Having an issue with my SB 600 flashes and my D800

[danielsandlin]

I don't know what's happening here and I haven't done anything to my flash settings. I am having the flashes pre flash twice then flash and shutter actuates. I press the shutter button, then two pre flashes and then the shutter and flash fire for the exposure. I don't know if my SU 800 and macro flash ring is doing this because I haven't used them in awhile and the batteries died. I've gone I to my flash settings and nothing i changes this.

[mike_halliwell]

Hummm, if it's 3 pre-flashes it's Red Eye Reduction to constrict your pupils.

Does it do this in Manual, say 1/8th power? If it does, it's broken, assuming the above feature is switched OFF.

If it doesn't, it's something to do with pre-flash metering iTTL etc.

It's been a while since I powered up my SB800, I always hated the UI.

[danielsandlin]

Sorry I made typo last night. It's the SB 600. I have two of them and they are working fine the last time I used them. I have an SU200 Commander. I used it to fire the two SB 600s remotely. When I stow my flashes I remove the batteries. But I picked them up last night to take some photos outside after dark and found both to be doing the same thing. I assumed it had to be my camera. I need to get new batteries for the SU 200 and theavro flashes that came with it. Then I can test that to see if it's my camera at this point.

[bgelfand]

I cannot find any reference to  Nikon SU 200. Do you mean the SU-800 Wireless Commander?

None the less, there are four place to the malfunction can be - the camera, the Commander, or the flashes themselves. I would suggest:

1) Mount one of the flashes on the camera and take an image. Does the flash fire correctly? If not the problem is either in the flash or camera.

2) Mount the other flash and take an image. Does the flash fire correctly? If not, the problem is in either the camera or the flash.  If one of the flashes fires correctly and the other does not, the problem is in the flash that malfunctioned. If both flashes failed, the problem is probably with the camera. If you have another camera, mount the flashes on the other camera one at a time and take images. If the flashes work on the second camera body, the problem is with your camera body or its settings. If both flashes still malfunction, the problem is with the flashes or their settings.

3) If both flashes worked on the original body, the problem is probably with the Wireless Commander or its settings, or its position. Do both flashes have a clear line of sight to the Commander with no reflecting surfaces to confuse the commands issued by the Wireless Commander? Is the Commander properly mounted on the camera?

 

[danielsandlin]

Sorry, it was a bout of accidental user error. Funny part is I did t find the answer on the handbook for the SB 600 or the D800 users manual. I just used Google and found it in Ken Rockwell's page on the D800. Somewhere along the lines I must have accidentally kicked in the red eye reduction. I Feel like an idiot. I'm so glad it was that simple. I can't afford replace any of my equipment. It taken me years to amass the gear I have. That D800 is as dear to me as my guitars and amps are. 

[mike_halliwell]

6 hours ago, danielsandlin said:

I just used Google and found it in Ken Rockwell's page on the D800. Somewhere along the lines I must have accidentally kicked in the red eye reduction.

You mean you didn't believe my first post??

🤣