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Really need some help with my SB800..

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I tried a new experiment. Reset the speedlight to factory settings, shot in P mode, TTL, and took two pics, one with the flash and one without.

Without Flash



And with



As I said before, the flash IS firing.

--
Gymnastics Dad with a Camera.

Nikon D50
Nikon 85mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX
Nikon 70-300mm Zoom

And lest we forget my trusty Panny FZ50!

http://public.fotki.com/fugfuggy/
 
Do you have bracket turned on? The exif on your pictures indicate that you do.
fuggy said:
I tried a new experiment. Reset the speedlight to factory settings,
shot in P mode, TTL, and took two pics, one with the flash and one
without.

Without Flash



And with



As I said before, the flash IS firing.

--
Gymnastics Dad with a Camera.

Nikon D50
Nikon 85mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX
Nikon 70-300mm Zoom

And lest we forget my trusty Panny FZ50!

http://public.fotki.com/fugfuggy/
Click to expand...
--
Everything happens for a reason. #1 reason: poor planning

 
Is there another store that you could take it to? I would make sure that there is really something wrong with the hot shoe before you go through the hassle of sending it to Nikon for service.

Have you ever used a hot-shoe mounted flash with your D50 before, or is this the first time?
--

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” -Dorothea Lange
 
this is the first time using the hot shoe on the D50. I tried another test. Went into a dark room and fired directly into a mirror. The flash did fire and here is the result.



--
Gymnastics Dad with a Camera.

Nikon D50
Nikon 85mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX
Nikon 70-300mm Zoom

And lest we forget my trusty Panny FZ50!

http://public.fotki.com/fugfuggy/
 
My guess would be that the camera is not properly transmitting the exposure information to the flash. Definitely seems like a hot-shoe issue.

I would still see if you can get the store to try a new flash on YOUR camera.
--

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” -Dorothea Lange
 
Looking at the flash LCD it shows the camera flash settings and aperture and it is firing and the flash info shows up in the exif so we know they are communicating.
--
Gymnastics Dad with a Camera.

Nikon D50
Nikon 85mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX
Nikon 70-300mm Zoom

And lest we forget my trusty Panny FZ50!

http://public.fotki.com/fugfuggy/
 
Sorry, I'm not really sure what to tell you at this point. It seems like they are communicating, but they are not synced up to on another.
--

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” -Dorothea Lange
 
fuggy said:
Looking at the flash LCD it shows the camera flash settings and
aperture and it is firing and the flash info shows up in the exif so
we know they are communicating.
Click to expand...
I agree with racer4ever that the problem could be with the hot-shoe on your D50. Have a good look for any visible grime or obstruction and give the electrical contacts a good wipe with a dry Kleenex (or similar). Slide the SB-800 onto the hot-shoe and out again a couple of times to make a good electrical contact.
Finally put the SB-800 back on the D50 and lock it into place.
Set the SB-800 to TTL and the D50 on "Auto" (green), and shoot.
How did it turn out?

Is there any particular reason why you set the D50 to rear-curtain sync?

Marco
 
Is the shutter working at the correct time that the flash is firing?
Or is the sensor not producing the correct image coupled with the flash?

How about a longer exposure to make sure that the shutter is open when the flash is firing???
I want to know why this is happening because I plan to buy a SB800 soon...
--
Terry Gelgen
D50
18-55 ED
70-300 VR ED
 
Yeah, I did all of that and still nothing. There is no reason for rear curtain. It was just one of many settings that I was trying.

--
Gymnastics Dad with a Camera.

Nikon D50
Nikon 85mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX
Nikon 70-300mm Zoom

And lest we forget my trusty Panny FZ50!

http://public.fotki.com/fugfuggy/
 
fuggy said:
Yeah, I did all of that and still nothing. There is no reason for
rear curtain. It was just one of many settings that I was trying.
Click to expand...
Did you try the SB-800 in manual mode?
Set the SB-800 to let's say 1/32 in M mode.
Set the D50 to "A" aperture at let's say f/8.
Make sure the FV lock on the D50 is not set.
Shoot.
What's the result?

What are your answers to these questions:
Does the D50 ever show the speed of "1/60 s" when you use the SB-800?
Can you set the SB-800 to TTL-BL - not just TTL (see SB-800 display)?

