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We just got a new Nikon D7100 at work and are having an odd problem. Occasionally the shutter will not release when we try to take a picture. It appears to do this when there's not enough contrastn but through the viewvinder everything appears to be in focus. We're in program mode and unfortunately can't go to manual mode due to staff being unfamiliar with operation in that mode. We're using a Nikon 16-85 in autofocus mode with VR on.

I know this is something simple, but I'm not even sure where to start looking in the manual. How can we set up the camera to shoot when we push the release, regardless of focus/color/contrast, without going to full manual mode?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Do you get focus confirmation? Some cameras do not permit you to shoot in auto/P mode w/o confirmation \$\endgroup\$
    – Romeo Ninov
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 14:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ The viewfinder is tiny and things in it appear in focus even when they're not. If your problem is wrong focus, fix that first. Camera is 99% right in preventing you from taking blurred pictures. \$\endgroup\$
    – Agent_L
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 14:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Agent_L For what we're doing, we'd really like to take the pictures regardless of blur. Speed of pictures is much more important than focus / quality. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alex Martin
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 14:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Romeo I'm honestly unsure of focus confirmation - I'm now away from the camera so I can't check. Would that be a setting we could change or would it just be something we'll need to live with? \$\endgroup\$
    – Alex Martin
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 14:41
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    \$\begingroup\$ @AlexMartin, if you are ready to have blurry photos you can try manual focus \$\endgroup\$
    – Romeo Ninov
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 14:53

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If you set the AF-C and the AF-S priority to Release, this will enable you to take photos irrespective of focus/color/contrast. These settings are accessed by Menu/Custom Settings/Autofocus/a1 AF-C priority and Menu/Custom Settings/Autofocus/a2 AF-S priority. They should both be set to Release.

It is all on page 231 of the D7100 User Manual (p.259 of the PDF document which includes 28 prefix pages prior to page 1).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks! That looks like just what I needed. I'll go check out the manual once I can get the box & books back from our purchaser. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alex Martin
    Commented Apr 19, 2015 at 12:53

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