Thanks adamz for the confirmation. I guess the diagnosis is now officially an unseen broken release thingy.

Willis, I'd forgotten about that video. Saw it last year and it was hard to watch. Reminded me of when I was little and I had to break my pet chicken's neck in order to feed my brothers and sisters.

Okay NSXType-R, I'll play in traffic with you but only if I get to drive the NSX and you get the running start :) And yes guys, I was kidding about the chicken, so calm down!

NikoDoby, we should definitely pass on playing soccer in a minefield.

But I do suggest playing in traffic. I hear it's still a blast.

I did see a post on how to modify a SB 800 to swivel 135 degrees to the left (not just the 90) out on Strobist. It might have some useful information for you if you try to DIY (or FIY?). See the post here:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-break-your-sb-800s-little-neck.html

Niko - can confirm, every time You need to move the head You need to press the button, if it's moving without pressing it means that something is broken inside

Oh and NSXType-R, don't sweat it. Next time you suggest we play soccer in a minefield, I'll pass on that too :)

Um, ok nau, that's just a little too out of the box for me :o Like I've said my flash works perfectly fine other than it refuses to rotate left or right. I'm learning to deal with it but it's still an inconvenience.

Here's another clue I've just realized. The flash head doesn't lock when it's in the forward position (90 degree angle) or in the vertical bounce position (180 degree angle). It moves freely up and down. Isn't it suppose to lock? Don't you have to push the release button to get out of those angles? Am I remembering this correctly?

This hole time I've been focused on the lock release applying only to the swivel. Anyone with an SB800 can you please confirm this for me.

Thank you NikoDoby for not following my advice!!!

And I completely forgot about the capacitors.

A bit aggressive nau aren’t we, maybe you better smash the crap out of yourself using any of your tools of choice.

another great idea for you... smash da crap out of it (use wall \ hammer and other heavy duty tools) and take few nice macro shots and maybe action shots while demolishing your flash

just trying to think outside of the box

You may try something: turn your SB800 upside down, press the release knob, tap it firmly couple of times and then try to pivot it left or right.

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions so far. Especially bmxdad for being an honest salesman ;) And thank you heartyfisher for worrying about my safety =)

I'm well aware of the dangers of capacitors (removing the batteries and pressing the "test" button isn't enough to discharge completely) so to all you Nikon engineers reading this, relax. I'm not going to poke around inside my SB800 while flying a kite in a thunderstorm :)

Obviously something broke or has worn out in the release mechanism. When I push the release button it feels and sounds like it's disengaging but I can't twist it. There's no rattling sound when I shake it so nothing out of place. I'm just grateful it otherwise works fine. This is just a puzzling inconvenience. I don't plan on getting rid of it just yet.

It seems this has only happened to my SB800 :(

to discharge capacitators You just need to press the "test fire" button couple times, and than quickly remove the batteries, but as heartyfisher wrote You need to be careful, but anyway I would try to take a sneak and taking the rubber out shouldn't be so risky

Batteries wont help if the capacitors are fully charged and you should discharge them first.
Adamz is probably right, release knob is most probably broken and is not unlocking left/right movement.

Or you could take out the batteries first.

And then work on it.

WARNING! I would not be opening the Flash if U were not trained to do so.. The amount of current in that thing can kill you! Be Very Very careful . wear Thick rubber gloves and rubber shoes ... Dont Do It!

I am in Camera sales and you are right I would try to sell you a new Flash, but don't trow out your SB800 just use it as it is.

Anyway I Nikon repair would be app 100.00 - 150.00 incl shipment

I would rather spent the money on a SB600 and have 2 flashes, or you could upgrade to the SB900 which I have

Repairing it yourself might work or you could end up with nothing, believe me I like to try the repair thing and not not long ago did a Canon flash repair. Got the thing apart and pieces started falling out from different spot etc. It was an old flash I wanted to modify as backlight but in the end the flash ended up in the trash, on to Ebay for a used Vivitar 283/285

Could luck

Pete

Niko I've just checked my sb800 and the only one thing which can be broken is the release knob - the one under the push button - once You push the button You should hear a click, if You don't hear it than it means it's broken. Good thing is that You can take the rubber from the button, as it looks it's only glued, and once You get access to this button You will see what's inside and if there's something inside than pretty much You should be able to get rid of it.

LOL ... you are paying for their time, so if a repair shop can't be arsed to do work, find another one. That's what a bloody repair shop is for ... to REPAIR things not SELL them. :D

But giving up on them without trying is also strange.

This SB-800 is over four years old so it's out of warranty. Don't think a repair shop would consider it worth their time. They'd probably just try and sell me an SB900.

How about a repairshop?

Didn't want to be too forceful and break it, but I did give it a good try. Like the amount of force you use when you open up a stuck jar, but nothing. I tried pulling up and then twisting, but nothing! Even gentle pressure does nothing.

I've checked the space between the base and head to see what was stuck but it looks normal.
I'm pretty sure I'll have to open it up but I don't want to really break it as it's otherwise working perfectly.
Just thought I'd ask here if anyone else has had the same problem. It's never been trouble before.

You can try to disassemble it, as there's probably a piece of plastic stuck between this two parts, You can try to blow compress air right in the join or shake it a little bit and try to twist, just hearing either the force You are using is too low or too much.

So I had a photo shoot today and my SB800 started giving me trouble. It no longer wants to pivot left or right. It's completely stuck in the forward facing position. I can move the flash head up and down just fine. Everything else works great. Never had trouble before.

Don't want to crack it open, but I use the CLS wireless flash a lot and I sometimes need to have the light sensor facing me and the flash head facing the subject. Does that make any sense? If you've used an SB-800 you know what I mean right?

Just curious if anyone else has had this problem. I spent a few seconds during the shoot trying to get it to move but gave up. I gave it to an assistant and he kept trying too. After the shoot I sat down and closely examined it but nothing. It's really stuck.

And yes I was pushing the lock release "Push" button.