Sb900 conenction issue

Harvey_nikon

Harvey_nikon

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Hi all,

At a party Sat night and was playing around with the flash on the D700. I kept going to take photos and the flash wasn't going off.

It seems to wiggle slightly in the hot shoe which means that its losing the connection to the camera.

I've not had chance to try my other sb900 yet so not sure where the issue lies. I can't see any screws for tightening anything up. Other than wrapping a bit of electrical tape around the edge not sure what to do.

Anyone had this problem before?
 
:suspect: had a problem with mine saturday night too, not going off, or going off a second or two after the shutter, which was very odd. Mind you, it was also doing a weird strobing thing every so often and sometimes going off if I just moved it on the mounting.

After fiddling with removing and refitting, taking batteries out and putting them back in, checking all the settings, etc, and to no avail, I did a 'reset' from menu, which seemed to sort it out, so just crossing fingers its all ok now. There was nothing on the lcd or in the menus btw that indicated any unusual settings or anything either, it was just having a total hissy fit.

have you checked the locking pin is working btw?
 
Hi Both, Your SB900 has a safety thermal cutout, if the flash bulb get's to hot it will shut down and cool off. If that is the reason, you can shut the thermal cutout to off in the menu settings. I have had this a few times when shooting school groups, it can be a real pain in the rear end, luckily my SB800 does not have the function.
 
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its not the thermal cut out, no where near approaching that level of use even at weddings.

It's definitely the hot shoe, it moves ever so slightly in it and when it does the screen can go from showing the active setup to the standby arrow.

I'll check the locking pin when I get home, I'll try it on the hot shoes I have for my stands.
 
Yv said:
:suspect: had a problem with mine saturday night too, not going off, or going off a second or two after the shutter, which was very odd.
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That sounds like a battery issue to me, either in the flash or the triggers (if applicable). I've had mine do all sorts of weird things and a fresh set of Eneloops is usually the cure :D
 
It wasn't the thermal cut out, it started after flash had been turned off for well over an hour while we were eating.

Batteries was my thought too, I do run on eneloops, but if it was its odd, because i used the flash much less this week than normal and it was fine after a reset on same batteries, though I did have the 800 to hand just in case.

I have just ordered some extra sets anyway, just in case ;)
 
I've never used these Eneloops batterys, in fact I have never heard of them until now. Is it right what it say's on the tin??

Sorry for hijacking your thread.
 
Grayo said:
I've never used these Eneloops batterys, in fact I have never heard of them until now. Is it right what it say's on the tin??
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Yes, 7dayshop do their own, cheaper version, although from experience they tend not to be, as the name suggests "Good 2 Go" and need charged first.
 
Ahhh, found this thread again, wanted to update so others know what has happened.

OK, the random flashing and strobing continued, despite rests and fresh batteries, so I decided that as soon as I had a few weeks free, I would get it repaired under warranty.
I should also point out that the flash was perfectly well behave when used as an off camera flash unit with triggers or CLS

However, a few weeks later, the SB800 started doing exactly the same when mounted on the D700. It was at this point I discovered both flashes were perfectly ok on the D300.

So, that narrowed it down to a camera issue. I compared how they sat on the hotshoes- both had small movement on the D300, but significantly more on the D700

Anyway - I searched the internet and in no time at all found a lot of forum threads, both here and in the states, where people were having the same problem, always with the D700/SB900 combo and particularly amongst the wedding photography community where there seems to be higher than normal instances of using them attached to Rapid Straps - as in, upside down when not actually in your hands. Some were saying that the D3 and its brothers aren't affected as they seem to have a different hotshoe, which may or maynot be true. My only reservation was seeing no one having the same problem with say for instance a D300 or D90... :shrug:

So, I dropped the D700 off with Nikon in Kingston. They have replaced the hotshoe, spring and circuit board, as well as a service and I am £148 lighter but at least it all works again now.

It has of course left me less willing to have that combo hung by my side, and spent saturdays wedding with them on the harness only when needed, if I could take them off, I did.

