NEED HELP!!!!! Nikon D300s, D90, SB800

IgsEMT · Mar 1, 2010

Need a little help with 3 mentioned above - here's what happened.
Last night I was shooting a job with D300s being the primary, D90 being the back up. D300s was mounted on a bracket with Sb29 connecting the camera and sb800 flash. Quantum radio was hanging on the flash connected INTO the camera via pc cord.
I finished the portraits (SB800 was off) everything was fine, went portable... About an hour into reception (during speeches) flash stopped firing - TO CORRECT it:
*****batteries were fine,
*****took it off the ttl cord and connected directly to the camera - doesn't work
*****flash indicator ON CAMERA not lighting up.

I changed the flash unit and everything SEEMED to be in order. About 5mins later AGAIN it stopped working.
I switched the bodies with "original' SB800 and it worked for a little bit so I switched to 2nd SB800 and all seemed to be working (D90 with backup SB800 with quantum plugged into flash via pc).

During brake I removed the battery from D300s and placed it back in flash worked:thumbup:

but then stopped working :thumbdown:
In "flash control ON CAMERA" I changed from Commander to TTL again it worked :thumbup: for a little while :thumbdown:.
SO back to D90 and Backup flash unit...

First time in years have this happened to me (kind of proves a point never go on assignmenet w/o a back up gear).

I got home, loaded the job on the computer and surprisingly it came out great, except those times when light wasn't firing.
Placed the camera-flash combo and just began shooting and shooting and shooting - NO FAILURE. Then switched combination of flash and camera - NO Problem :thumbup:

Has anyone had this sort of weird thing happened to them and/or know WTF happened?!
thank G-d for backup

thanks

Big Mike · Mar 1, 2010

I'm having trouble picturing your set up. :scratch:

Correct me if I'm off...
You had the SB800 on camera with the SB29 off camera, being fired by a radio trigger that was connected to the camera via the PC port?

When flashes start acting up, the most common culprit is usually the cord or the connection. PC connections are notoriously finicky. Even the TTL cords can be troublesome at times.

IgsEMT · Mar 1, 2010

I'm having trouble picturing your set up. :scratch:

camera mounted on a bracket. ttl cord connecting camera & flash (something like this - got image from B&H website )

on top of the flash I put a quantum trigger (with rubber bands

) connecting IT to the camera's PC cord via a pc cable (I could also connected it into the flash if/when needs be).
I thought it was the pc cord BUT had this issue even with cord being unplugged.

thanks for input

Big Mike · Mar 1, 2010

Hmmm.

It might be a problem with the cord, but I think you said that the problem still persisted when you tried the flash on the camera.

I haven't heard much about the Quantum radio triggers. Could it be that they have a higher than average trigger voltage, and then with the combined voltage of the flash and the trigger, you might have caused some damage to the camera's flash circuit?

IgsEMT · Mar 1, 2010

Could it be that they have a higher than average trigger voltage, and then with the combined voltage of the flash and the trigger, you might have caused some damage to the camera's flash circuit?

MaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyBe, BUT, it is a native flash that shouldn't be problematic AND when I got home, placed different cards in and shot the hell out of it - NO PROBLEMS. :thumbup:

It could have been a job from hell b/c videographer's monitor wasn't working, one of teh white light that studio gave me - flash tube blew out. It was a job from hell .