You are probably right that it is the VR. I've got a couple of VR lenses from Nikon and some make more noise than others (my 300/2.8 VR sounds like a tank going by and I can't hear it on my 16-35/4). VR combined with AF hunting could contribute to noise.

I don't think you should stress about it unless AF is really slow or VR isn't helping at all. My VR test is to look through the view finder hand held. You should see an improvement with it on.

BBF will start the VR motor as will a half shutter press. You may be able to disable it in a setting, but that is default.

I've been using this kit for a while and like it - https://www.thedustpatrol.com/

There are some good resources. Read/watch them all.

www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com is a good resource too.


I've had the store do it and I've done it myself. Very stressful to do it yourself, but not that hard and it goes pretty fast. Just rul through your; camera's cleaning, blower then the more extreme methods. In my experience, if the blower doesn't do it, it needs wet.

Once you have the aspect ratio, you can sync just that to all your images. If they are all out of the same camera with the same resolution, sync the whole crop settings. I don't think crop settings apply to presets.

That looks interesting. Another layer of backup is great in my opinion.

Do you want a 400mm prime, or a zoom?

Many go with the Sigma/Tamron 150-600.

The Nikon 200-500 is great.

300mmf4 with a 1.4 TC is also an option.

my $0.02 is to look at a few options.


The prime lenses are super sharp with better bokeh in my opinion, but there are options.

You should be able to get a replacement eye piece. I was loosing them all the time then used some gaffers tape under to make it fit tight. I think you can get a 3-pack on Amazon for less than $20.

Can't tell about other part in photo. Maybe some super glue?

That is kind of funny. Let her know it is actually a great focal length for portraits. Seriously, if you have questions, let me know. It is a well talked about lens. I love my new 300/2.8, but it is heavy. This lens can still serve a purpose for me and I can answer questions on it.

Stiff is generally good. You aren't holding big glass, but you won't want a wobbler either. Find your max desired height and add a little, then you can collapse each section a little to make it more stable.

As for heads, lot of opinions. I have used tilt, ball and no head on mine. Today I don't use a head. With the head on there, you can forget it is loose and the lens camera will come crashing down (Still attached, but rotates really hard).

So, now I like no head. I use it on bigger Nikon primes running up and down sports sidelines where simple works for me.

Twist vs lever locks is another endless debate. I like twist and my favorite color is green... meaning I don't think it matters.

Is the AF hunting fast? Or slow... if it is slow, the motor might be bad. Since the AF is running, it may be something other than the lens.

Clean lens and camera contacts.
Turn off VR and memory.
Pull and check the drop in filter.
Try another body if you can.
Try Live View if that body supports it.

Warranty might come into play. When I have the scenario you describe, it is usually self inflicted (for me) with a menu setting. Maybe save your camera settings and try to reset it.

I don't have that lens, but my 300/2.8 VR weighs a lot. there are dedicated strap mounts on the lens body where I have my peak design red pucks. That lens on a pro/gripped body has to come in around 10 pounds.

I don't walk around with it via strap much. When I'm on the sidelines it is attached to a monopod, but for some sports I need to move around, so I have the strap on the lens and the monopod comes up horizontal behind me when I need to move quickly.

My guess is that the tripod mount is designed for the weight. My 70-200/2.8 with heavy body dangles from the tripod foot bouncing all around as I run about. What I've heard you don't want to do is support it from the camera and stress the lens mount.

As for my Peak Design attachment, I get Arca Swiss feet with slots that allow me to thread in the red pucks. I have one from Really Right Stuff and one that shows DTB-60 on it. I think they sell their own, or one comes with the clutch strap.

One of my first thoughts was that a D5 might become more realistic now...

Still available.

If you don't see both when you look at "Battery Info" - then something might be off. Mine looks like the image above.

I have battery info in my quick menu to easily check, and I assigned Fn2 to show the quick menu. On the top LCD, I think it only shows one battery which is probably the primary one configured in the menu settings above.

My approach with the current costs is to get two. Then, every week or more I swap them out.

Now, I just back up to them, so that works. I run a little tool that copies all images, settings and database to the external drive. That gives me a point in time backup.

The spare drive then goes somewhere else (like work). Then I have two drives with one somewhere else.

You didn't say what you want them for, so maybe I'm suggesting something that isn't useful.

I love Kurtz Camera. They will do out of warranty work. There are others, but they are the closest to me and do great work.

You are right that you can't send it to Nikon directly. You may want to search for certified Nikon repair centers.