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I'm having problems with my Nikon D5100, generally when I first pick it up it will work fine for 3, maybe 4, shots then the button just stops working, I press it but nothing happens. If I change to the screen view mode (instead of looking through the view finder) it generally works again but is very slow to respond. Any ideas? Note: It doesn't always work at first sometimes it's not working from the off.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ The first of all I would try resetting to factory settings. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alex
    Commented Nov 18, 2015 at 13:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ The fact that it works with live view mode suggests to me that it's a focus issue. That's because the two modes use an entirely different technology for focusing. You don't happen to be running into this problem, do you? \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Commented Nov 18, 2015 at 14:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ Does the problem persist if you select manual focus? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Nov 19, 2015 at 12:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ I haven't tried, but I will try that tonight. \$\endgroup\$
    – Karen
    Commented Nov 19, 2015 at 13:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ How do I reset factory settings, I did have a go at that but I'm sure I did it right? \$\endgroup\$
    – Karen
    Commented Nov 19, 2015 at 13:58

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Reset to default
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Try switching to manual focus mode (MF switch on your lens). If the problem solved - your camera has troubles focusing. The reasons might be:

  • Insufficient light
  • Lens AF problem (try a different lens to see if the problem remains)
  • Body AF problem (contact service)

If MF didn't solve the problem: Try a different memory card. After you snap a batch of photos, they are queued to be stored to a memory card. This takes time. Cheaper cards are slower. Plus, the queue isn't infinite - depending on your camera, it can hold no more than, let's say, five shots.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Memory card could also be close to failing. \$\endgroup\$
    – Matthew Whited
    Commented Feb 24, 2016 at 14:23

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