Flash broken on Nikon d5100, will an external flash work?

[georgebats]

Hi everyone,

I am fairly new to photography but have a basic understanding, so please bear with me!

I have a nikon d5100, unfortunately, the flash has stopped working. I have tried all different settings, even on auto in a dark room it does not work. The flash mechanism does pop up but the camera doesn't seem to acknowledge that it has. I have had quotes to fix it which cost as much as what the camera is worth, I was wondering if I bought an external flash, would that essentially replace the main flash? Or does it not work like that?

Thank you for any help, I really do appreciate it.


George

 

[RAZKY]

Hi everyone,

I am fairly new to photography but have a basic understanding, so please bear with me!

I have a nikon d5100, unfortunately, the flash has stopped working. I have tried all different settings, even on auto in a dark room it does not work. The flash mechanism does pop up but the camera doesn't seem to acknowledge that it has. I have had quotes to fix it which cost as much as what the camera is worth, I was wondering if I bought an external flash, would that essentially replace the main flash? Or does it not work like that?

Thank you for any help, I really do appreciate it.


George

An external flash is almost always superior to an internal flash. Check your manual for the units that will work with the D5100. There are cheap brands, but I always recommend OEM. Come back if you need help in choosing. Good luck!

 

[Dave Maciak]

Hi everyone,

I am fairly new to photography but have a basic understanding, so please bear with me!

I have a nikon d5100, unfortunately, the flash has stopped working. I have tried all different settings, even on auto in a dark room it does not work. The flash mechanism does pop up but the camera doesn't seem to acknowledge that it has. I have had quotes to fix it which cost as much as what the camera is worth, I was wondering if I bought an external flash, would that essentially replace the main flash? Or does it not work like that?

Thank you for any help, I really do appreciate it.


George

Hi George---I as well have a D5100, On board flash still working but I wanted to be able to use bounce lighting. Not expensive solution: If you can find one: SB400 Nikon.

 

[adamhiram]

Yes, absolutely. I don't use on-camera flash very often, but when I did I used a Nikon SB700. There are newer ones, but this worked well for me for years.

If you are looking to be able to take the flash off-camera, you may get more value looking at offerings from Godox and its various rebrands. I eventually switched to Godox TT600 manual flashes, which sell for about $65, and can be mounted in Bowens-compatibe brackets for use with most light modifiers. If you want something with TTL, the TT685 uses AA batteries, V860II has a built in Li-Ion battery, and the V1 gives you a round head that some people seem to prefer.