Neewer VK750 - Newby to flash and need some help figuring this thing out

I'm not much of a "flash" person, but I recently got a D750 and decided to get the VK750 to help with some fill flash, etc. The manual is essentially useless. I'm sure there is something I'm doing wrong, and plenty that I don't know, so I hope there is somebody here that is willing to shed a little wisdom regarding this flash.

I have the camera in Manual mode (1/200s at f5.6) and using zoom set to 50mm. Flash and camera are set to TTL mode. When I take a picture indoors the flash fires just fine. Then I wait a few seconds and take the same picture and the flash does not go off. If I wait a little longer, the flash then goes off (I wait more than the 3-4 seconds for recharge). And sometimes the flash fires but the picture is still dark, like no flash.

I just know I'm missing something, so I hope somebody will straighten me out on this. Where am I going wrong???

According to several reviews, most speedlight's ready light blink while charging, and then glow steady when Ready(charged)... apparently that light does not blink... which means, it's charging, and NOT ready, even though the Ready light says it is...

The light does in fact blink for a couple of seconds, then stops. I wait well past that point to give it time to charge. In fact, sometimes the flash doesn't fire on the first shot. I can keep the camera still and take several pictures with no changes, and the flash might fire half the time. It's a crap shoot whether it will fire. Could there be something wrong with the flash?? I just assumed that I have something weird going on with the set-up.

Sounds like folks either love those cheap lights, or hate them... there seems to be quite a bit of inconsistency in the reviews... and a wide interpretation as to what the manual says, and what that light does... I can tell you I bought a Neewer Strobe, and it absolutely was a piece of plastic garbage.

Jim_Y said:

I'm not much of a "flash" person, but I recently got a D750 and decided to get the VK750 to help with some fill flash, etc. The manual is essentially useless. I'm sure there is something I'm doing wrong, and plenty that I don't know, so I hope there is somebody here that is willing to shed a little wisdom regarding this flash.

I have the camera in Manual mode (1/200s at f5.6) and using zoom set to 50mm. Flash and camera are set to TTL mode. When I take a picture indoors the flash fires just fine. Then I wait a few seconds and take the same picture and the flash does not go off. If I wait a little longer, the flash then goes off (I wait more than the 3-4 seconds for recharge). And sometimes the flash fires but the picture is still dark, like no flash.

I just know I'm missing something, so I hope somebody will straighten me out on this. Where am I going wrong???

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I have never seen that behavior on my VK-750. It always fires, very reliable on the camera hot shoe (but on a SC-17 hot shoe extension cable is a different situation). I can trigger another picture immediately, like after only 1/2 second instead of waiting a couple of seconds for it to be Ready, and it fires then too (TTL or Manual), however that picture is probably naturally dark since it was not recycled yet. It's good if recycled.

I'm at a loss for any reason for your problem. My wild guess would be to check that the flash is fully seated in the camera shoe, and the lock tightened down.

And the standard thing to always check is your batteries.

One last thought, in the default camera mode of Focus Priority, the camera has to be in focus for the shutter to trigger, which is necessary for the flash to fire. Make sure it is also finding focus (the green dot at bottom left of the viewfinder).

So, are there any settings that could cause this type of behavior? If you can tell me exactly how to set up the camera, and the conditions, I'll set the camera through it's paces and report the exact outcome.

Jim_Y said:

So, are there any settings that could cause this type of behavior? If you can tell me exactly how to set up the camera, and the conditions, I'll set the camera through it's paces and report the exact outcome.

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No, there are no settings to control that. Not supposed to be intermittent. Assuming that when the flash does not fire, the shutter is triggering and you get a black picture. If the shutter is not triggering, then the flash won't, and that is the Focus Priority situation.

I am not there to see it, but it if were me, I would try reseating the flash (deeply in shoe) and tighten it down, and see if that changes anything.

And do make sure you have good fresh batteries in the flash.

Seated very securely in hot shoe, new alkaline batteries. Already thought of all that stuff. I'm thinking more and more like it might be a defective unit. Thoughts?

I don't have experience with a bad one, but it is not sounding good then.

You can test it this way. Using a metal paper clip or small screwdriver blade, or any small metal thing, then if you short the foot center pin to the metal foot, it will trigger. There is only 5 volts there, no issue about shock or sparks (but don't aim the flash head at your eye, and don't lay it facing down on anything that can scorch). There is one pin toward the front, and two pins at the rear, and the middle pin is the center pin.

