Nikon D50 flash problem

[AlanP]

My D50 flash fires but is not bright enough... Set it to auto with TTL metering (like for fill in) and the shots come out way too dark. It never used to be like this. Increase flash level with TTL and it improves a bit but not much. Set flash to manual and things improve a lot which tells me that the flash unit itself is working ok. Do you think this is a setting issue (I had been playing around with "slow" and "rear" a few days earlier) or do you think it is broken? Exposure in daylight without flash is fine which makes me think the TTL meter is ok..... I've tried re-setting the camera settings in the menu but this made no difference. Tried changing lenses, no difference. I'm stuck now! Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[NikNikon]

Check your exposure compensation button and make sure the setting wasn't accidently put in the negatives, if so put it back to 0.0. I say this because it had happen to me once with my D70.

[AlanP]

Thanks Nik. I checked the flash output (set to 0) and I checked the exposure setting (EV, also set to 0)... I think this is what you meant. Don't think this is the issue im my case... Any other ideas? I figure it might be a setting somewhere since presumably the TTL meter is used for normal daylight exposure metering as well as flash and, as I mentioned before, this seems ok.

[MatsP]

Do you have a photo as an example, that has the EXIF intact (EXIF is the information from the camera about what settings, etc, was used).

Also, what distance is the subject? The built in flashes aren't particularly powerfull, so at some distance it may be too weak to work well.

--
Mats

[AlanP]

Thanks Mats, good idea. I don't have a photo to hand but I'll get one later. I'm within flash range - about 2m from subject. Also if I set the flash output to manual I get lots of light (too much at 2m)... I've reset the camera, I've got the metering set on Matrix and 1/60th second in Program mode.