lens flange broken...repair?

I'm writing for a friend. He has a D5200 with the 18-55 nikkor. It was on a tripod and the tripod was knocked over. The lens snapped off the body. The plastic flanges on the lens mount have broken off. I tried one of my F mount lenses on his body and there seemed to be no problem with the body, so just the lens was damaged.

B&H has this lens for about $250. Would it be cost effective to have it repaired at Nikon, or better to just replace the lens? He wants to stick with that lens. Anyone with experience with this type of repair? Thanks in advance.

Once out of their warranty period, the 18-55 kit lenses retain so little cash value they essentially become disposable. So no, proper professional repair won't be cost effective unless your friend just happens upon a really good repair shop that just happens to have a spare bayonet and is willing to replace it for almost no money.

That being unlikely, I'd recommend simply buying a second hand replacement from eBay or another marketplace. These are very common plentiful lenses, very inexpensive to replace vs repair. The VRII version typically sells for approx $90 in mint condition, the identical earlier non-VR can often be had for $50. The non-VR that came bundled with my Nikon D40 nearly twenty years ago still works flawlessly: they are surprisingly durable unless they take a tumble off a loaded tripod as happened to your friend.

Tracking down a spare lens bayonet for a DIY repair would be cheaper still, but require great care not to disturb or damage the electronics and ribbon cable when swapping the bayonet. OTOH, these internals may have already been damaged by the fall from the tripod. Given the inexpensive cost of a total replacement with this particular lens, it makes more sense to do that than waste time/effort trying to repair one that may have suffered hidden damage in a fall.

To put it mildly, no-one in their right mind is going to pay B&H $250 for an 18-55mm kit lens.

I'd take this opertunity to upgrade to the much better 18-140mm which can be got for a lot less than that.

£100 gets you an excellent condition used lens here in UK.

That's a crazy price for a kit lens. I see B&H have a used one for $75. But yes, look for something better.

at around $250 you find on ebay an 18-55 lens with free D5200 thrown in ...😃

There are many iterations of the F-mount 18-55mm DX kit lens. I am sure they are very inexpensive in the used market. Or perhaps it is an opportunity to upgrade to mirrorless. However, while Nikon has great FX mirrorless cameras, their selections for DX cameras and lenses are fairly limited.

If he wants to spend that much money perhaps look for a used 17-55/2.8, an excellent lens and way better than any kit lens. 
 

Rick H.

Thanks for all the responses. I agree with all of the comments about the setup and the advisability of repair vs replace. Just get a better lens, golden opportunity. But, before I "spent his money" I looked for a second opinion.

KEH has used ones also.

A bit late here, but I'll add that a dropped lens, with camera body attached, probably won't escape without some optical or focussing damage too. 

So although it might look like "just" the mount has been wrecked, until it can be mounted to a camera and re-used; who knows what else might have been damaged too? 

IME a lens with obvious signs of physical damage, even something like a dented filter ring, might well perform below par optically as well. 

I'll definitely second the BER (beyond economic repair) diagnosis. Because repair would be a can of worms not worth opening on a cheap lens like this.

Never did it but maybe https://blog.adafruit.com/2020/02/10/using-baking-soda-and-superglue-to-reconstruct-broken-plastic-parts/

On 2/26/2024 at 2:46 AM, Rick Helmke said:

If he wants to spend that much money perhaps look for a used 17-55/2.8

My used 17-55/2.8 Nikkor had some noticeable de-centring, as well as being ridiculously large and heavy for a DX lens. I bought a much lighter and neater Tamron SP 17-50/2.8 new for about the used price of the hefty Zoom Nikkor and got equal or better IQ. 

Anyone want to buy a 17-55 DX Nikkor that's seen almost no use whilst in my ownership? 

3 minutes ago, Sandy Vongries said:

Never did it but maybe https://blog.adafruit.com/2020/02/10/using-baking-soda-and-superglue-to-reconstruct-broken-plastic-parts/

Sounds like a good way to grow a baking soda wart on your finger! 😀

There's epoxy putty as well, which I can vouch for as easier to work with, and it sets iron hard. I've successfully repaired things from tripod bush knobs to a vacuum cleaner with it.

3 hours ago, Sandy Vongries said:

Never did it but maybe https://blog.adafruit.com/2020/02/10/using-baking-soda-and-superglue-to-reconstruct-broken-plastic-parts/

Noo, you do not want to risk to get baking soda residue and/or other plastic crums in the inner workings in your camera body.. that would result in much more expensive repairs..

he bought a used 18-140 (I think) from KEH

Thanks for the input, appreciated