What's wrong with my Nikon D5100 Camera?
Hey there so I just recently bought this and the sales man told me I could take a full hd movie with it so i got all excited went home and started taking pictures and all and it was amazing… The problem is when i clicked on that redish button for video nothing happens:/ and no i'm a careful kind of person i didn't break it or did anything wrong with it.
You have to switch it to live view first
If you're using the view finder that's excellent, especially for stills. But for video the mirror has to come up to allow light to get to the sensor.So, if it's a two step procedure, going to live view then doing video then that's what you'll have to do. I'd suggest you read your book.
On my Canon camera I have to turn the wheel to video, the mirror comes up and I can roll video.
My guess is you have yet to read your user manual.
Look on pages 107 - 109
You have a fully adjustable camera and it will require you to get some level of education in order to use it properly.
It is NOT just a matter of pressing the right button, you have to understand the fundamentals of photography as well as video. When shooting video, you need to start with a simple script and then use some kind of editing program to put your video together.
READ THE OWNERS MANUAL!
If you'll mainly be recording videos, you should trade the 5100 for an actual camcorder.
Read the manual. You need to turn on live view first.
Uhh…
Read the bloody manual.
The problem is that you still haven't read the instructions that came with your camera.
Although reading & studying the Owner's Manual is definitely recommended, I believe this video tutorial will also be very helpful: http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d5100/index.html Who better than Nikon to teach you all about your Nikon D5100?
Since you're just starting out, taking a couple of photography classes will really help you because you must learn about Light, Composition, Exposure and Depth of Field. If, however, classes aren't available then spend time at the following sites:
Light
http://photographyknowhow.com/photography-lighting/
http://photographyknowhow.com/quality-of-light-in-photography/
http://photographyknowhow.com/direction-of-light-in-photography/
Composition
http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules
Exposure
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography
Depth of Field
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/dof.shtml
This site will help you improve your "photographic seeing":
http://www.luminous-landscpae.com/columns/aesthetis-1.shtml
The more you learn about Light, Composition, Exposure and Depth of Field the more you'll be thinking about them before you release the shutter.
Photography is a never-ending learning experience.