How to Get a Vivitar 550fd flash to work on a Nikon Camera?
This is my first flash. I have no idea how to use it LOL. I can't seem to get it to flash i got all the way up to where i saw the ready light but nothing happened. What settings do i need to put it on or what do i need to do to see if it works. I had a Nikon D70. But i'm (hopefully getting a D70s soon).
Added (1). The d70s upgrade is pointless but my coworker wants to buy it from me when i get a new dslr in February. (tax time: D) i told her i would she's just starting out too. I sold the other camera already on eBay i didn't know she wanted one. :X but yes i can sell the vivitar. Thanks EVERYONE!
but on the subject of new cameras which is "better" d90.d200.d300. And I'm possibly looking at the d1's (d1h, d1x, etc etc) i'm not gonna be printing over 8x10's most likely so i don't really need like 1000 mp's lol.of course all of these will be used and hopefully under $300 thus I'm pretty poor.
1) Why would you go from a D70 to a D70s? That's pointless. 2) Have you read the manual for the flash?
This is an old flash with a trigger voltage that's only marginally safe. Read the manual. Read your camera's manual on the chapter on using stone age flashes.
See the user manual here
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/vivitar_flashes/550fd-cr.pdf
See the note on the page below the black/red title page
It points out different models of the 550FD for different camera brands - You should have the 550FD-N model.
However this is an OLD flashgun - chances of it being compatible with a D70 are pretty minimal even if you do have the Nikon version. Some of these old guns use higher trigger voltages/currents than modern guns and that can fry your electronics.
The next step from your D70 would be the D7000 in a perfect world, but at a minimum, I would think if you were going to spend money on an upgrade, buying a nice D90 would be your goal.
Now as far as your Vivitar flash:
Which of the 550FD flashes do you have. It needs to be the VI550FDN for the Nikon Camera. Each modern camera is designed to "Talk" with the camera to assure the best possible exposure automatically.
I don't know how much more than about $30 you paid for this old flash unit, but if you do some research, you will find that all the new flash units made since about 2000 are what are called "camera dedicated" and are designed to work with the specific circuitry within the camera.
Too bad you already have the flash. Can you return it? The flash unit you might find to work the best would be the Nikon SB600 or at a minimum one of the SB50DX or SB80DX flash units.
The trigger voltage for that flash is around 5-10V so if I were you I'd check it with a multimeter to be sure it's not going to fry a DSLR (most don't like trigger voltages over 9V).
Have you tried the 'test' button to pop the flash off camera?
The 'ready' light may not necessarily mean much - if you can hear the whine of the capacitor charging, but there's no flash on pressing the test button, then it means the flash tube is likely gone.
If there's no whine (but the lights are on), then it's likely the capacitor is busted.
If the flash is busted, then I can recommend the YN560 - about £40-50.It's an all manual flash (no TTL) but ideal on or off camera (with triggers).
I would also question the wisdom of going from a D70 to a D70s - seems like a pointless upgrade. You're better off investing in decent glass.