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Archive 2015 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Abuttolph
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

I have a like-new Nikon lens that I purchased about a year and a half ago from a person on eBay. It was the seller's father's lens, and she did not think that it had ever been used. She did not specify whether or not the lens is a USA or gray market item and in all honesty, probably did not know. Recently, I have been thinking about selling or trading the lens since I have not been using it much, and I want to be able to tell any potential buyer whether it is a USA or gray market lens. Here is the weird thing. I asked Nikon whether or not the lens is a USA or gray market lens and sent them the serial number and the model. The answer that they came back with is that they don't know and the lens would have to be sent in for service (it does not need service and is in like-new condition) for them to be able to determine whether it is USA or gray market. Here is the text of what they said:

"Thank you for contacting Nikon. It is a pleasure to be able to assist you with information on the serial number for your lens. I was not able to locate the lens in our database as being sold under an 85mm lens. The only way to determine if the product is a Gray Market product, would be to send it in for service. "

So - what to do next? I don't see any point in sending the lens to Nikon. There is nothing wrong with it and it has been on my camera two or three times and does not need service. Is there another way to find out? It seems really odd to me that Nikon does not know. Any ideas on how I could find out without sending the lens to Nikon? I guess that if I sell or trade it, at this point I would just have to tell the buyer that I don't know.

Jan 29, 2015 at 12:21 PM

Danner
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

There are on-line resources. What lens and serial number is it?

Jan 29, 2015 at 12:26 PM

Nikon_14
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Abuttolph wrote
There is nothing wrong with it and it has been on my camera two or three times and does not need service.

If you send it to Nikon with no problems, it will come back with some.

Great products, but lousy service.

Jan 29, 2015 at 12:27 PM

Abuttolph
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Nikon_14 - plus additional expense.

Danner, thanks. I'll PM you privately with the info.

Jan 29, 2015 at 12:45 PM

ronfronberg
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Some of the later US lenses, the serial number will start with US.

Jan 29, 2015 at 01:36 PM

Danner
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

PM sent.

Basically, that lens predates the NikonUSA US/gray delineation rule (don't know the exact date that the current rule went into effect), and that's probably why Nikon USA couldn't tell you over the phone. They don't know.

It's a great lens, I used to own one. Doubt the next owner will care about the US/gray issue anyway.

Jan 29, 2015 at 01:45 PM

Abuttolph
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Thanks Dan! The info that you provided is very helpful. The most important point is that the lens could and would be serviced by Nikon (or other service) if the lens ever needed it.

I agree - it is an awesome lens. Image quality is just beautiful. I have not decided for sure whether to sell/trade it yet, but am thinking about it.

Jan 29, 2015 at 01:59 PM

Donzo98
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Just curious.... what lens is it?? No need to include serial number...

Jan 29, 2015 at 07:14 PM

Abuttolph
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

It is a Nikon PC Micro Nikkor tilt/shift lens, 85mm.

Jan 30, 2015 at 12:05 PM

wileycoyote
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

this chart sometimes indicates which were for the USA market -

Nikon Lens Versions and Serial Numbers

but sadly, it doesn't say which 85/2.8 D PC-E Micro serial numbers are USA

Jan 30, 2015 at 05:01 PM

Abuttolph
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

^^That is a nice table with good info though. Thanks for the link.

Jan 30, 2015 at 05:19 PM

Chris Court
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Is your lens the PC, or the PC-E?

If the former, I also have one, which I am fairly certain is a US market lens. The serial number is 203xx6, if that helps you at all.

C

Jan 30, 2015 at 11:29 PM

Abuttolph
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Chris, Thanks. The lens is the PC, not the PC-E. The serial number is similar to yours. From what Dan told me, the lens is old enough that it predates the time when Nikon started to distinguish between US and import lenses, which makes things easy.

Jan 31, 2015 at 12:35 PM

Squinty
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

I use the same database that you were linked to above.

Odd that Nikon US say it's not in their database, but maybe they only list US serial numbers.

