" wrote in news:1161697716.020391.306560
@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I'm not naive. I understand there's a learning curve with a dSLR and I
will eventually take the time to learn how to use it in manual mode.
That said, I still think I should be able to get decent photos in
automatic mode as well. I've tried it with the built-in flash, no
flash, the external flash straight-on, and the external flash bounced
off the wall. None of the photos have been properly exposed. I just
wonder if I somehow got a lemon. I think a camera this expensive
should take good photos in auto mode. Otherwise, it shouldn't have an
auto mode. Anyway, I appreciate all of your comments.

Something else to consider...

Taking the same photo of the same scene with similar settings with a SLR
and a point and shoot camera can produce surprisingly different results.
Straight out of the camera, you may even find the point and shoot produces
"better" results than the SLR.

This is because many point and shoot cameras do some sharpening of the jpg
in camera. SLRs dont. SLRs are designed to provide maximum flexibility to
the photographer.