How to replace a flash bulb in a Nikon D60?

I'm thinking about buying a Nikon D60 from a photographer who is upgrading, but she says the flash bulb has burned out. Is that an easy fix? How do I do it? I checked the manual and there isn't anything in there. She isn't asking much for the camera, but I don't want to buy it from her and then not be able to replace the bulb and then have a camera I can barely use.

I think you had better take it to a camera shop. The repair charge may not be too bad. How does she know that it's the flash tube? It could be the electronics that power the flash. Those flash tubes rarely go bad.

The flash tube is not a user replaceable item. It must be returned to a service center for replacement. The cost of doing so is probably not worth the value of the camera.

You might be able to buy used parts from eBay as many people buy used cameras and disassemble them and sell the parts.

However, there are three components to the flash system. The xenon tube, a high voltage section including capacitors and voltage multipliers, and the control circuitry.

The first thing is to determine which item is bad, and replace it. However, the flash capacitors have a high voltage on them (well over 100volts), and can potentially discharge into you if you touch it when you are disassembling the camera.

If the capacitor is good, this energy can remain stored in the capacitor, even with the power off.

So there's some risk to personal injury if you are not skilled in doing this kind of work. Getting shocked by the capacitor may not be lethal, but you can still get a good jolt from it.

So unless you want to get it fixed by a professional, I would plan on just not using the flash unit of the camera.

Still, if you can get it for the right price, it might be worth it to buy an external flash for those times when you need one.

Barely use? Do you use flash all the time then? Ideally flash should only be used when absolutely necessary. It is very easy to make pictures look flat and boring with flash.

It will be expensive to get fixed. You would be better off buying a Nikon SB-400 flashgun, which will give you more power and flexibility anyway.

Generally, the mechanical mechanism at the flash hing is at fault for Nikon on-camera flashes. It would be rare that the flash tube is actually bad. If you are handy, there are guides which can be found on the internet on fixing the mechanical problem. Otherwise, it isn't cost effective to fix the flash. Cheaper to get a SB-400 flash which gives you the ability to do bounce flash. Since one rarely uses flash, especially the on-board flash, so this shouldn't be a problem. If you do a lot of shooting which requires flash, you are much better off with an external flash in the SB-600, or better product range.