Broken Hot Shoe?

[PhotoWrangler]

So about a year and a half ago I was given a Black Rapid RS-4 strap for Christmas. I LOVE this strap! Its comfortable, it has a little pouch for my memory cards, and it does its job flawlessly! Until now....

I very often have an SB800 attached to my camera when photographing weddings, because I use it as a master for my OCF units. When I am not shooting, I usually always put my camera at my side. Due to the nature of the RS-4 strap, the flash then hangs upside down, causing tension on the hot-shoe.

Lately, I've been noticing miss fires with my master flash. We are still using SB800's, so it may be a flash unit issue, but what are the chances that the constant tension cause by an upside down flash hanging from the shoe, might have caused something to go loose and cause an incomplete circuit?

Has anyone ever heard of such an issue? I'm grasping at anything to try and figure out the issue.

 

[joealcantar]

Sounds like you found what is causing the problem , now you have to ask yourself if the strap is worth repairing the camera ever so often? I would go to the Pocket Wizard triggering system to control things to keep the weight down that is being put on the shoe. TT5 is larger but the TT1 is a little smaller, but if you add the AC3 controller to control the output of the flashes I'm sure it will add a little bulk and weight, I don't have the AC3 to let you know how big it is but do have the others.
Pocketwizard® - Wireless transmitters and receivers
SU-800 is lighter as well.

-
Food for thought, shoot well, Joe

 

[Josh66]

Is it physically loose (check the camera and the flash)? The wires aren't going to come loose unless something is pulling on them, and if that was happening - I would think the mount area would be noticeably loose...


Also, are you 100% sure that the misfires weren't actually just a dead flash (taking a picture before it has recycled)? Sometimes you get into a groove and start taking pictures faster than the flash can recycle... I hate that, lol.

 

[Derrel]

I read about a similar issue with the Nikon D700 in a professional wedding shooter's mixed D3 and D700 stable: the D700 was starting to mis-fire occasionally when the camera was held in portrait orientation. He traced the issue back to a very subtle,minor loosening of the tension in the hotshoe on the D700. The threrad that had this issue in question was posted in the dPreview Nikon D1-D2-D3-D700 forum about two years ago or so. He had the issue resolved by Nikon Service.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

I would go to the Pocket Wizard triggering system to control things to keep the weight down that is being put on the shoe.

Thanks. I use Radio Poppers because I like the control that the master flash gives me, and I also like using it for fill.

But you're right, the strap is definitely NOT worth it... if it in fact is the cause of the problem.

Is it physically loose (check the camera and the flash)? The wires aren't going to come loose unless something is pulling on them, and if that was happening - I would think the mount area would be noticeably loose...

It's not noticably loose, like its not hanging off or anything, but I can wiggle the flash around in the hot shoe. My thinking is that the weight of being held upside down has bent the two little lips that hold the flash down enough to where the points aren't making the best contact.

I'm not totally sure that I haven't been in a 'shoot faster than it recycles mode', but I'm fairly certain. Its done this to me over the last few shoots that I have done. We are going to set everything up and try and re-create the problem in the studio on Wednesday.

I read about a similar issue with the Nikon D700 in a professional wedding shooter's mixed D3 and D700 stable: the D700 was starting to mis-fire occasionally when the camera was held in portrait orientation.

And I shoot A LOT in portrait orientation! In fact... if I remember correctly, it may have been in portrait orientation when I noticed the problem.

 

[Josh66]

Sounds like the problem might actually be a bad connection if it only happens in portrait orientation...

...Just loose enough for the pins to loose contact. It may be possible to just bend the lips of the hotshoe back to get a tighter fit... I wouldn't try that unless you are confident that you can do it without breaking something though.

Try to pull on the flash (away from the shoe) and see if you can make it misfire that way.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

We're going to try and recreate the issue in the studio on Wednesday. I just bought a new/used D90 as a backup, so when I get it in, I'm going to send this one off for servicing. Its been worked hard for the last three years and hadn't missed a beat. This is the first issue that I am having with it.