But anyway, if the lens is out of warranty what does it matter if it's US or imported? As a buyer I wouldn't care..

Jan 31, 2015 at 01:21 PM

Harkness1553
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Hi,

The photosynthesis site (http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html, which wileycoyote linked to above) is a great reference. Some info that's not mentioned in the table is that some US lens models are prefixed by US (e.g. 24-85mm VR, 180mm AF-D), while some are not (e.g. 50mm 1.4G).

I would strongly advise NOT sending anything into Nikon USA for "evaluation". I have read about cases where someone sent in a damaged non-US market lens, and Nikon USA not only refused service but then actually removed a critical part so that independent shops would have a even tougher time of repairing that lens. I don't know if this is true or not (I read it online...) but it sounds plausible.

There's also the whole "impact damage" issue going on with the d800 bodies (warranty avoidance? design flaw? or deliberate damage to a design weak point while the body is opened up to avoid warranty? who knows. Surely Nikon wouldn't do that to its paying customers... right?)

The US market/non-US market distinction is overblown, and I believe amplified online via forums and websites by Nikon USA spokespersons (whether acknowledged as such or not) in order to preserve profit. Commonly stated reasons for buying only USA market lenses are as follows:

* Nikon USA won't fix it. (That's fine, independent repair shops will get business, and typically do a better job at it.)

* But indpendent repair shops won't get parts. (Not from Nikon USA, sure. But just think about it, if independent stores can get import products, why can't indpendent repair shops get import parts from similar supply channels? I won't say anymore because I don't want to get anyone in trouble. But this reason is absolutely false.)

* Resell value goes down, because no one wants to buy import lenses because of the above two reasons. (I personally buy, and have sold, many used import items at the same price ranges as used US market items. That's just one data point, but you get the idea.)

The 85 PC is an awesome lens BECAUSE it's razor sharp AND it's got mechanical aperture. This is an advantage of getting this one rather than the PC-E version: to reduce the need for servicing/repair.

Some more things to think about:

* A fashion pro moved from France to the states. Her 200/2VR that she was using as part of her event work setup broke down. Nikon absolutely refused to service it because it was "gray market". She's shooting Canon for event work now.

* A buddy's 85 1.4 got knocked out of his hand during a lens change while covering a beach event. It was the US version of the lens. He said Nikon refused to service it, because the damage was beyond repair.

I mainly use zeiss compact primes, but do also have several of the nikkor G primes, as well as a matched set of AIS nikkors. While the G primes are very nice, I pretty much consider them as disposable items. I used to own the 70-200 2.8 II, but sold it since it was in for repair more than I was using it. If you're a PJ and depend on the 70-200, that would be the only time I suggest buying domestic market (and you probably should get two of them). Because they WILL need to be fixed constantly.

Jan 31, 2015 at 02:25 PM

henryp
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Abuttolph wrote:
Chris, Thanks. The lens is the PC, not the PC-E. The serial number is similar to yours. From what Dan told me, the lens is old enough that it predates the time when Nikon started to distinguish between US and import lenses, which makes things easy.

When I started at B&H, 20-21 years ago, there were US-warranted and "grey market" cameras and lenses from most of the major 35mm hardware brands. What is more recent is Nikon USA's adamant declaration they will never service a "grey market" product whether in the warranty time period or not. If the lens is decades old it is quite possible that Nikon USA cannot now tell what the original provenance was.

Henry Posner
[email protected]
B&H Photo-Video

Feb 03, 2015 at 12:48 PM

Abuttolph
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Thanks Henry. This should indicate, I hope, that they would not have grounds to refuse service.

Feb 03, 2015 at 05:55 PM

Abuttolph
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Harkness1553 wrote:
Hi,

The photosynthesis site (http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html, which wileycoyote linked to above) is a great reference. Some info that's not mentioned in the table is that some US lens models are prefixed by US (e.g. 24-85mm VR, 180mm AF-D), while some are not (e.g. 50mm 1.4G).

