Nikon D5100 'Error Press shutter Release Button Again'

and the story of a helpful repair agent

There is nothing more frustrating than error messages, especially those that aren't listed in any manual with a fix next to them.  Last week I accidentally knocked my D5100 off my desk onto the thickly carpeted floor.  Only a tiny bump really but it was enough to cause a few problems.  Initially when I tried to use it the camera kept hunting to focus and failed each time.  I put it in Live view mode and that is when I got the error message to press the shutter release button again.  Needless to say, pressing said button made no difference at all.

I decided to look it up on the internet as one does and found many forums where people had had similar issues with this camera.  I also found a site showing you how to fix it on a D40 by taking the back off but the D5100 is totally different and taking the back off was not so straight forward.  Another site showed me how to achieve that but it does not show where the shutter release mechanism is located so I decided to abandon that idea.

finally I decided I would have to send it to a repair agent so I Googled for a local one.  I came up with one that I phoned straight away, but it was answered by a not very enthusiastic guy who sounded like some regular Joe.  He asked me to supply an e-mail address and he would send me a quote for fixing this problem which he did almost as soon as I put the phone down.  £96 including vat but an extra £15 for the courier unless I could deliver it myself.  Second hand this camera isn't worth much more than £100 now so I felt a bit despondent.  I decided to try another agent.  This time I got through to a very professional sounding man who, after I had explained the problem, asked me if the mirror was stuck.  I remove the lens and sure enough the mirror was down at 45º.  He told me to see if I could flip it up as it should go really easily.  I carefully put a fingernail under the bottom of the mirror and pushed up.  It didn't want to go at first proving that it was indeed stuck but then it flipped up back in place.  I put the lens back on and checked to see if the error message had gone.  It had.  Not only that, but the camera was now focusing and taking photos as normal.

So, if any of you reading this have this problem you know what to do but more importantly, if you have any problems with your DSLR, live in Kent and feel you need it to be repaired by a professional then I would recommend these people "thegadgetmender.co.uk".