So, regardless of the in's and out's - I know people use this combination a lot, so if you do start having this problem, I just wanted a record on the forum that it might be more than just a fresh set of batteries needed.
 
i was talking to harvey nikon who started the thread - not the person who has hi jacked it
so ther you go smarty pants- ha ha ha
 
holty said:
i was talking to harvey nikon who started the thread - not the person who has hi jacked it
so ther you go smarty pants- ha ha ha
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then you would have read that he was asked if the locking pin, operated by aforementioned little lever, was operating correctly - so boo sucks to you too :p


...and for the record, I am interested to know how HN got on with his too :thinking:
 
I'm not convinced that the hotshoe actually needs replaced. I get the feeling that all that needs replaced/tightened is the small spring plate on the hotshoe, which looks like about 50p worth, as a few people have sorted the problem by either wedging a small piece of card/plastic under the rear of the flash, or bending the spring plate, both of which were methods that cured the similar problem that used to effect the SB600 when used on the old Cactus V2 triggers......
 
Flash In The Pan said:
I'm not convinced that the hotshoe actually needs replaced. I get the feeling that all that needs replaced/tightened is the small spring plate on the hotshoe, which looks like about 50p worth, as a few people have sorted the problem by either wedging a small piece of card/plastic under the rear of the flash, or bending the spring plate, both of which were methods that cured the similar problem that used to effect the SB600 when used on the old Cactus V2 triggers......
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I know, I tried that [and the 'tape' under the spring method], but too late, it worked for about half an hour, then right back to where I was. I am guessing the nature of it leads to progressive wear when you consider it mechanically.... probably should have done it weeks & weeks ago, but was pretty convinced it was the flash itself so never bothered searching the 'net for answers. TBH, whilst I suspect you can probably do it yourself with the correct part, I can't afford to mess it up, so opted for the Nikon route. Oh and no, I was NOT letting the oily handed oiks near it either ;)

edit: sorry Graham, should have added, mine had gone from having forward/backward movement to also having excessive lateral movement, as if the actual hotshoe side pieces were opening out - I did read one guy that said he cured the problem by gently tapping with a small hammer...which scared the bejasus out of me quite frankly!
 
Yv said:
then you would have read that he was asked if the locking pin, operated by aforementioned little lever, was operating correctly - so boo sucks to you too :p


...and for the record, I am interested to know how HN got on with his too :thinking:
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as i said i was talking to the organ grinder not the monkey:lol::lol::lol::lol:
he still never said whether he checked the locking pin he said he would check it when he got home that night so you never read it properly :clap:
so let him speak for himself and take a back seat
do you dye your hair blonde ??
 
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Yv said:
I know, I tried that [and the 'tape' under the spring method], but too late, it worked for about half an hour, then right back to where I was. I am guessing the nature of it leads to progressive wear when you consider it mechanically.... probably should have done it weeks & weeks ago, but was pretty convinced it was the flash itself so never bothered searching the 'net for answers. TBH, whilst I suspect you can probably do it yourself with the correct part, I can't afford to mess it up, so opted for the Nikon route. Oh and no, I was NOT letting the oily handed oiks near it either ;)

edit: sorry Graham, should have added, mine had gone from having forward/backward movement to also having excessive lateral movement, as if the actual hotshoe side pieces were opening out - I did read one guy that said he cured the problem by gently tapping with a small hammer...which scared the bejasus out of me quite frankly!
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Yeah, there was a D700 on Fleabay with the issue, that was how I happened upon it, the part itself is under a tenner, but as you say it's not something to start messing about with :help:
 
holty said:
as i said i was talking to the organ grinder not the monkey:lol::lol::lol::lol:
he still never said whether he checked the locking pin he said he would check it when he got home that night so you never read it properly :clap:
so let him speak for himself and take a back seat
do you dye your hair blonde ??
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bit harsh, dont you think?
 
holty said:
as i said i was talking to the organ grinder not the monkey:lol::lol::lol::lol:
he still never said whether he checked the locking pin he said he would check it when he got home that night so you never read it properly :clap:
so let him speak for himself and take a back seat
do you dye your hair blonde ??
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Everyone else has managed to reply with helpful comments except you. I think your comment here was a bit uncalled for and very condescending.

