Pitarou
New member
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.
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.