Hi Graham,
Sue has the lens. The problem I have involves the lens collar with the tripod mount. The screw hole is too small for the larger tripod screw and too big for the small one. Hitherto, Sue has used the lens handheld. However, I recently bought a new Manfrotto Tripod head (the U shaped one for long lenses and telescopes) and she wanted to use it. This is where the problem arose, because when she tried to fit it, it wouldn't fit.
I took the lens collar off and sent it to Nikon, because clearly there was a problem. They first said the problem was that the screw thread was damaged, and offered to sell us a replacement for £40odd which included a 50% discount on the list price of £90 odd. I then spoke to Nikon, and told them there was no damage to the screw thread, and even if there was, because the hole for the screw goes right though the mount, even if there was damage on one side, the screw would still screw in from the opposite side. The next revelation they came up with was that there should be a sleeve in the mount, to reduce the thread size. This is where I lost my temper with them and told them to return the mount, because it clearly is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold, and we'll sort it out in Court. This is where I need help. Can you recall seeing such a sleeve in the tripod mount? What size screw did you use to attach it to a tripod, the larger one or the smaller?
Needlestosay, the stuff hasn't come back from Nikon yet.
If you can help, I would be grateful.
Colin