In the last three days I have slipped and fell twice on slippery rocks, carrying my D700 with Nikkor 16-35 F4 lens attached to a Manfrotto tripod. The first occasion the tripod took most of the shock and thank God no damage done to camera, lens and cokin filter. Now 3 days later I find myself up in the air again with the sickening sound of expensive camera gear hitting solid rock. This time not so lucky, lens separated from camera leaving the mount behind in the body. It seems fixable to me, there is some broken plastic on the bayonet fitting, some orange tape hanging out and hopefully the rest of the lens will be okay. The bayonet mount seems weak for the length and weight of the lens and I think this is a common occurrence.

However the lens is a grey purchase, from what I know if I take it to Nikon for repair they will check the serial number, find out it's a grey import and refuse to repair it. Is this correct? If so is there anywhere else I can send it for repair? Possibly somebody connected with this forum?
My beautiful 16-35, so sad to see it broken (sniff). Incidentally the D700 body came through both falls with no damage, as well as the Manfrotto aside from some scratches. A lesson learned, the hard way - don't walk around with the camera mounted on the tripod, take it off and put it in the bag. That's why there is a quick release.