Why does my Nikon D3200 stop taking photos after several flash shots in a row?
Asked 12/26/2016
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On a Nikon D3200, I can shoot several photos in quick succession with the built-in flash enabled, but after roughly a dozen shots the camera stops releasing the shutter. Autofocus still locks and beeps, but no photo is taken. At the same time, the flash-ready icon disappears from the viewfinder. If I wait about 5–10 seconds, the icon returns and the camera will shoot again. This does not happen with flash turned off. Is this normal behavior for the built-in flash?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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Yes, this is expected behavior. The flash is a xenon tube which requires a high voltage burst. This is supplied by a capacitor. If you deplete the capacitor by taking several flash pictures in quick succession, you will have to wait for the capacitor — and therefore the flash — to recharge.
In addition to the recharge time, heat is also an issue — each flash releases quite a bit of energy in that form, and it builds up. Even when you have enough power, most flashes will cut off after a bit to protect themselves from damage — or, you know, to keep from starting fires.
All of this applies to both external flashes and the built-in flash. When flashes communicate with the camera — and of course the built-in one does — the camera can know that the flash isn't ready and refuse to release the shutter. With a manual external flash, you're likely to just get underexposure.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — this is normal. The built-in flash needs time to recharge between shots because it fires using energy stored in a capacitor. After several flash photos in quick succession, that capacitor can be depleted, so the flash-ready indicator disappears until it recharges.
Heat protection is also part of it. Repeated flash bursts generate significant heat, and the D3200 can temporarily disable shutter release to protect the built-in flash from overheating. Nikon manuals note that the shutter may be briefly disabled after several consecutive flash shots for this reason.
So if autofocus works but the shutter won’t fire and the flash icon is gone, the camera is waiting for the flash to be ready again. A short pause is expected. This applies to built-in flashes and can also affect external flashes, though not all external units have the same level of automatic thermal protection.
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