D200/SB-800 shorting

<p>Has anyone experienced an D200/SB-800 shorting problem. When I put the sb-800 on my d200, the SB will flash randomly. The SB is locked in place on the hotshoe. Have not experienced this issue with the SB on a light stand so I beginning to think the D200 hotshoe has an issue. Anyone have any experience with such a repair/costs? Thanks.</p>

<p>Sometimes, this is because folks are hitting the function key on the front of the camera body with their finger tips, and have that configured to fire off the strobe's "modeling light" feature, which is used to produce a quick series of flashes to let you see where the light is falling as you compose. That can seem to be random if you're not aware you're doing it.</p>

<p>Unfortunately this may be 'normal' with the D200 (at least the 3 of them that I had did it). I called Nikon at the time and they said it was due to static electricity and not to worry about it. I never did anything about it and the SB-800 worked and continues to work as it should on other bodies - it only randomly fired on the D200.</p>

<p>A flash bracket may help.</p>

<p>Revisit your custom settings to see how your Function button is set. Perhaps it is set to Flash Value Lock.</p>

<p>I had the same problem, used a different SB-800 and still had problem, that told me it was the camera.<br>

After numeous searches here and other places I found a solution that worked for me.<br>

I dont remember where the post was but it said to carefully squeeze the sides of the hot shoe, this will make the fit better.<br>

It worked for me, have not had the problem since. Just be careful if you try it.<br>

Good luck</p>

<p>Yes, many of us have experienced that. The problem is the loose hot shoe of the D200.</p>

<p>You can use any other camera body, use wireless flash or some other way for a remote flash. I downgraded to a SB-400. Some may upgrade to a SB-900 which allegedly has a thicker shoe. Or you can get the D200 serviced. Perhaps you might try to bang the D200's shoe rails with a hammer...</p>

<p>I've found this interesting gadget made by Nikon: http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Miscellaneous/25393/WG-AS3-Water-Guard-for-D700.html</p>

<p>It's supposed to fit between the D700 body and SB-900 flash to give a perfect fit. Could it fit between a D200 and SB-800? There's also a version for D300 and D3, anyone wants to try on the D200?</p>

<p>I may also be a hotshoe that needs to be replaced, especially if the SB-800 feels solidly mounted and the shorts still occur. I had a D200 but did not experience that problem, but I did have a similar problem with one of my D700's and SB_800s and a hotshoe replacement at Nikon solved it right away.</p>

<p>You might want to borrow someone else's Nikon SB and try it on your camera, just to verify it's a camera and not a flash issue.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I was about to ask about this, because, to answer your question, yes, I'm having the same problem. I thought at first I was accidentally hitting the function buttons on the front of the body but it happens even when I'm not. The flashes are very short and not as powerful or as frequent as the modeling flash. I've been using the SB-800 for about 5 years, and the D200 for 2.5 years, and it's only in the last month that this has started to happen.</p>

<p>It helps if I turn off the D200 and SB-800 periodically. I have another problem with the SB-800 and D200 combo: sometimes it will not come out of standby when I turn on the D200 (typically after many cycles of going into and out of standby), and I cannot turn off the SB-800 by using the on/off switch. Also, some of the standby screen pixels are not rendered (approx. the bottom half) when this happens. Removing and re-inserting the batteries fixes it. It may or may not be related, but I'm documenting for future reference in case others experience the same.</p>

<p>The hot shoe explanation may be why the random flashes are only happening now (a few years of stress on the shoe have probably increased the gap). It feels somewhat tight though. I'll need to take a closer look.</p>

<p>I did drop the D200 once a few months ago, but the flash was not attached. This may have been a contributing factor if the shock somehow jerked something loose.</p>