need help bulb/long exposure.

[mtphisher]

hello,new to dps.
nikon d40x tells me subject too dark/shutter will not open. feel kind of dumb but this is giving me fits. sure it is an aperture issue. lenses =nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G ED and nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G. assume these lenses will let enough light in. any tips would be greatly appreciated just started shooting night/low light long exposure. do fine with exposure in the day,not over/under. problem comes with bulb or other lengthy exp.
sorry for the lengthy post just wanted to be clear,hope i was.
thanks in advance.

[jojonac]

are you shooting in manual mood? I have never heard of a problem like that.

[bbtom10]

Hi there - the D40 and D40x both have 'helpful hints' which they flash up when you are trying to take a picture. Generally this is that the image in the field of view is not bright enough (as per your message) and that you should use flash.

On my D40 it doesn't lo0ck the shutter like it seems to be on yours so can you confirm what mode you are in - Auto? If auto-mode assesses the scene and cannot determine the right settings, then it will refuse to allow you to take a picture in this way - have you tried Aperture Priority, or Shutter Priority modes to see if you get the same problem (it may still flash up the warning but shouldn't stop you taking the shot)? Turn the dial on the top right to 'A' or 'S' and try that.

Tom

[mtphisher]

always shoot manual, will try ap priorty. thanks

[ganesh_bbr]

Can you change it to M mode on the Mode dial ?

That is completely Manual set aperture you wanted and use the bulb setting for the shutter speed.

[sk66]

Focus issue? If the camera cannot attain focus it probably won't fire (can be set to, but usually isn't unless in C mode)...Very low light without distinct focus point can prevent the camera from attaining focus...

[RecurrentNerve]

sk66 is right here methinks. Flick the focus mode switch to M and it'll shoot.