My Nikon N70 now fails to fire my SB27. My wife's N60 will fire the flash. Is there an easy fix (besides stealing my wife's body)? Thanks for any advice.

-- Larry Korhnak (lvk@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu), October 28, 1999

Answers

1. Use a pencil eraser to clean the hotshoe contacts of crud.

Failing this - send it in for repair.

-- Shannon (shong@lhc.qld.edu.au), October 28, 1999.

I also have a SB27 and a N70 combination that is very quirky. Sometimes it won't flash. Sometimes it flashes continuously. The flash works fine (everytime) with my N50 and N6006, but not with the N70. If I tighten the pressure wheel on the flash very, very snugly, then it will work fairly well on the N70, but then I can't get it off the shoe!

I suspect that some SB27's have the same problem as some early SB28's have had. That is: long hot shoe contacts. Problem is: I bought my SB27 during a trip to Singapore and do not have a warrantee. I paid as much for it as a "US" model, but Nikon won't honor the warrantee. So! I am stuck with a $250, Catch-22 (or SB27), Nikon Boat Anchor.

I would try having Nikon look at it. Maybe they will fix it.

-- Charlie Robbins (robbnsc@hotmail.com), December 14, 1999.

Had the same problem. Flash firing by itself or not firing at all. I tested the flash with two other F70 bodies. Everything was OK. The problem was in the camera. Before buying the SB27, I used for a couple of time a non-Nikon flash and this damaged the electronics of the camera. The end: sold camera as scrap (it was not worth fixing it because it was grey market).

-- Luca Stramare (phormula@libero.it), December 18, 1999.