Nope. it was not mounted on the camera, as my d5000 is my only camera, so I had to take a picture of it somehow. but, Like i said in my previous post, pretty sure there is something wrong with my 600, unfortunately

Well, I did a test, I put the sb800 on SU-4 remote mode so it will fire when it see's another flash, and it fired from across the room.
So I am starting to think that there is a problem with my 600.

Rich,
In that last pic of your SB800, is it mounted on the camera ?

If so, I would expect the camera pictogram in the lcd to be visible indicating its installed on a CLS compatibel camera...

Yup, I did all of that, Here is a photo of both the flashes, I am just completely baffled

http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab305/richphotos1/DSC_2569.jpg
http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab305/richphotos1/DSC_2572.jpg

richphotos said:
The d5000 unfortunately does not support Nikons CLS which is why I got the sb800 to fill that void when mounted via hotshoe. I have read everywhere that it will work. but sofar, its not.

The D500 does support CLS but cannot function as a commander itself (CLS does not mean "wireless Flashmode" but is a terminology fotr all fof the flashsystem nikon has implemented..), Page 198 of your manual says so, the SB800 can be used as a commander , this is in the table on page 199 .......

Are you sure you put the SB600 in slave mode ?

If not :

1. On the SB-600, press the ZOOM and “-” buttons simultaneously for 2 seconds to display the Custom Settings mode. You will see OFF displayed by default.

2. Press the ZOOM or MODE button to select wireless mode ON. Now you have activated wireless remote mode.

Thanks for all the help, I will eventually figure this out, I hope, and when I do, I will be sure to post about the solution that I found, for if anyone comes across this problem again.

Hi,

Manuals for the SB800, SB600, and the D5000 are available on line and can explain everything, which isn't saying RTFM, but rather than wait for the frustrating time it will take for Nikon to get back to you, make sure you look at all your resources and check them out first.

There 'may' be a setting in the D5000 that you need to click in the menu to energize the external flash's CLS. That isn't the case in D7000 or D90, but is in the Coolpix.

You may be limited to a single channel or a particular group in the D5000. In the above sample, channel 3, group A is used, in most Coolpix, you can only use Channel 1, Group A.

On it goes...

My best,

Mike

Seems to me that an email / phone call to Nikon service (or a visit to your local camera store) might be in order? Sorry I can't be more helpful but I don't own any of that equipment. Good luck, I know how frustrating things like this can be (especially when you're sure you've checked everything possible). If (no when) you get it sorted, be sure to come back to us with the solution.

I thought about that too, But i asked the person who sold it to me (shoots for rides magazine) he used it on his d90 many times tires and it worked perfectly, I need to find someone with a nikon that supports CLS to test it out on.

Could it be your sb800 is defeated?

Yup, that is exactly what it looks like when I have it in master mode. and I do have the sb600 to the same settings, it is really starting to confuse me because it is going against everything I have read online. I really appreciate all the help! I will figure this out eventually, I hope haha
Either way, I love my sb800, and for 200 bucks, cant beat that deal

I own an SB-800, so hopefully I can help you. So when your SB-800 is in master mode it looks like this?

And you are sure the SB-600 is set to the same group and channel? Not sure if it looks like this, but on the SB-800 remote mode is like this...

Make sure the optical trigger on the remote flash (small round thing on the side of the flash) has direct line of sight with the master flash.

The d5000 unfortunately does not support Nikons CLS which is why I got the sb800 to fill that void when mounted via hotshoe. I have read everywhere that it will work. but sofar, its not.

I googled sb800 as commander on d5000 and this is what i found
You have to purchase the SU-800, sb-800 or sb-900 and mount it on the hotshoe of the d5000 and set the flash in commander/master mode and it can control up to two banks of flashes. With that being said, I am still having the problem in my original post of the 800 not firing the 600. I am about to give up.

I think you have to set it up using the D5000's menu system. Cuddly Ken Rockwell explains how, but not for the D5000.

I suggest you start by using the pop-up flash as a master then move to using the SB800.

I had the sb800 on ch1, and the sb600 on ch1 group A, and still nothing. I am not sure what I am doing wrong here. I have even tried the sensors close. Tried in TTL mode, Manual, on the sb800 settings. Is there anything special I need to do/procedure to turn on the flash units? Do I have to turn on the slave first, than the master that is mounted to the d5000. or the other way around, or does it not matter?
Thanks for the help on this, its literally driving me nuts

The channels and group settings on the two flashes have to match in order for CLS to work.

I have nikon d5000, I recently got a sb800 for cheap, everything I am reading is telling me, if the sb800 is mounted on the hotshoe of the camera, it will act as a master (in master mode) and fire the sb600 as a remote.
I am having a hard time figuring this out, Could someone help me on how to get this to work, I have figured out how to turn on the remote mode for the sb600, and I have found out how to turn the sb800 into master mode, but it is not working.

Paperman said:

Another thought ... Auto ISO while using flash is tricky in D5000 and newer Nikon models .

Help me out here guys, this is a question I have been meaning to post for a while. Why does the ISO on the camera set itself to the minimum value set, when using auto ISO with a flash? Why is it not possible (or is it) for the normal auto ISO feature to work between the lower and higher peramiters you have set, whilst using a flash? I often shoot using auto ISO set between 200 - 6400 on a D700 and higher on a 3s, as soon as you pop up the flash, or add one to the hot shoe.......bang........the camera will set itself to 200. Why? There is an obvious answer to why this needs to be, it's just escaping me at present. Some one want to fill me in?

No comment ;)

LOL, I'm not sure that's what TTJ was referring too? :-)

agreed- valuable comments from all. . .

I am writing this thread down as one to remember.

Another answer is to use a flash bracket. This mounts the flash several inches above the hot shoe. I've owned several brackets, the best in my experience is Custom Brackets. The Digital Pro-M Kit is expensive but worth if you use it professionally. Plenty of less expensive brackets are available. Flash brackets will also eliminate red eye.
The difference in brackets is how easily it can switch from landscape to portrait orientation. That's where the Custom Bracket Pro-M is superior.

Sorry. Posted here by mistake.

JorPet said:
but it is a total waste of time to read discussions that are more than a month or so old.

LOL! Not in this forum.. ;-)