Nikon D100 shutter freezes up after taking about 5-10 pictures in a row, same lighting same postion some pictures end up out of focus?

If the view finder is dim it is likely the iris of the lens is stuck and cannot acquire correct lighting. It need to be repaired by disassembling the lens.

Is a CF card in the camera?

higher iso settings allow you to use a faster shutter speed. This can be extermely helpful when handholding your camera, especially with the telephoto end of some zoom lenses on small digital cameras. Faster shutter speed will also freeze action better.

automatic white balance can be useful for shooting quickly in changing light conditions; however I rarely select auto as my standard. the auto setting often gives inconsistent results simply because it is an auto function that is making the best of a world that varies in terms of color and light.

Hi,

Could this be the auto focus?
Try this, put what you want to focus on in the center of the screen, in the [ ] part.
Lightly press the shutter button and keep the pressure on.
The camera will focus and then wait.
If you now press the shutter button all the way down the camera will take the picture.

The r06 just means the camera can take 6 more pictures quickly before the picture buffer fills up.
Unless you are using the fast drive mode this will not matter to you.

I hope this helps.

Try this...clean the contacts on the camera body and the lens where they meet with a cotton swab lightly dampened with rubbing alcohol.

The Nikon D100 custom settings option 22 - AF Assist, controls the AF Assist light.
Check if this has been turned off.

This option controls whether the auto-focus assist light comes on in low light to help autofocus
latch onto the subject.

The mode dial (topside left) must be set to M. That's it for manual settings - the camera won't check anything, and certainly shouldn't require the flash. You need to choose your own shutter speed and aperture settings to get a good photo, but the camera will let you take a picture no matter how you have it set.

You can adjust the number of focus areas so that it will not try to compensate for many objects in the pic at 1 time

Wow, that's a long lens! It it a Nikon 500mm?

I use the full manual mode on my D70 sometimes, and I think the operation will be very similar. Spin the mode dial to M, first.

Now half-press the shutter and you should get metering at the bottom of the viewfinder. The meter will tell you if your current settings are over or underexposing. You can use the front control wheel to set the shutter time, and the back (thumb) control wheel to set the aperture.

If you've used S or A modes before, you'll be familiar with these controls. More aperture (smaller F numbers) lets in more light, as does (obviously) increasing the shutter exposure. If not, play around and watch what happens to your exposure meter in the viewfinder as you dial aperture and shutter duration up and down.

You're going to want a sturdy tripod or some very bright light with a lens that long!

You may have to use manual focus, too, if your lens does not have modern Nikon guts for the camera to talk to. I guess you'll cross that bridge when you come to it. Good luck!

When you say you tried full manual, I just wanted to check that you also switched to manual focus? The D100 has a switch on the right side of the lens, says M, S, C, for manual, single, or continuous focus? You need that in M with a painting like that, or to should truly diffuse subjects like clouds or fog.

The reason it works fine with only part of the painting in frame is that the camera can then identify and focus on the edge of the painting. It could also focus on any painting with linear or sharp detail. Autofocus is rather clever, but not clever enough!

If you had indeed set manual focus, then I admit I'm stumped. Full manual mode with manual focus never refuses to trigger the shutter on my D70; although it does often take pictures I don't understand at first. :) Good luck -- let us know what you find out, please!