
So last week I sold my old D7000 and the 18-200mm VRII lens that came with it. Everything was working fine. A few days later, I ordered a replacement camera and lens. The very next day, I got a message from the buyer that the camera would not focus! She thought maybe she had messed up some of the AF settings while playing around with the menus. So I offered to swing by her house and take a look. It did not take long to figure out that the auto focus was no longer working

On top of that, she had already ordered another lens and has quite a few shooting sessions scheduled with paying clients starting this Saturday!

I took the camera and lens with me when I left. Before heading home, I swung by a local bud's place. He has a D7000 and numerous lenses. We swapped lenses around and it did not take long to figure out that the body was fine. This was a relief because I just sent the body back to Nikon a few months ago because of a problem with the focus system. It turns out that the AF motor in the 18-200 lens is apparently dead. The lens is 3-1/2 years old and has had a VERY gentle life.

I ran home, grabbed my 35mm 1.8, stuck it on the body and hauled back to the buyer's house. This way, she can at least continue familiarizing herself with the camera before she starts doing her scheduled shoots. Hopefully, her new lens will be here before the shoots, but the whacked weather in Houston may delay that. I've already been notified by Amazon that my package will be delayed (supposed to be here today).

The good news is that I was able to find the warranty card for the lens. Since I am the original owner, I can send it in for a warranty repair, then give it back to her. Technically, she hasn't paid for it yet, so it is still mine. Still, it won't be back in time for her shoot. I am hoping my package will arrive before then. If it does, I'll loan her the lens coming with the new body until this one comes back.

I felt terrible that a camera I just sold her stopped working a day later, even though it WAS working perfect the day she picked it up from me. There's no obvious signs of abuse and I don't think she'd mislead me on that. So I am fine with getting it fixed and she is fine with waiting and still wants the camera.

This young lady is new to photography. Before buying my D7000 she was borrowing a friend's D3100 and kit lens. I have seen some of her work. Despite the fact that she has VERY little technical knowledge, she most certainly has "the vision". She takes very good photos and has a great feel for the light. I envy her in this regard. She is working now to bring her technical knowledge/skills up to par. She also needs to work on her business technical skills. Once she does, I think she will do very well. I also kind of envy her ability to just "Do it" without getting bogged down in worrying about every last detail and being willing to learn as she goes.

So anyway, I once again have something shipped off to Nikon for repair. It will be interesting to see if they fix it or simply replace it. I'll let you know.