Is my SB-400 speedlight broken?

I bought an SB-400 speedlight, and it's not behaving as I expected. I want to check whether the problem lies in the speedlight, or in my expectations. I'm an absolute beginner with DSLR photography, so it could go either way.

First, when I insert the speedlight into the camera shoe (the camera's a Nikon D3200), the connector protrudes about 2 mm from the back of the shoe.

Second, there's a little lever that I have to slide across to lock the camera in place. The point that the lever should reach is clearly marked, but the lever doesn't quite reach it.

Third, I can't understand what the flash is doing. The kind of behaviour I'd expect for a device like this is something like:

1. while it's charging up, the red LED blinks
2. once it's fully charged, the red LED stays on

In practice, the state of the LED doesn't seem to to relate to the charge in the flash at all. It's usually switched off, although it sometimes blinks.

I've tried it with two sets of fresh batteries.

I bought the Flash on-line from China. (It sometimes makes sense to do that when you live in Japan.) So I wouldn't be shocked if I learnt it was a fake. If I've been scammed, I'll need to buy another flash. Was the SB-400 a sensible choice for a beginner on a modest budget?

Thanks for your help.

Sounds like you haven't fully pushed the flash onto/into the camera's hot shoe. The lever acts as a lock... Make sure it's in the un-locked position, push it fully into the shoe, then engage the lock. Reverse the process to remove the flash. All of the pins should line-up and engage matching pins on the camera's shoe.

My SB400 didn't last more than a year. You are better off in getting a 3rd party full flash.

While it has its limits I've been very happy with my SB-400; it's certainly better than the pop-up flash by some wide margin. For the cost of a replacement, though, I'd look into a Yongnuo 565EX or something along those lines. Nikon flash units are, in my opinion, way over priced and the SB-400 is no exception. That being said, I just looked and there is a little overhang on the hot shoe/mount my SB400 as well but the little locking lever gives a soft "click" when it engages; are you getting that? Is the flash physically locking onto the the hot shoe as it should?

The important question, though, is how does the flash behave when you're actually taking pictures?

.....

Thanks for your replies.

It certainly seems like the flash isn't going all the way into the hot shoe, but I can assure you I'm pushing it in firmly and I don't have delicate fingers!

Sorry ... I forgot to say how the flash behaves when taking photos. In a word: erratically. It certainly doesn't recharge in 2.5 seconds.

I'll try sending it back to the vendor, and maybe I'll invest in a Yongnuo 565EX next time.

Warm regards,

Pitarou