Do you have any other flash unit you can test on your D50, just to make sure the hot-shoe on your D50 is in fact working correctly?

Marco
 
ocrampix said:
fuggy said:
Yeah, I did all of that and still nothing. There is no reason for
rear curtain. It was just one of many settings that I was trying.
Click to expand...
Did you try the SB-800 in manual mode?
Set the SB-800 to let's say 1/32 in M mode.
Set the D50 to "A" aperture at let's say f/8.
Make sure the FV lock on the D50 is not set.
Shoot.
What's the result?
Click to expand...
same result
ocrampix said:
What are your answers to these questions:
Does the D50 ever show the speed of "1/60 s" when you use the SB-800?
Click to expand...
I think it did once but not now
ocrampix said:
Can you set the SB-800 to TTL-BL - not just TTL (see SB-800 display)?
Click to expand...
In matrix metering but not spot
ocrampix said:
Do you have any other flash unit you can test on your D50, just to
make sure the hot-shoe on your D50 is in fact working correctly?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately no.

--
Gymnastics Dad with a Camera.

Nikon D50
Nikon 85mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF
Nikon 18-55mm AF-S DX
Nikon 70-300mm Zoom

And lest we forget my trusty Panny FZ50!

http://public.fotki.com/fugfuggy/
 
fuggy said:
ocrampix said:
What are your answers to these questions:
Does the D50 ever show the speed of "1/60 s" when you use the SB-800?
Click to expand...
I think it did once but not now
Click to expand...
Interesting.

With the D50 switched on and the SB-800 removed, slide the SB-800 (switched on!) onto the hot-shoe of the D50.
Does the shutter speed on the top LCD display change to "60"?

Is menu item 16 set to TTL?

Marco
 
fuggy;

I am sorry for your problem especially just now during the holidays. It appears as if all of the issues/possiblities have been addressed. So, out of desparation let me offer the following:

Take a pencil eraser (or possibly rubbing alcohol with the camera battery out) and clean the hot shoe contacts. With the old stereo connections we had to clean the contacts that way. I would try the eraser first though.
gk
--
'I'm not as smart today as I will be tomorrow.'
 
pavi1 said:
pavi1 said:
your tip) that the flash leaves backlight mode when I switch to spot
metering. Hmm. Wonder what Nikon's logic is.
Click to expand...
In spot metering TTL-BL is not available. BL is balanced fill-flash.
The camera tries to balance exposure of the main subject and
background. Spot on the subject leaves the camera with insufficient
information to try to balance the background.
Click to expand...
Okay, that's the logic of it then. Thanks, and Merry Christmas.

Cheers,

Horacio
 
fuggy said:
and here is the result. What does that tell you? The flash did fire.
Click to expand...
Below is your mirror shot with levels adjusted:



As you can see, the flash head is completely dark (i.e. it is obviously not fire in sync with the camera's shutter). Given that the flash tested OK on a different camera in the store, this indicates that there is something wrong with the way your camera synchronizes with the flash, and the most likely explanation is camera malfunction. It might something as simple as a bad contact, and it may be something more serious. You should also try to reset your camera to factory defaults (see the manual for how to do this).

The SB-800 is not a difficult unit to use. From what you've told us, I think we can rule out user error, but if you want to make sure, check it out on "full auto". I.e. set the camera's mode dial on the "green square" and the flash on factory default (TTL). If you've played around with the settings, make sure you first reset the flash to factory default values by pressing the mode and on/off buttons simultaneously for approx. 2 sec. as decribed on p. 12 in the manual (after you've done this the flash shall be in TTL mode).
--
 
T Gelgen said:
Is the shutter working at the correct time that the flash is firing?
Or is the sensor not producing the correct image coupled with the flash?
How about a longer exposure to make sure that the shutter is open
when the flash is firing???
I want to know why this is happening because I plan to buy a SB800
soon...
Click to expand...
The problems described by "fuggy" are certainly no general problems.

In my humble opinion there must be an electrical problems with the hot-shoe on his D50.
Go ahead, buy the SB-800, you won't regret it - I certainly did not!

Marco
 
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