Built-In Speedlight (Flash) will not retract. Im not talking about an external light but the one thats built into the camera. it wont retract and stays up all the time and wont lock in the closed position.

Please, which camera model? Are we talking about the external flash or one built in? If it is built in the camera may think there is not enough light thus setting the flash to fire. That is what auto does, it takes all the decisions away from the camera operator.

It sure will, the flash light will trigger the other flash go to bracketing and flash and set one flash as commander and the other slave
go to nikon tutorials setting up off camera flash have fun

Press the Menu button. Scroll to the Custom Setting Menu. Scroll to "e Bracketing/flash". Right arrow and scroll down to "e3 Flash cntrl for built-in flash" and push the center button. You now have access to the TTL, Manual, Repeating flash and Commander modes. Right arrow on CMD and a menu will appear that allows you to set up the built in flash and the external flash groups.

You did not say what type of body Nikon you have and if it is any of the D-60 to D-300 there is a hood and you push the built in flash in its storage configuration. Good Luck

The Sb-80dx is not compatible with the d40x. You neen Sb600 or higher.

ok,
try to set the menu item for Auto FP to ON (it works in P,S, A, and M modes only) that will activate the Highspeed Sync when you are using the SB-600 flash unit, set the flash mode so the indicator shows the off position (the line thru the lightning bolt symbol) on the top inidcator menu in the its next to the red eye redution icon that will keep the built-in flash off even if you need it in low light. hope that works for you.
randy320sgi

Are you using the built in speedlight on the camera with the lens hood fitted? If you are this will cast a shadow. Try removing the lens hood when using the pop up flash.

I haven't heard of this problem but compliments of velocityreviews I came up with this. Follow the instructions below to attach an external Speedlight. Refer to your Speedlight manual for detailed instructions regarding Speedlight operation. 1 Make sure that both the camera and the external Speedlight are turned off. 2 Attach the Speedlight to the camera accessory shoe. 3 Turn both the camera and the Speedlight on. 4 Set the external Speedlight zoom head to an angle wider than 28 mm. If you are using a Speedlight with Auto Power Zoom, set the zoom head angle manually. The COOLPIX5700 does not support power zoom. 5 Set the external Speedlight flash mode to TTL. At this setting, the amount of light produced by the external Speedlight is measured by the camera?s photocell, and the flash shooting range adjusted automatically to ensure optimal exposure. D-TTL flash control (available with the SB-80DX, SB-50DX and SB-28DX) is not supported. 6 Take the picture If the Speedlight Options: Speedlight Control option in the SET-UP menu is set to Auto, only the external Speedlight will fire. If this option is set to Int & Ext Active then the external Speedlight and the builtin Speedlight will fire at the same time. The COOLPIX5700 does not support AF-assist illumination, or red-eye reduction using the red-eye reduction lamp on the external Speedlight. At a setting of STBY (standby), the Speedlight will turn on automatically whenever the camera turns on but will not turn off automatically when the camera turns off. Exact functionality varies with the Speedlight in use. Refer to your Speedlight manual for details. I hope it's of some help BMW

The built-in Speedlight on many Nikon cameras is designed to be a convenient way to either light up a dark subject or to add fill light to a daytime scene. The built-in Speedlight cannot replace a full size, external speedlight which should be used when more power or coverage are needed. Because the built-in Speedlight is compact and close to the camera it cannot be used under all conditions. When using a lens that is physically very long, a subject that is very close, or a wide lens hood it is possible that a shadow may be cast upon the subject. Notice, in the sample below, the round shadow in the bottom center of the photo. When the lens is too long or the coverage is too wide with a close subject a shadow of the lens itself is cast. In figure "A" below the lens is casting a shadow. Switching (or zooming) to a shorter lens (figure "B") prevents the shadow and allows even illumination. If your lens, subject, or lens hood choice create a shadow, an external flash (either on the camera's hot-shoe or connected to the camera by a wire or wirelessly) should be used to fully light the subject.

As is common in many compact digital cameras where the built-in flash is very close to the lens strange reflections can appear in images under certain conditions. Particulate matter in the air in front of the lens (between the camera and subject) such as water vapor (as in a cloudy day), smoke, dust or other items can reflect light directly into the lens causing neutral colored white/grey semi-transparent spots to appear in the image. In extreme examples there may be many of these spots in an image or there may be only one per image. Also, since these spots are completely random they will move or disappear from image to image. For example, if two images are shot consecutively with the same camera settings one image may have spots while the other is clean. To avoid these spots: When possible, avoid photographing in smoky, dust, or cloudy areas Do not use the camera's flash in locations such as above Use an external Speedlight flash if a flash is needed Review images on the camera and re-shoot if spots are visible Cleaning the lens will not have an effect on these spots, as the particles that cause this are not on the lens itself.