Help! External flash not working

[Ray10016]

I just got a vivitar 728af nikon flash and I was trying it out on the D70 but the falsh wouldn't fire. When I connect the flash and turn it on, on the LCD display on the top of the camera the flash sign comes on but it is blinking. I am using M mode on the camera and I tried changing everything in the menu to manual, I even tried manual focus but the camera will not take a shot. The flash indicator keeps blinking on the lcd and in the viewfinder, and when I press shutter release no shot is taken (but the camera does focus on the subject).

I know that the flash is working becasue I connected it to my nikon 990 using the nikon external flash bracket, and it works fine. On the flash the settings that are available are iso sensitivity, aperture, and the following modes: T, S, W1, W2. The flash manual doesn't say anything about how to put it in manual mode.
Can someone please help?

Thanks,
Ray

 

[StevenN]

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

--StevenN

I just got a vivitar 728af nikon flash and I was trying it out on
the D70 but the falsh wouldn't fire. When I connect the flash and
turn it on, on the LCD display on the top of the camera the flash
sign comes on but it is blinking. I am using M mode on the camera
and I tried changing everything in the menu to manual, I even tried
manual focus but the camera will not take a shot. The flash
indicator keeps blinking on the lcd and in the viewfinder, and when
I press shutter release no shot is taken (but the camera does focus
on the subject).
I know that the flash is working becasue I connected it to my nikon
990 using the nikon external flash bracket, and it works fine. On
the flash the settings that are available are iso sensitivity,
aperture, and the following modes: T, S, W1, W2. The flash manual
doesn't say anything about how to put it in manual mode.
Can someone please help?

Thanks,
Ray

 

[Ray10016]

Thanks Steven. This news really sucks. Are you having the same problem with the blinking flash indicator?

--StevenN

I just got a vivitar 728af nikon flash and I was trying it out on
the D70 but the falsh wouldn't fire. When I connect the flash and
turn it on, on the LCD display on the top of the camera the flash
sign comes on but it is blinking. I am using M mode on the camera
and I tried changing everything in the menu to manual, I even tried
manual focus but the camera will not take a shot. The flash
indicator keeps blinking on the lcd and in the viewfinder, and when
I press shutter release no shot is taken (but the camera does focus
on the subject).
I know that the flash is working becasue I connected it to my nikon
990 using the nikon external flash bracket, and it works fine. On
the flash the settings that are available are iso sensitivity,
aperture, and the following modes: T, S, W1, W2. The flash manual
doesn't say anything about how to put it in manual mode.
Can someone please help?

Thanks,
Ray

 

[fjp]

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing so I can post my results.

--
FJP

 

[MegaPixel]

My Vivitar 285HV works just fine with the D70, either on the camera or with an SC-17 cable, the problem could be with some flashes made specifically for "other" nikon models which transmit data back and forth to the flash, one "computer" is not talking to the other one.

I had the same problem with a Minolta flash made for Maxxum cameras and it just would not work with minolta Digital Cameras.

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato
masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to
try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to
log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing
so I can post my results.

--
FJP

--
http://www.pbase.com/megap

MP

 

[Ray10016]

Thanks to everyone for their input. But is there anyway that I can get the flash (vivitar 728af) to work with the D70. Can I use a sensor to make the flash fire? or can the use of a nikon bracket do the trick? please help. I dont want to spend more money than I already have.

I had the same problem with a Minolta flash made for Maxxum cameras
and it just would not work with minolta Digital Cameras.

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato
masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to
try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to
log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing
so I can post my results.

--
FJP

--
http://www.pbase.com/megap

MP

 

[xxxxxx]

Ray

The D70 is "I" TTL only with some amazing features available because of this.
The only way you could get an aftermarket gun like this to work
is if the gun has internal sensing for exposure itself.
If it is a gun designed with no internal sensor and only to work on
Nikon ttl it would not work on any nikon or canon Dslr as they meter totally

differently. It would work on a fuji because Fuji just use nikon's old TTL technology but dont expect acuracy as many fuji owners have found.

You could buy any old gun with a sensor in the gun like a metz 45CT1 and use a flash sync adaptor on the hotshoe but to get TTL you only can use the SB-600 or SB-800, until aftermarket solutions become available

Regard xxxxxx

I had the same problem with a Minolta flash made for Maxxum cameras
and it just would not work with minolta Digital Cameras.

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato
masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to
try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to
log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing
so I can post my results.

--
FJP

--
http://www.pbase.com/megap

MP

 

[fjp]

You could buy any old gun with a sensor in the gun like a metz
45CT1 and use a flash sync adaptor on the hotshoe but to get TTL
you only can use the SB-600 or SB-800, until aftermarket solutions
become available

My Metz is the 60CT4 and I used it a lot with the Canon G3 and the exposures were very accurate so maybe I"ll have luck with the D70.

