farmer on the hill Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I have a D200 with a SB-800 Flash, yesterday while shooting a wedding, the flash started firing on it's own, sometimes when I was taking a shot, the flash would fail. Can anyone tell me what is going on? Is it a problem with the camera or is it the flash? When I take the flash off the camera, it does not happen. I have another photo shoot this evening and am concerned. Help required fast on this end. Thanks Jonathan Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik_loza Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I would almost bet you money that it was not securely fastened into the camera hot shoe when this happened. I've been using various Nikon speedlights for years and once in a while, wouldn't seat the flash fully (easier to do on the older SB's with the thumbwheel lock), and they would go crazy on their own. Just like when they get low on batteries and start misbehaving, though the fact that you say it acts normally when off-camera makes me think that's not it. Anyway, I would clean the contacts on both speedlight and hot shoe, visually inspect the locking lever for any issues, and experiment to see if you can duplicate the issue. Probly' not a real problem, though. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer on the hill Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Thanks Erik, I will check out what you have suggested, thanks for the quick reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer on the hill Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Hi Erik, Thanks a million, it worked, at first I was doubtful as I did clean the contacts yesterday however I just cleaned the contacts on both the camera and flash unit with alcohol and so far so good. Best regards Jonathan Farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelmer Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Hi Jonathan, I have experienced the same thing some time ago, using the same flash/cam combo. First thought the flash was broken, but testing on a D70 didn't make the problem reoccur. Cleaning both surfaces did solve the problem at the time. Recently the problem starts to begin again. Seems the D200/SB800 needs a lot of cleaning. I also think that the flash is not mounted very firmly onto the camera. There seems to be a bit of slack... Is that comon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer on the hill Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Hi Jelmer, There is a bit of play where the flash mount rocks in the hot shoe. I am just happy I can do my work this evening without being paranoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_smith3 Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Ditto what Erik said. Related point. Even if the flash is locked into the shoe, it might be locked, but the flash might not be properly seated into the shoe with proper contacts having been made. This was driving me nuts until I finally figured out what I had done wrong. Joe Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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