Just because Yv is not the OP, there is no need for that tone
 
holty said:
as i said i was talking to the organ grinder not the monkey:lol::lol::lol::lol:
he still never said whether he checked the locking pin he said he would check it when he got home that night so you never read it properly :clap:
so let him speak for himself and take a back seat
do you dye your hair blonde ??
Click to expand...

Offensive little fellow, aren't you?
 
I'll add into this:

D2x and SB800... used to have it on hung round my neck (normal strap BTW) or over my shoulder, bouncing around as I moved. Anyway, didn't think nowt of it until exactly the same happened - flash would work intermittently and wouldn't work when the camera was in vertical (portrait) orientation, pointing towards the weight of the flash disengaging the contact. I did the old thing of adjusting the spring plate, which worked for a while, but I've always found those metal hotshoes to be a b****r for putting excess wear on the hotshoe, especially if you don't take the flash off/put it on carefully. I think metal-on-metal isn't a combination that suffers rough-ass treatment.

Anyway, I happened to drop my camera once, breaking the hotshoe off the D2x. had it replaced and couldn't beleive the difference a new hotshoe made; everything was tight and totally no movement. however, over time, play has crept in so there is a wiggle but everything works fine. I do believe these bigger flashes don't promote longevity between camera hotshoe and flash hotshoe foot and if there's ever a SB900 successor that's bigger, Nikon will have to do something about the strength of its camera hotshoes, or dare I say it, change the fitting altogether....
 
specialman said:
I'll add into this:

D2x and SB800... used to have it on hung round my neck (normal strap BTW) or over my shoulder, bouncing around as I moved. Anyway, didn't think nowt of it until exactly the same happened - flash would work intermittently and wouldn't work when the camera was in vertical (portrait) orientation, pointing towards the weight of the flash disengaging the contact. I did the old thing of adjusting the spring plate, which worked for a while, but I've always found those metal hotshoes to be a b****r for putting excess wear on the hotshoe, especially if you don't take the flash off/put it on carefully. I think metal-on-metal isn't a combination that suffers rough-ass treatment.

Anyway, I happened to drop my camera once, breaking the hotshoe off the D2x. had it replaced and couldn't beleive the difference a new hotshoe made; everything was tight and totally no movement. however, over time, play has crept in so there is a wiggle but everything works fine. I do believe these bigger flashes don't promote longevity between camera hotshoe and flash hotshoe foot and if there's ever a SB900 successor that's bigger, Nikon will have to do something about the strength of its camera hotshoes, or dare I say it, change the fitting altogether....
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Thats certainly interesting to know Pat - I hardly ever used SB800 on D700 - two reasons, I dont totally get on with the 800, preferring the button/menu system on the 900 and secondly, if I used it, it would generally be on the less often used D300, or off camera. However, it was sticking it on to D700 that made me realise the issues the 900 had caused. I certainly think its something Nikon need to look at, especially if they plan even bigger flash heads in the future. I was looking to trade the 800 for another 900, but needless to say, now thinking twice about it.
 
YV - I wouldn't switch my 800s (and SB28s) for the world because they're so easy to use. Love the fact that you can just press a button and a change is made.... no unlocking buttons and what not. Plus, I like the smaller size....
 
did you lock the flash onto the hotshoe with the little lever

i think this was a constructive question

still never found out if it was.
 
specialman said:
YV - I wouldn't switch my 800s (and SB28s) for the world because they're so easy to use. Love the fact that you can just press a button and a change is made.... no unlocking buttons and what not. Plus, I like the smaller size....
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I guess its horses for courses really... what I really want is an SB900 control system in an SB800 size/output.... however, I will probably add another 800 for on camera use now and keep the 900 for OCF only - I cant afford another £150 repair in another 10mths time, and 10mths after that...well i can afford it, I just dont want to afford it - though it also depends on the following....