--
FJP

 

[MegaPixel]

Ray, in your original message you said the flash won't even fire, so assuming that you get the flash to fire, how would it control the light output without communication with the camera?, manually?, does it have a light sensor? my Vivitar 285 has it's own sensor, when I said that it worked with the D70, I meant as it was designed to do, with it's own thyristor and the camera on manual or apperture priority within the flash sync speed. Like the good old days.

I had the same problem with a Minolta flash made for Maxxum cameras
and it just would not work with minolta Digital Cameras.

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato
masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to
try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to
log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing
so I can post my results.

--
FJP

--
http://www.pbase.com/megap

MP

--

MP

 

[Ray10016]

First of all I still can't get the flash to fire. I don't know too much about flashes but I can say this: the flash has a large portion in the front composed of red translucent plastic. Is that the sensor? I am pretty sure this is not an auto thyristor flash. I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere online.

Ok so if it doesn't communicate with the D70 then how does it communicate with the nikon 990 via the optional flash bracket? Does it mean that the 990 supports the TTL being used by this flash?

My main concern is that I would like the flash to fire and provide lighting for indoors flash bounce. I don't really need the advanced features like ttl and so on. Is there any way that I can get this flash to fire at the same time as the camera shutter release without having to utilize the light sensing slave hotshoes?

I will recommned that you read my original post to understand what I am saying here.

I had the same problem with a Minolta flash made for Maxxum cameras
and it just would not work with minolta Digital Cameras.

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato
masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to
try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to
log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing
so I can post my results.

--
FJP

--
http://www.pbase.com/megap

MP

--

MP

 

[MegaPixel]

Only trying to help

The red translucent plastic is more than likely a "focus assistance" light and has no sensor capabilities whatsoever, In most cameras the 2 contacts that trigger the flash will be the center pin and the outside border of the metal shoe in the camera, and will correspond to similar contacts in the flash, the other pins are used for camera/flsh communication

They sell "slave" triggers in camera stores that when attached to the flash will trigger it by reading the light when another flash fires.

My main concern is that I would like the flash to fire and provide
lighting for indoors flash bounce. I don't really need the
advanced features like ttl and so on. Is there any way that I can
get this flash to fire at the same time as the camera shutter
release without having to utilize the light sensing slave hotshoes?

I will recommned that you read my original post to understand what
I am saying here.

I had the same problem with a Minolta flash made for Maxxum cameras
and it just would not work with minolta Digital Cameras.

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato
masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to
try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to
log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing
so I can post my results.

--
FJP

--
http://www.pbase.com/megap

MP

--

MP

--

MP

 

[Ray10016]

MegaPixel thanks a million. Your advice helped. I used nail polish (not mine, my wife's) to polish over the extraneous contacts (all except the center one and one to the front and right of the flash). Using an electrical wire, first placing it on the center contact and then touching the other contacts I determined which contact is responsible for firing the flash.

Then I blunted the contacts that were not needed, I placed the flash on the d70 and wow the flash fires when I take a shot in manual. However, I can't change the power of the flash with using the power adjustments in the camera or on the flash itself. But hey it still fires, and makes a cheap alternative to use until the sb600 comes out or until I decide to buy a more expensive flash.

Ray

The red translucent plastic is more than likely a "focus
assistance" light and has no sensor capabilities whatsoever, In
most cameras the 2 contacts that trigger the flash will be the
center pin and the outside border of the metal shoe in the camera,
and will correspond to similar contacts in the flash, the other
pins are used for camera/flsh communication

They sell "slave" triggers in camera stores that when attached to
the flash will trigger it by reading the light when another flash
fires.

My main concern is that I would like the flash to fire and provide
lighting for indoors flash bounce. I don't really need the
advanced features like ttl and so on. Is there any way that I can
get this flash to fire at the same time as the camera shutter
release without having to utilize the light sensing slave hotshoes?

I will recommned that you read my original post to understand what
I am saying here.

I had the same problem with a Minolta flash made for Maxxum cameras
and it just would not work with minolta Digital Cameras.

It seems some (if not all) third-party flashes won't work on the
D70. I have a Sunpak 433D with a Nikon-dedicated hotshoe, and it
won't work on my D70. I'm going to buy a Nikon flash.

Hmmm. This is bad news if true. I have an expensive Metz potato
masher flash that dumps tons of light I was eventually going to
try. I know this post doesn't contain any info, but I just want to
log it so I can find this thread again when I get around to testing
so I can post my results.

--
FJP

--
http://www.pbase.com/megap

MP

--

MP

--

MP

 

[MegaPixel]

That;s good , at least it'll work until you can get something else, you can always take pictures wich may be wrongly exposed and adjust the aperture until you get the desired exposure.

I have both Minolta and Nikon cameras, that's why i went with a Vivitar 285, it can work with any camera, it does not have the fancy built in computer that the dedicated flashes have but it works great if you learn to use it.

Good Luck

MP