D5100 Built In Flash Won't Rise

Sandpatch

Senior Member
The built-in flash on my D5100 no longer pops up when I press the little button with the lightning bolt on it adjacent to the flash. It won't work in any of the [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]P, A, S or M modes like it should.

When I press the button, there's no sound or indication that it wants to pop up, so it doesn't seem to be a stuck release mechanism like I read about elsewhere.

Has anyone experienced this? Thank you.
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Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Sandpatch, I know someone who had the same problem and resolved it. My advice was to try lifting the flash with the camera on and the button held in. I will try to contact the person to see if I can get a better description as to what was done and the long term outcome.
 
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Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
@Sandpatch

Ok, the good news its still working.


From correspondence at time

Be sure camera is on!
Try this in manual mode. Watch this video if camera makes that sound try his
technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d7j9GbaEXM



Reply
Not exactly his technique, but it is working!!! I tried his technique, but didn't
work. . He mentioned sticking his finger nail between the two pieces and
that didn't help him. Since pushing the button and squeezing or
trying to move the top didn't help I thought I would give the fingernail
thing a try. Just slipping a fingernail between the two pieces made
it pop right up.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Since you aren't able to pop the flash up, you probably can't fix it yourself. This video shows the latch mechanism which might be what's causing your problem.

 

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Have you tried all the easy things remove battery and a reset? SB24 small but no TTL?
 

Sandpatch

Senior Member
Have you tried all the easy things remove battery and a reset? SB24 small but no TTL?

Thank you hark and Needa, tried these both several times with no luck. I now hear a faint click when I press the flash button, but I still can't get the flash to pop up. Maybe the solenoid has failed or an internal part or clip has fallen away or has broken; I just don't know.

I've removed and installed the battery to no avail, so I'll try the reset procedure when I locate the directions for that.

Last night I looked at the Nikon website to see what the latest DX camera models are. Boy, it gets confusing. A D5500 and D5600 are both available, but the older D5500 (@ $700) costs $100 more than the newer D5600 (@ $600)!? :confused: The older D7200 is $1,100 and the new D7500 is $900!? :confused: The new D7500 sensor has less MP (20.9) than the older 7200 (24.2)!?

The D500 has no built-in flash, so that's off my list.
 
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hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Sandpatch, the D7200 has dual card slots with a few more bells and whistles than the newer D7500 but has been discontinued. However, the D7500 has the same sensor as the D500 with only 1 card slot.

By the way, the prices on Nikon's web site are MSRP. Quite often the selling prices are a little lower.
 
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Sandpatch

Senior Member
By the way, the prices on Nikon's web site are MSRP. Quite often the selling prices are a little lower.

Ah, that explains it. I'll look at the Adorama and B&H websites as Needa suggests. I hadn't ever thought about a refurbished camera Brent, but I'll look into it. I once looked at a refurbished Nikon on Amazon, but it had a surprisingly poor warranty. Upon studying the details, I found that it wasn't sold by Nikon.
 
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Sandpatch

Senior Member
Have you tried all the easy things remove battery and a reset? SB24 small but no TTL?

Yay -- I finally got the flash popped up using a technique in a YouTube video where a thin plastic strip is inserted in the gap around the flash housing and worked around until it trips the hook that holds the flash down. It's not as easy as in the video, but after a dozen tries I finally got it.

I find that my flash still works. I need to find out why the hook won't activate as it should. The hook is mechanically linked to the flash housing I think and if I nearly close the housing and press the button, the hook's solenoid activates and moves the hook back. I need to find a way to mess with it and not have the hood lock while I'm doing so. I kind of enjoy monkeying around with this sort of thing. :p
 
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hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Yay -- I finally got the flash popped up using a technique in a YouTube video where a thin plastic strip is inserted in the gap around the flash housing and worked around until it trips the hook that holds the flash down. It's not as easy as in the video, but after a dozen tries I finally got it.

I find that my flash still works. I need to find out why the hook won't activate as it should. The hook is mechanically linked to the flash housing I think and if I nearly close the housing and press the button, the hook's solenoid activates and moves the hook back. I need to find a way to mess with it and not have the hood lock while I'm doing so. I kind of enjoy monkeying around with this sort of thing. :p

Glad you had the tenacity to keep working on it! :)
 

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Progress! :encouragement: Maybe place a piece floss across the hook and tape ends down. Then if accidentally closed the floss could be moved to open it. Tested on mine and it worked. So the spring in Cindy's video is in place?
 
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Sandpatch

Senior Member
Yes, the spring is in place and all seems like it should be well. I like the dental floss idea -- a good tip! Here's my D5100 and its flash housing hook, as captured using my wife's cell phone camera. I stupidly closed it up after she took the photo and when I used the button to reopen it, it popped right up.:eek: Weird. It seems sluggish however; battery is fully charged. I'll use floss as insurance and mess with it some more. For now, I don't want to introduce a lubricant of any kind, wet or dry. Thanks for everyone's continuing help with this phenomenon. :eek:

Nikon D5100 Flash Hook On Sandpatch Camera with Arrow.jpg
 

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Looks like the latch goes the opposite direction of the 7100. Is the latch slow or the flash raising? I was thinking rocket blower but might push something out on sensor. On the equipment I used to work on they often put a piece of plastic or rubber at the bottom of the solenoid plunger for noise reduction. These pieces would disintegrate or come off jamming or slowing plunger. Might try holding at different angles and actuating to see if it lossens.
Have fun and good luck!
 
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hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Maybe place a piece floss across the hook and tape ends down. Then if accidentally closed the floss could be moved to open it. Tested on mine and it worked.

That's a good suggestion to keep in mind if anyone else has this issue. :)
 

Sandpatch

Senior Member
Update: I tied dental floss around the hook (so as to have an easy way to pop the flash housing open if it fails) and commenced to test it. Happily, it has worked dozens of times throughout the day with a 100% success rate. Not a single failure to open. Thinking of Needa's concern over blowing dust into the camera and sensor, I held the camera upside down and used a soft brush to clean around the springs, hinge and hook, thus letting any dust or debris fall away.

I may be dreaming, but the flash seems to pop up more strongly now.

I'm very happy with the result. :D Again, I really appreciate everyone's guidance with my "repair". We'll hope all continues to be well with it.
 
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