.... I also meant to mention, I am looking at another solution to that is meant to help before you have the problem - there is a waterproof attachment that sits round the hotshoe, and is claimed to hold the flash in a more solid position, hence reducing the amount of movement it can make reducing the stress on the hotshoe metal. However, I want to see a reali life one, to see how it fits and whether it will do what some are saying on other forums.
 
holty said:
why are there a lot of very uptight people on this forum :shrug:
dont they know what a bit of banter is all about :shrug:
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your original post came across as banter and I responded in kind, quite happy with that - your second one ventured well beyond that....however if you consider it was banter, you wont mind me pointing out that whilst you may think I am a blond monkey, I am not the one picking a fight with a blond monkey that is also a moderator :nuts:


So we shall leave at that shall we. :)
 
Trying not to upset Mr funny by hijacking the thread but...

Yv said:
I guess its horses for courses really... what I really want is an SB900 control system in an SB800 size/output....

.... I also meant to mention, I am looking at another solution to that is meant to help before you have the problem - there is a waterproof attachment that sits round the hotshoe, and is claimed to hold the flash in a more solid position, hence reducing the amount of movement it can make reducing the stress on the hotshoe metal. However, I want to see a reali life one, to see how it fits and whether it will do what some are saying on other forums.
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I would love the same too. I love the sb900 menu system but find them quite large. That little rubber support looks good, ive been tempted but also wanted to see one before stumping up the £20 price tag. But I guess £20 is cheaper than a £150 repair...
 
Yv said:
I cant afford another £150 repair in another 10mths time, and 10mths after that...well i can afford it, I just dont want to afford it
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Buy an ocf bracket and a ttl cord? Cheaper in the long run and takes the strain off the hotshoe....
 
stokes said:
Trying not to upset Mr funny by hijacking the thread but...



I would love the same too. I love the sb900 menu system but find them quite large. That little rubber support looks good, ive been tempted but also wanted to see one before stumping up the £20 price tag. But I guess £20 is cheaper than a £150 repair...
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Its is true, I guess £20 is not a lot of money on balance...

Flash In The Pan said:
Buy an ocf bracket and a ttl cord? Cheaper in the long run and takes the strain off the hotshoe....
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I would say yes if only using one camera - but you have met me, two bodies, 2 lenses, etc, can you imagine me adding in a bracket too? I already look like some strange fetishistic mad woman :lol: I want to reduce weight, not add to it ;)
 
Yv said:
I would say yes if only using one camera - but you have met me, two bodies, 2 lenses, etc, can you imagine me adding in a bracket too? I already look like some strange fetishistic mad woman :lol: I want to reduce weight, not add to it ;)
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I was thinking more along the lines of these, rather than the big Stroboframe-type ones.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
I was thinking more along the lines of these, rather than the big Stroboframe-type ones.
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oohhhh.....now I like that one, haven't seen those before. :thumbs: Cheers matey, might have to go for that, it would also mean the 'hang' is shorter and wider [like me] which is better :clap:
 
Yv said:
oohhhh.....now I like that one, haven't seen those before. :thumbs: Cheers matey, might have to go for that, it would also mean the 'hang' is shorter and wider [like me] which is better :clap:
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I keep meaning to buy one, but no-one round here stocks anything them :(
 
My SB-900 is driving me insane! :(

All is ok when I get it put it on the camera, but move the camera at all and the flash wiggles about and looses communication with the camera.

Where's a good place to get this fixed, and pronto?

Thanks
Trev
 
Scout n' About said:
My SB-900 is driving me insane! :(

All is ok when I get it put it on the camera, but move the camera at all and the flash wiggles about and looses communication with the camera.

Where's a good place to get this fixed, and pronto?

Thanks
Trev
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Sounds like the hotshoe issue detailed above, rather than a fault with the speedlight. Any of the usual Nikon repairers (Fixation, AJ Johnstone etc) should be able to fix it for you.
 
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