first thought was WD40. 😀

SFB Ok lens repair experts.

Know any?

I doubt an amateur could disassemble and reassemble a lens without finding 'spare parts' or not having it work ever again.

Depending on how much it is worth get it repaired, live with it, try to repair it or just bin it (which is what you will probably will end up doing if you try to repair it…)

i have repaired a number of film pentax lenses in the past – just be patient and methodical – suggest use a digi cam to take pics of parts removed in order to aid memoire !

i suspect theres grit or something to make lens feel stiff. Dont be too frightened to give it a go – get decent watch maker sized screw drivers and have a fiddle… worse case you bin it…

i have replaced bust elements in the past – lenses are just bits of glass and thin alloy tubes with a few sliding bits to get zoom etc – a good clean is most likely what it needs

paul

M_F: I think amateur is a bit generous novice is more like it.

paul: Thats more like it (semi)blind encouragement is what I need. How hard can it be?

Anybody else?

A lot will depend on the construction of the lens. Older ones will be external focussing, where the entire lens assembly moves back and forth, so you don't need to interfere with the elements when accessing the focus mechanism. Many newer lenses have internal focussing where only some of the elements move relative to the others, and I think this will be more complicated

I'd say that it depends how much you got the lens for? Presumably it's not new?

If you paid £30 for it, then give it a whirl yourself, perhaps with some delicate squirts of WD-40 to begin with.
If you paid £150 for it, then probably best to leave it to the experts.

I take it you have put "stiff focussing ring" or something similar into google and seen what comes up?

I take it you have put "stiff focussing ring" or something similar into google and seen what comes up?

tempted to google that myself, who knows *what* might come up

Its an oldish Nikkor lens I think it was first released about 10 years ago so its a 10 year old design but they can still be brought new now. I only paid £50 for it so it wouldn't be a total loss if I broke it. They are only £140 new so I don't imagine it will have fancy internals.

I have noticed that there is a small silver flat head screw that rotates when you turn the focus ring. This screw is on the face that fits the body I guess that its used for AF on compatible cameras?

Surprisingly nothing too smutty comes up when googling stiff focussing ring.

If it's a 10 year old lens then the metering system won't work with the D60 anyway will it? So you either have to guess, use a light meter or learn how to use the histogram..
I was looking at cheap old (prime) lenses for my D40x until I found this out.
I'd put it back on eBay and buy a newer lens tbh…

beanum: Like I said novice. It takes photos of what I want it to and I can see fine in the view finder. The aperture adjust (on the body) seems to work fine with the lens too. If you mean anything other than that please explain more.

If it's a 10 year old lens then the metering system won't work with the D60 anyway will it?

It'll be fine – it just won't autofocus.

I imagine the lens in question is the Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G?

Nikonians lens compatability chart says G lenses won't focus on a D60 (unless they are also AF-S) but should be fine otherwise.

I'd wouldn't take that on myself, but if you only dropped £50 on it then I'd be tempted to give it a go. Try the Sigma 70-300 Macro if it goes wrong, its a cracking lens for very little dough.

If it aint broke don't fix it…

It is broke. I was playing with it yesterday morning and the focus ring is so stiff that I cant fine focus at all. The way I see it is that if I brake it I will have only lost £50 but gained an understanding of how the lens works.

I part stripped it down yesterday afternoon and it is a lot better but it is still blurry when it comes to fine lines like lettering and wire fences (my kit lens is fine here) so tonight I will strip it down virtually all the way and clean the lenses with alcohol and re grease all the moving parts and hopefully put it back together properly.

I will take some before and after pics and post them up when I have done it. Fingers crossed.

Oh and GrahamS that is the lens. I have also considered the Sigma if I do destroy the Nikkor tonight bonus is that that does AF.

and clean the lenses with alcohol

That may not be a good idea as they can have special coatings which you'd want to preserve. Have a google for the best way to clean optical glass.

Hmm OK then I guess I will be using my lens cleaning pen thingy and an Oakley bag. That should do the job fine. And if there is anything undesirable on one of the lenses I will use some water.

Go lightly with grease on the moving parts – something for the dust and grit to stick to.