finding trouble with photos

After checking out my pictures, i keep having trouble with either color not going through a photo entirely or blacking out half of the photo. both examples of what happens. As far as I know I'm on either auto mode or landscape. Any idea on why it is doing this?

Camera Maker: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model: NIKON D5100
Image Date: 2012-05-23 14:22:51 (no TZ)
Focal Length: 55mm (35mm equivalent: 82mm)
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
ISO equiv: 280
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Software: Nikon Transfer 2.1 W

Are all your pictures coming out this way and is this a new problem?

Its a brand new camera. Maybe 15/180 photos are like that. They don't display that way on the camera, just on the computer. The camera is a d5100, 18-55mm kit lens, 1.01 firmware. Happened in Macro, Landscape, Auto, and Action modes. I wondered if it was related to the hdr, but its not available in those modes.

Possibly a problem with the transfer not completing then. Try plugging the card directly into the computer and using Explorer to transfer the pictures.
Do you find the problem photos near the end of the end of the transfer?

No, I used Nikon Transfer from the card reader on my computer, and its distributed between photos all throughout. Maybe it was the transfer though. hmm..

Worth a shot going with a different transfer system to see .

On the sd card its like that. So something blurped from the camera to the sd.

Out of interest what mem card is it (size, make, mode, speed?)

PNY 16gb performance sdhc class 6. What drives me nuts is that on the camera the pictures look spot on. same exact information as pictures around it. but the moment i view it on my computer, select pictures turn out weird. Just checked my laptop, and the pictures view perfectly on it. So I've figured out its my desktop, now how to fix it...

So you have a card reader built into your computer. Good! Just plug in your card, open up the folder and move them to whatever folder you wish, or make a new folder for those particular pictures. You don't really need Nikon Transfer to do that, and you should never have to transfer directly from your camera to your computer. That just wastes your camera battery power. When I'm out, I use a portable card reader that I plug into my lap top and go that way.

By the way.....I DO hope you shut your camera OFF before you install or remove your memory card! You're just asking for trouble if you don't!

Nothing wrong with PNY cards. I use Kingston and Lexar (always class 6 or higher) myself, but to each his own.

@fotojack, I thought the less you took out your SD cards from the camera the better? I have a card reader but typically transfer directly from my camera.

So, I have figured out the issue kind of. It seems that its a random sampling of photos being transferred. I'm not sure if the Nikon Transfer utility is lagging, but the computer and card are having a hard time keeping up with each other when transferring the 16 mp photos. Has anybody else experienced anything like this?

Same with fotojack, I just remove the sd card from the camera (make sure to turn-off the camera first). Then insert it in the pc or laptop card reader. I then open the card reader folder, highlight all files then cut and paste it to my hard drive. IMO this is more convenient and simpler rather than using cables or any special transfer softwares. I also do this for all my non-Nikon point and shoot cameras.

okay. I will have to try that next time. The Nikon Xfer software is just so useful! but I guess not if it takes 3 attempts at it. Well, here's a highlight from my shooting the other day then