Problems with my Nikon D50?

I received a Nikon D50 as a hand me down a few months ago. It worked great until a couple of weeks ago. Now there are times when it won't take pictures at all, no matter how far in or out it's zoomed. Then it will suddenly take some pictures. Right now it will take pictures except when it's zoomed all the way in. By the way, it has a Nikon DX 18-55 mm lens. I really want to be able to use it for Christmas (I have 3 kids), and would love for it to work all the time! We don't have a camera repair shop very close to our house.

Find someone in your area with a similar Nikon DSLR and test both you camera and lens by substitution with the same components from their system. Example: your lens on their body

also, check your settings, the AF mode or some other setting may have been customized, by the previous owner, reset all menus to default and format your memory card in the camera after you take the images off to your computer.

I shoot Canon dslr cameras but this kind of thing happens to me as well.

My problems are, if there's not enough light so the camera can't focus, it won't fire. I I'm in one of the
manual modes and there's not enough light and I don't have the flash popped at times it won't fire either.

Another consideration, have you added a new memory card? That can, at times and it's rare I agree,
effect whether or not your camera will fire.

I would seriously doubt that since it works just fine (most of the time?) that there's anything wrong with the camera. These things are designed for serious photography but also have some fail safe
programs built in that are basically telling you that if you fire this off you're going to be disappointed.
So, the camera is saying, fix the problem and then we'll work.

This is usually a focus lock issue. The camera will not take a shot unless the camera gets focus lock. In dark areas or shooting areas with little contrast (like a blue sky), the camera can't obtain focus lock.

There's another issue which could be dirty (oxidized) lens contacts. This seems to be a common problem with Nikon's kit lenses. Turning the lens gently back and forth, like you're trying to remove the lens (i.e.grasp the lens at the base of the lens), is usually enough to cure the contact issue for a day or more. You may need to remove the lens and reattach if the contacts are really dirty.

Why do my images have a very strong Pink tinge to them when viewed in the LED Screen on my Nikon D50 Camera? They obviously don't show up when looking thru the Camera's Viewfinder. Is this a problem with the LED Screen itself and can it be reset or fixed please? Appreciate any advice. Thanks.