The shutter stays open too long on the Manual setting

If its just how to change the settings on your camera then your manual will tell you how. If you mean how changing these settings effects the final outcome of your photograph then I can recommend Langfords Starting Photography book which will explain all you need to know regarding these.
Its best to keep your ISO as low as possible in order to avoid noise in your images, however night shoots need a higher ISO but a tripod is recommended to avoid picture shake.
Shutter speed determines how long the camera shutter stays open letting let in. Shutter speed is often shown as 1/125 or 1/15 for example and what this actually means is that the shutter will stay open to let light in for either 125th or 15th of a second. By changing how shutter speed is set alters the final outcome of your image. Let's say you wanted to take a photo of a waterfall and you wanted to freeze the action so that you could see the waters movement clearly, then you would use a fast shutter speed such as 1/500 or higher. However, instead if you wanted the water to look blurred then you would use a slow shutter speed such as 1/15 or lower.
Aperture which is also known as f numbers are often shown as F2.8 or F8 for example, and these can affect depth of field. Depth of field determines just how much or how little of your final image remains in focus. By choosing a high f number like F8 or higher means that the majority of your final image will be in focus whereas, a low f number like F2.8 or lower makes the foreground stay in focus and the background will be blurred.
Hope this helps.....


thanks

For really long exposures (longer than 30 seconds) you need to set the camera to the Manual exposure mode and set the shutter speed to bulb. This keeps the shutter open as long as you hold down the shutter release button. Since this is inconvenient, a much easier way is with the remote.

Press the [info] button to bring up the shooting information display. Press the [i] button to put the cursor into the display. Use the cursor keys to move to the release mode (fifth item from the top along the right edge) and press the OK button. The Quick-response remote mode (marked with an icon of the remote control) fires the shutter when you press the button on the remote. the Delayed remote mode (marked with the remote and "2s") gives you two seconds to hide the remote behind your back when taking self-portraits.

In either of the remote modes, when the shutter speed is set to bulb the shutter opens when you press the button on the remote and stays open until you press the button again (or the camera battery dies). This way you can press the button, go and do something else for a while, then come back and press the button again.

Information on the release modes is in the "Release Mode" section of the manual (page 65 in my copy). Information on using the remote control is in the "Self-Timer and Remote Modes" section of the manual (page 67 in my copy).

The ERR message indicates a camera malfunction. In my D-90 manual it says that it can be cleared by releasing the shutter. The only way to do that is to turn the camera off and back on. Rarely, that won't work and you have to remove and reinstall the battery.

The manual also says that it this have frequently or persist to contact a Nikon authorized service center. I would contact Nikon tech support at www.Nikon.com and discuss the problem them before contacting an authorized service center.

That camera needs tobe services. The IC2 is the technicians code that tells where to start. With the problems you describe it would be best ot let a technician overhaul and recalibrate it if possible. then you will have a camera that operates like new.

do you have exact model - this maybe bulb which allows the shutter to stay open for as long as the shutter release is pressed - or mirror lock setting - for macro work to avoid any camera shake when the mirror moves - by locking the mirror

According to what you say, it seems that you selected B (Bulb) as shutter speed (and MANUAL mode).

First, check whether you are on MANUAL mode ("M"); then, check your shutter speed. If it's really in "bulb" mode, all you have to do is dialing the speed button down to figures that match your subject's light conditions and your other preferences involved in the exposure (ISO, lens apperture).

Sounds like the shutter is making long exsposure and you are actuallly getting blur- this can even happen with flash if the shutter stay open too  long.  without film, look in viewfinder and see what shutter speed the cmaer awants to use- it may be set incorrectly and is set on manual shutter speed- the shutter speed numners are actually the bottm part of a fraction, so 30 is 1/30th of a second- to prevent blur you want the numbers to be 60 or higher.

When you set the camera to "Full Manual" mode, you should be able to dial in your shutter speeds, for most film cameras, including the N55 30 Seconds is the slowest shutter speed. If your camera features a "Bulb" mode, then the shutter stays open as long as you are holding down the shutter release button.

You should be able to set the exposure to "B" when the exposure is set for manual exposure settings. The shutter should stay open (and the mirror up) for as long as you keep the shutter button pressed.

Hi
Couple of things.
1.On the 'manual settings' the setting could be set to a very slow shutter speed. Which means the shutter will stay open londer to let in more light and close when the required light is taken in. You may notice this in Aperture priority as well as shutter and in low light even more so. You need to adjust the shutter speed, or aperture. You have not mentioned how the picture come out so it is a little harder to pin it down, but i suspect they are very washed out or very dark. If they are well exposed and sharp, you have no worries. You have the setting correct for the given subject and lighting.

2. You may have the timer set. Depending on your model of camera this may vary. The timer does not engage in full auto by default. The timer is normally shown on the scree as a little stopwatch like icon when engaged. A model number may help in narrowing down a solution shoul it not be the timer.

Regards