Why don't you chill out? You seem to be taking personal offense at every comment anyone makes. Nobody has gotten all bent out of shape here except you.

Sir,
I first started taking photos as a hobby with a Nikon FG. I always used manual because my father in law (a photo technician who worked on catalogs and magazines) taught me that was how to take photographs. When he passed, I lost my free film and developing so I slipped out of photography as a hobby. I now have a D5100. I shoot primarily manual with reasonable results. I started coming to this forum to gain knowledge and skill in photography. I read my manual cover to cover...I also read "The D5100 for Dummies" by Julie Adair King cover to cover. In addition, I am also a CCTV tech so I am familiar with image capture. Yet, I still had the same problem when I used Auto. I didn't really mind because I don't shoot Auto often but I can understand why someone was having this problem. But lets pretend there is no reason and that the poster is lazy. Why have some posters felt compelled to complain about it? Don't answer! It will take less of your precious time than a snide response. One last point.....I do tech support for a lot of computer system in my work. I have found that I still learn from answering very basic questions when they are in reference to systems I only deal with occasionally. Plus, it makes me feel good when I can help someone. So why not let anyone who wants to help anyone they feel like?

Sorry, C. David, the Hoggers didn't invent that expression. It's been around for many years. I first encountered it in the late '80s at DEC.

Ringo, I have no objection to helping people. I also have no objection to people helping themselves. If you've been paying attention, then you know that I addressed the original question on page 2.

This question was reasonable and people responded to it reasonably. If you've spent much time around here, you'll also note that some people pose questions which clearly show that they are lazy, and unwilling to do anything for themselves beyond taking the time to pose the question to someone else. That was NOT the case here, and I don't think anyone treated it as such.

If you tell someone to read the D5100 manual you also need to tell them which manual. I got a similar read the manual response and read the page suggested which had nothing to do with my issue. That is when I found out that there are three manuals for the D5100, the paper manual that comes with the camera, the PDF that you can download from Nikon and the PDF Reference Manual on the disc that comes with the camera. The page 70 reference on exposure made here is in the PDF Reference Manual on the disc and is the most comprehensive manual. It is the one that we should all be using.

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This is a "photography Forum" where people can ask questions, and get help. With this question - some members appear to have forgotten this, and have, to use a British expression, "Got their knickers in a twist". It would be far more helpful if these people spent their time "untwisting their knickers" instead of giving critical replies.

What is simple to one person, can be confusing to another. All too often, Camera instruction manuals assume that a person is already familiar with the camera. Digital SLR cameras can be very confusing to a person who is migrating from Film SLR. When a DSLR is not doing what they expect, finding out how to correct it can be frustrating.

Let me give an example: I am familiar with Film SLR. ( I am 76 - there were no DSLR's when I started in photography).
Now that I am retired, I decided to get back into some serious photography - and bought a Nikon D5100. ( before the knickers start twisting, this was because the more professional cameras are too heavy for me). I had a problem that I could not find an answer for in the manual. People I spoke to had no idea either. The problem was that on taking a picture, when I pushed the expose button the mirror stayed up until I released the button. This blacked out the view - until I released the button.

Looking at some of the answers given to 'avengine' - What kind of answer could I get from this forum?

The solution to my problem may be a good solution for 'avengine'. I did a full camera reset. Press the menu and 'I' Button for several seconds. Everything came back to normal and has remained normal. All I had to do was reset basic settings such as image quality (raw).

What caused this problem? A possible clue is that it started after I had problems with a bad memory card and this may have put change into the camera settings.

If someone asks a question that you feel 'below you' - please don't answer, especially if all you want to write are demeaning and critical comments - try and keep this a "photography Forum" where people can ask questions, and get help."