I have a Nikon D80. When I went to use it recently (having charged the batteries) - the shutter would not release every time. I can find no reason for it - it is an intermittant fault. Can you help?

The shutter will not release if the camera is unable to obtain focus. If the switches on both the camera body and the lens (if equipped) are set to auto focus, the camera will prevent the shutter from releasing. The most common cause of a focus problem is the lack of light. The "focus assist" light on the front of the camera will come on automatically for a moment in dark places to help the camera gather enough light to focus. If you haven't disabled the light in the menu, make sure it isn't obstructed.

You can override the whole auto focus issue by setting the switches on the camera / lens to "manual focus" instead. Of course, this means that you are shifting the responsibility of focusing from the camera to you. The camera will release the shutter every time in this situation.

If you still have problems, provide the mode you're running and the lens you're using & I'll try to help out some more. I hope this helps & good luck!