Nissin Flash Repairs

[mic_y]

Hi guys,

In a bit of a pickle here. I have been using a Nissin Di866 for the past few years and have been very happy with it so far.

In the middle of a shoot last weekend, my flash stopped working. All the electronics and controls still work (buttons, zoom), but the main flash doesn't fire at all (even when pushing the pilot button).

The sub-flash works perfectly, but obviously, if I am going to be using that, I may as well just use the on camera flash.

This all happened mid-shoot, and I am pretty sure that I didn't do anything to break the flash. If I had to make a guess I would think that it is either the capacitor or the actual tube/bulb that has blown.

Where could I get the flash checked out? I was advised to contact Sunray Photographic, but they stated that they are unable to assist with Nissin flashes. Anybody else have any ideas who I could contact?

Thanks in advance

 

[zululami]

I honestly thought you had a problem with your Nissan...

 

[mic_y]

I honestly thought you had a problem with your Nissan...

lol... you had me doubting myself for a second there that I had placed this in the Motoring section instead of photography

_______________________________

So, after a lot of phone-calls, it seems that the Nissin agents in SA are Golden Power Batteries (011 452 2097). Called them, only to find out that they don't do any repairs or troubleshooting. they only send stuff off to Japan to be fixed This makes sense if the flash is under warranty, but I have had mine for 3 years and it was imported before there was local representation. After paying just for transport costs, I might as well buy a new flash.

on a more positive note, they did confirm that the problem is most probably the capacitor, and that it can be replaced. Looks like this will be an interesting weekend trying to figure this out...

 

[mic_y]

and following a complete dissection of my flash, it turns out that the capacitor is functional, but the tube has blow completely. Due to the <Sarcasm>Fantastic</Sarcasm> design of the unit replacing the tube would involve a whole lot of soldering and a bunch of other unpleasantness... time to start saving for a new flash...

 

[nanonyous]

And here I'd just recently come across a site that had Nissin flash parts, and I've lost it again...
I don't know which flash it was for, but they had a whole head for something around $30 for one of the bulkier flashes - might even have been the Di866

 

[mic_y]

And here I'd just recently come across a site that had Nissin flash parts, and I've lost it again...
I don't know which flash it was for, but they had a whole head for something around $30 for one of the bulkier flashes - might even have been the Di866

To be honest, even buying the whole head would not have helped much. While externally the build quality was decent, internally, I found at least 8-10 modifications on the PCB's (just components hanging off wires soldered directly to one or more PCB's. Most of the cabling between the body and the head was actually directly soldered, and not using connectors. Basically it was a repair nightmare... Soldering on at least 20 wires, plus 4-5 connectors of at least 5 pins not to mention the ZIF connectors in very inaccessible places would probably have resulted in a very borked flash, so time to start saving for a new one...

 

[nanonyous]

Heh, geez - I'd keep that flash aside just to play with it sometime, personally
Sucks that repairing it won't be an option, though - it's not exactly a cheap flash...

*edit* Oh, and I'll be doing a mini-review of a Yongnuo 565EX when mine arrives - as though there aren't enough of those on the net already. I've spent a fair amount of time with my uncle's Canon 580 EX II, so I've got something to compare it against, at least.

 

[DD1]

I think I paid around R3550 for the Nissin Di866 mkII at a place called Radiolens in Brooklyn, Pta in November. Good service and friendly.

 

[mic_y]

Thanks DD1... will have a look once I am near that amount of cash...