nikon D40x help

[jalal]

I am new to digital, I was taking pictures at an outdoor party late evening, I took a few pictures in the programme mode the camera worked fine and then the shutter would not click. I tried all the different modes, auto to manual, the auto focus light would come on but the shutter still would not operate. Following morning I took pictures in dayliht and the shutter worked fine. Any ideas and suggestions please.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Jalal,

My initial thought is the battery may have been too discharged (from flash use) to take more, assuming it was the camera's on-board flash in use.

Another possibility is that it got darker and the subjects were just a little too far away for the AF to achieve focus lock, even with the assist light, so no focus, no shutter release - putting lens to manual focus would prove this, but almost inevitably result in soft pictures if you couldn't manually focus well enough.

Cheers,

[benm]

If it is not the battery maybe the card is full or has gone bad. Try another card. You can also try to reset the camera (usually by pressing two buttons simultaneously) - see the manual for the relevant buttons.

[Bill44]

Dave nailed it, no focus = no shutter release. In manual it would release.

[Klickit]

I tried all the different modes, auto to manual

Think it must be something else. Jalal, I periodically have the same problem with the Nikon D80. Sometimes just turning the camera off and on helps, sometimes turning it off and remounting the lens does the trick.

[Crovean]

Solution: Buy a Canon! (Just kidding)

Dave said it right, with minimal light the camera have a hard time focusing and wont release the shutter. Using your flash should solve this problem(I think).

[jalal]

thanks Dave, the failing light and lack of focus lock may be the answer, will try to recreate the conditions and have a go at it

[jalal]

thanks Kit, runing into the problem is not good, but it is good to know that somebody else also had to face the situation. the suggestions will be tried if I run into the problem again.
cheers

[jalal]

love your suggestion (buy a canon), only problem divorce settlement with nikon could be expensive.

[Crovean]

love your suggestion (buy a canon), only problem divorce settlement with nikon could be expensive.

First time i experience this problem jalal, i blamed the lens right away and did not even consider the lighting conditions.

[Bill44]

Yep, lighting conditions, and the focus assist light has a limited range.