I picked up a couple of Nikon D70 bodies on craigslist this week. I got them home and found out the built-in flash wouldn’t fire. I was pretty frustrated by the situation. The D70 can remotely fire a Nikon flash with CLS, but not if the flash doesn’t work. The seller who sold me the cameras didn’t know that the flashes didn’t work. Really, I have no reason not to believe her.
After surfing the web, I found that there is a group of D70 users who have had their built-in flashes go out. I read over at photo.net about a guy named Tony Evans who fixed his flash. As a result, I don’t take credit for discovering this fix, but I tried to document my fix.
Sold my macro lens. These are the best picts I’ve got.
1: Remove the screws that hold on the cover of the built in flash (pic 1). Note that the screws actually screw in/out at an angle (pic 1 b).
See the rest after the jump.
2: Notice the white tab that is attached to a white cylinder (pic 2). The tab for whatever reason can get pushed into the housing, and needs to be pulled back out.
3: On the opposite side I removed the screw and spring (pic 3) to allow the whole flash to be lifted up (pict 3b). Be careful not to break any wires. But everything seemed pretty well attached.
4: I used a paper clip with a small hook on one end (pic 4) to stick into the white cylinder and pull it out.
. You then need to snap the black flash housing back over the white cylinder (pic 5). There are little tabs that hold the cylinder in place (pic 5). This was the most frustrating and time-consuming part. As I tried to slip the black housing over the end of the cylinder; the cylinder would get shoved back in.
6. The post-fix appropriate connection (pic. 6).
7. Reassemble.
Hope this helps. The D70 is a great camera: autofocus motor built into the body, insane sync speeds due to the electronic shutter, and built in (albeit very simple) CLS control are just a few things that make this a classic camera.
great info, thanks. but i want to know exactly if, is it due to that white tab being pushed into the housing that the flash won't fire?
ReplyDeleteis this flash fix also applicable to my Nikon D80 DSLR? thanks again.
Hey Steve. Thanks for the great post! Just used your post to fix my girlfriend's camera!
ReplyDeleteTo anonymous... using this post, I created my own post that explains in greater detail what is going on; I also used a toothpick for my fix.
You can view my post here if you would like:
http://mckayhead.blogspot.com/2010/11/fix-flash-on-nikon-d70-dslr.html
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Steve, this post revived an old camera. My wife just got a new D3100, so I inherited her D70. The only "major" problem was the flash. I followed your instructions (and McKay's blog in the comments above), and now I have a "new" camera! :)
ReplyDeleteUsed this to fix my D80 too - worked perfect, thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteBeen trying to do the same thing to our D70s, but I cant even remove the the screws that hold the flash cover...
ReplyDeleteThank for your tip, i fixed my d70s pop up flash it work very good now, thank
ReplyDeleteI have a D50 which looks the same inside the flash. However, that does not seem to be my problem. The little rod is extended and the contacts are making. However, I have to push the flash down about half way for the flash to go off. The pop up switch keeps going off like the flash is not up. I still have the cover off and cannot seem to do anything to correct this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve. Your method is the correct way to fix this common problem. The tab or pin is, of course, attached to the sleeve, and it is the sleeve that has become displaced. This sleeve is what the right side of the flash housing rotates on, so it needs to be pulled back out and the flash housing arm back in place over it, with the two tabs securing it in position. If the sleeve is in the proper position, then the white tab will be in proper position. Just be careful not to bend the contact hook when you are pulling the sleeve out with the paper clip with the bend on the end. Do expect to get shocked a few times. Do use a #000 phillips head screwdriver for those two tiny screws holding the cover on. Do expect to be really proud when you fix it, like I am!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Steve!! My D5000 had the exact same problem, after being a month out of warranty. I think I've put an hour or 3 on this issue but I finally got it fixed the exact way you described! thanks!!! You saved me a lot of money! Belgian greetz
ReplyDeleteI managed to get my flash fixed too...thanks to this great post and excellent details photos. I had some challenges....while trying to pull out the white collar sleeve with a bent paper clip, I accidentally caught the metal switch and bent it out of shape. The flash worked but it wouldn't pop up. I had to dismantle the switch - remove 2 small screws to get it apart. Once apart, I was able to bend the metal tabs of the switch back into alignment. Then one of the small wires broke off, so had to re-solder it..groan, I had visions of an expensive repair bill, but I persevered and managed to get it together again. Note that the insulating pad between the switch has two different holes at either end - the rectangle side should point towards the lens. I also found that while trying to extract the while collar sleeve it helps to articulate the flash holder into different positions before to allow the tabs to click into place.
ReplyDeleteIt worked for me! Thanks so much for sharing. P. S. Be careful when performing this repair. I received two very strong shocks.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding post, just brought life back into the old girl and saved me a weighty fee to get it fixed...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips!!! I would like to mention, that the remark on some other page helped very much, too:
ReplyDelete"I found that if one can not pull the white/clear original tip back out, it's because the 2 clips that holds it back needs to be turned so that they are near horizontal when the camera stands on its base.
Then they pull out perfect and snaps on the the flash part that turns when it goes up."
Still I felt, I had to use quite a lot of force to get the clips over the black flash part...
Just got one strong shock. Almost dropped the camera... After this I used some rubber gloves ;-)
Anyway, you saved me probably a lot of money...
Sup0erb guide with great photos. Our D70S developed this flash problem- thought the camera was going to have to be retired, but 10 minutes tinkering and it lives to shoot another day!
DeleteA fair bit of care needed when removing and replacing the plastic housing- some of the clips and tabs are pretty fine.
Thanks again!
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Just the info I needed, picked up my old D70 and of course the flash didn't work.
ReplyDeleteWell, now it does and the kids can learn to take photos with something else than phones!
Big thumbs up!
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ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping this page open in 2019. I recently came across a Nikon D50 that worked well except for the flash, which wouldn't fire. Your instructions and photos were exactly what I needed to make the repair!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this! This saved me 14 years after publishing!
ReplyDelete