Nikon d3200 shutter button

I'm getting a Nikon d3200 camera for christmas and I was playing with one on display at Best Buy. Whenever I pressed the shutter button the camera would not take a picture unless I held it down. I asked the lady if you had to hold the shutter button down every time you take a picture and she said yes unless you have a remote for the camera. Is this true? Please answer!

Most dSLR cameras will not take a shot if

* the lens is out of focus
* there's NO memory card in the camera

If the cameras shutter did actually fire, being indoors, the shutter speed will be very long and that could have confused you.

It is clear that this is the first fully adjustable camera you have ever held in your hands. You have a lot to learn about using a fully adjustable camera

It doesn't take the picture unless the shot is in focus - you have to half-press the shutter button until this happens. Unless you were doing this, this probably explains the lag. Either that or the display camera's defective.

You probably confused the lady. It sounds like she thought you asked her if you had to press the shutter release at all to take the picture.

The D3200 does not work any differently than any other camera shutter button.