I would strongly advise NOT sending anything into Nikon USA for "evaluation". I have read about cases where someone sent in a damaged non-US market lens, and Nikon USA not only refused service but then actually removed a critical part so that independent shops would have a even tougher time of repairing that lens. I don't know if this is true or not (I read it online...) but it sounds plausible.

There's also the whole "impact damage" issue going on with the d800 bodies (warranty avoidance? design flaw? or deliberate damage to a design weak point while the body is opened up to avoid warranty? who knows. Surely Nikon wouldn't do that to its paying customers... right?)

The US market/non-US market distinction is overblown, and I believe amplified online via forums and websites by Nikon USA spokespersons (whether acknowledged as such or not) in order to preserve profit. Commonly stated reasons for buying only USA market lenses are as follows:

* Nikon USA won't fix it. (That's fine, independent repair shops will get business, and typically do a better job at it.)

* But indpendent repair shops won't get parts. (Not from Nikon USA, sure. But just think about it, if independent stores can get import products, why can't indpendent repair shops get import parts from similar supply channels? I won't say anymore because I don't want to get anyone in trouble. But this reason is absolutely false.)

* Resell value goes down, because no one wants to buy import lenses because of the above two reasons. (I personally buy, and have sold, many used import items at the same price ranges as used US market items. That's just one data point, but you get the idea.)

The 85 PC is an awesome lens BECAUSE it's razor sharp AND it's got mechanical aperture. This is an advantage of getting this one rather than the PC-E version: to reduce the need for servicing/repair.

Some more things to think about:

* A fashion pro moved from France to the states. Her 200/2VR that she was using as part of her event work setup broke down. Nikon absolutely refused to service it because it was "gray market". She's shooting Canon for event work now.

* A buddy's 85 1.4 got knocked out of his hand during a lens change while covering a beach event. It was the US version of the lens. He said Nikon refused to service it, because the damage was beyond repair.

I mainly use zeiss compact primes, but do also have several of the nikkor G primes, as well as a matched set of AIS nikkors. While the G primes are very nice, I pretty much consider them as disposable items. I used to own the 70-200 2.8 II, but sold it since it was in for repair more than I was using it. If you're a PJ and depend on the 70-200, that would be the only time I suggest buying domestic market (and you probably should get two of them). Because they WILL need to be fixed constantly.

...Show more →

Thanks for all of these points. It seems from the input here and on several other threads, that Nikon's willingness to service a lens is fickle, even if they don't consider it gray market. I have no plans to send my lens to them - my inquiry was to be able to inform a potential future owner of whether the lens is US or gray market.

Your point about the PC vs PC-E is well taken, and a point that I had not thought about before.

Most of my lenses are Zeiss primes too. I am really sold on those lenses and from what I understand, Zeiss stands behind their product.

I also find it interesting that you had to send your 70-200 VR II lens in for repair more than once. I wonder if other people have had that much trouble with those. That lens is on my "perhaps one day I'll get one" list, but I have an old Nikon 80-200mm (one ring) that is wonderful, so I don't have a real justification for the 70-200 since most of what I shoot does not require faster AF or much in the way of VR for that matter.

Cheers - Adele

Feb 03, 2015 at 06:03 PM

henryp
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

Harkness1553 wrote:
I would strongly advise NOT sending anything into Nikon USA for "evaluation". I have read about cases where someone sent in a damaged non-US market lens, and Nikon USA not only refused service but then actually removed a critical part so that independent shops would have a even tougher time of repairing that lens. I don't know if this is true or not (I read it online...) but it sounds plausible.

I have never read anything like this and if I did I'd want collateral verification since we all know anyone can say anything online. It is not plausible to me. YMMV,

Henry Posner
[email protected]
B&H Photo-Video

Feb 04, 2015 at 10:05 AM

wileycoyote
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Determining if a Nikon lens is USA or Gray Market

when mister posner speak, i listen. always have, always will. thanks for joining in!

Feb 04, 2015 at 10:17 AM


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