Any risk mounting a defective lens?

[panocho]

As I posted recently, a few weeks ago I had an accident which resulted on my camera being momentarily but fatally "drowned" in the (sea) water. It was a Nikon D100, and in that moment it had mounted a Nikkor 24-85mm G AF-S ED.

The camera died, and I already have forgotten about it. But at first sight the lens seemed not to have suffered that much. It did have some traces of water inside the glass, but I put it in the sun and that helped. Now my worries are whether I should try this lens on my new Nikon DSLR (when soon I got it) or not. I mean, is the possibility of the lens being damaged a thread for the camera? Could it somehow damage the camera through the electronics, which might have been damaged as well?

Let me add that after having put the lens in the sun, I tried it on the one Nikon body I could try it at that moment: N8008s (F801s). It seemed to work just fine, as far as diafragm is concern, but otherwise I couldn't really tell, since that particular body doesn't support AF with that lens, so I couldn't possibly test that.

I know that, even if it worked, chances are the lens won't last long, and even picture quality might resent from the (apparently minor) damage it suffered. But since I got it (and I was very happy with it), I would like to keep using it until it dies, one way or another. So, could I try using it without the risk of damaging the camera? (I definitely don't want to kill two bodies in a row!)

 

[yeti]

Hi panocho,

I am not sure if anyone can answer that beyond any doubt, as Nikon is not going to advertise their communication protocol between the camera body and the lens, and even if they did, noone is aware of the damage (if any) to your lens. I can, however, make an educated guess regarding what might happen:

Please read this carefully before you attempt anything:

A lens affected by corrosion will most likely be completely dead: when a digital equipment goes bad it really goes bad and turns into a very expensive doorstop. Your lens, however, uses those contacts not only to talk to your camera (which can't damage it), but also to power itself. If part of the damage to your lens short-circuits the camera, it can cause either the battery or something within your camera to run really hot, ultimately damaging it.

I personally believe this scenario, however unlikely, is valid and if you want to test out your lens on your new camera, you should be aware of it. If your aperture worked on this other camera body, there is a very good chance that your entire lens might be okay. If you want to try it and are willing to take a little risk, go ahead, but be prepared to take the lens off very very quickly if you notice anything irregular (battery getting hot, the camera "crashing" or your lens not quite working correctly).

That's my opinion.

 

[SBlanca]

facil, lleva el lente a algun sitio que hagan reparaciones de nikon o que vendan camaras nikon, seguro que ellos te podrian ayudar, seria muy raro que fuese la primera vez que le haya pasado esto a alguien.