Put it in low power Manual mode, and then repeatedly shorting the center pin to the foot should trigger it every time. This is normal operation, it is protected from damage, and that is how the shutter triggers it, by shorting that center pin. If it doesn't flash then, something is wrong. If it does flash reliably, the camera ought to be able to do it too.

Where did you buy it? Neewer is different than some imports, in that they have a six month warranty from authorized vendors.

Mine has never done that. Even rapid firing 20 or more pictures. Did you try this with your flash in manual mode?

I did try it in Manual mode, and it reacts the same way. Kinda hit and miss whether it fires or not. And some times when it fires, the picture is dark like no flash at all.
The flash has a button called "Pilot" and I assume that is a test button. Shouldn't it flash every time that is pressed? When I press the Pilot button it still does not flash every time. Some times it takes 3-4 presses to fire, and some times it fires every time for a dozen times. Is that Pilot button just a "fire"button??

Mine fires everytime I hit the pilot button. I'm really thinking you have a faulty flash my friend. Yes, the pilot button is a manual trigger.

I also did the exercise of shorting the center pin with the metal foot (with flash in Manual mode) and it reacts the same way. It flashes about half the time with no pattern. Some times the red light blinks (indicating charging) and sometimes it doesn't. I'm right at the point that I think the flash is defective. I ordered it through Amazon, so shouldn't be too hard to get replacement.

Jim_Y said:

I also did the exercise of shorting the center pin with the metal foot (with flash in Manual mode) and it reacts the same way. It flashes about half the time with no pattern. Some times the red light blinks (indicating charging) and sometimes it doesn't. I'm right at the point that I think the flash is defective. I ordered it through Amazon, so shouldn't be too hard to get replacement.

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Having read this whole thread, yeah... I'd definitely say you have a lemon.

You might want to consider the Yongnuo 568EX (also from Amazon). It's a great flash a lot of us around here have found happiness with. Just a suggestion of course.

Jim_Y said:

I also did the exercise of shorting the center pin with the metal foot (with flash in Manual mode) and it reacts the same way. It flashes about half the time with no pattern. Some times the red light blinks (indicating charging) and sometimes it doesn't. I'm right at the point that I think the flash is defective. I ordered it through Amazon, so shouldn't be too hard to get replacement.

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Right, Amazon seems the best. Much better than some Ebay place. Neewer is mixed bag, they relabel units from several import manufacturers. I bought a Neewer NW-985N flash which I returned for credit. It was not even relabeled, it was marked and boxed as a Triopo TR985N.

It worked very well in any normal TTL or M modes (which a Nikon 3xxx or 5xxx camera would see), but HSS and Commander Remote modes were extremely unsatisfactory. It did do HSS, but always at one fixed level, no power control at all. And Remote mode TTL power control was defective too. But Amazon credited it back instantly and provided free shipping labels to return it. Zero problem with Amazon.

But my VK750 works well. Apparently, it is a Meike MK951. Sure, it omits a few things, but the price is certainly right, and as a basic flash, it works very well.

Well, I just set up for a return to Amazon and also got the Yongnuo 586EX on order. Sure hope I have better luck with it! Thanks for all the help from everybody. Nice to talk with someone that has some experience with this item. I just wasn't sure that I had everything in the camera set the way it should be. The D750 is very new to me and I'm still finding settings that I didn't know about!

I was given this flash as a present but I am a complete newbie to the point I'm still in auto because I'm struggling to find the time to learn. Can you use this flash in auto mode or does it have to be used in manual?

TTL is the auto mode. Push the mode button until you see TTL appear.

Well, just to keep this updated, I started to get the Yongnuo 586EX, but considering the price difference and the features are almost the same, and Amazon is so easy to return items, I just order another Neewer VK750ii through Amazon. I got the new flash a couple of days ago and lo and behold.... it actually works like it's supposed to work! I've tried it in every way I can think of and it just doesn't skip a beat. Results are very consistent and it's very easy to use. I'm a happy camper! This is all the flash I could want or need. And I sure appreciate all the help all you guys gave. It's hard to tell if an item isn't working when you are totally unfamiliar with it. Thanks again!