question about USA lens vs import

[dittojackson]

I apologize in advance if this question seems a bit stupid. I researched a lot of the past threads on this lens...the nikon 70-200mm 2.8VR. We have splurged and finally bought it. I did buy new altho not from B&H simply b/c i wanted the option of paying off in 6 months no interest....anyways.

At B&H and others there is the option to buy USA vs Imported. At Best Buy there was no option. I recieved it in the mail today and wondered if i have made a mistake? Mostly i was suprised as the plate is silver, not gold. All the photos i have seen it is gold. Does this mean it is one of the grey maket/import models? Or is it a USA model? How can i tell? There is a littel sticker next to the plate that says Nikon USA.

The warranty says it is valid in the USA. I have heard the silver plate ones are the import ones. I am now totally confused....i know both kinds are made the same, but i thought the imported ones could only be sent to japan for repair...i can still send this back if i need to, but i am dyin to use this baby...i guess i could get past the silver plate!

I figured i'd get more help from you professionals better than anyone else! TIA!
Tami

[dittojackson]

Nobody?? We also put in a question to Nikon and we got our first response this morning. He sais HE has never seen a silver one and to please send them pictures of it to look into it furthur. This is too weird. I will let you all know what happens...

[dittojackson]

This just ticks me off. I sent pix to the Nikon guy and he simply said it looks gold to him and we should be fine.

My DH called Calagaz and they said Nikon only makes gold ones, so if it is silvery that is not right.

We called another camera store and he said Nikon makes 2 types...the gold plates are "pro" lenses and the silvery ones are not.

My DH and i both insist it is not gold, but a brushed nickel color. I will never be happy thinking there is something not quite right about this. I googled and found oneother person having this issue....but never resolved.

Getting answers that are opposites of each other does not help. I guess i will send it back and get it from B&H...

Weird, huh?

[hendon]

Hi Tami, I don't have that particular lens you're talking about but I wondered what you meant by the 'plate' being gold or silver? When I brought my 18-200 VR 3.5-5.6 from B&H there was an option to buy USA or Imported but there wasn't a lot a price difference between them. Mine says 'Made in Thailand' which is fine by me since I live in New Zealand and would have to get it serviced or fixed in New Zealand anyway.

[SAHMom]

Probably not much help, but mine is gold, definitely more of a brushed gold though, not a shiny gold. And the small little oval sticker saying Nikon USA is next to it.
Sorry, not much help! Have you used it yet?

[audrey77]

I'm sure you've seen these photos of it?
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR

What does Nikon say about the serial number?

[dittojackson]

The Ken Rockell photos were the ones i was looking at where the plate looks distinctly goldd to me. When DH got home we took it outside to look at it again...to me it has a brushed nickel look still...i dunno...maybe i'm just nutz. The Nikon guy said that the plate/serial number looked like they should. I said i was gonna send it back, but i think we will keep it. I had something i wanted to use it for this weekend, but we have not put it on yet to try until we decided what to do. I think tomorrow we will go back to Calagaz to see theirs in person again to compare. Then i'm ready to get that baby workin'!

Thanks for your replies...i think everyone is off enjoying the summer!

[dittojackson]

Lettin' y'all know it's all GOOD! Think i was going a bit nuts....maybe it was the $$...but

I played with it yesterday....need some practice but it's lovely!

[marymn]

Just wanted you to know that I recently dealt with the imported vs U.S. on a canon lens and camera. Canon will not warranty an imported lens. U.S. products come with a warranty and that is a huge difference. When you buy imported you have to buy a warranty usually from the seller. This came directly from Canon people. And most sites will tell you that if you read the fine print.