Questions from a total photog n00b

Greetings to my fellow explorers! After my daytrip to Overbrook yesterday, I am starting to realize how little I truly know about my camera, and worse yet - how to take amazing, detailed pictures.

I have a Sony-DSCH7 and not much else in my arsenal. I know this camera has the potential to take much better photos than I am currently capable of configuring, but I honestly know next to nothing about its settings. I am in the process of looking at manuals and youtube videos online, but any help here is appreciated.

As a Sony employee and loyal customer, I admit that Sonys are notorious for ridiculously bright and bleaching flashes; even without a flash, most of my pictures come out far too white and incur way too much noise for my liking. The results from my expeditions, whether during the night or day, all lack the resolute crisp detail that I really desire in my pictures. I have a good eye for perspective and scenery, but what I end up with are photos that are too bright, too blurry, too noisy and just disappointing.

I have posted below some examples that I had hoped would come out great, but came out just sub-par. I also don't have too much experience with manipulating pictures in PhotoShop so that doesn't help me much.

I am on the verge of ditching this camera and investing in a Canon or Nikon, but before I lose total faith (especially in a brand I should be upholding and touting with pride!), I am humbly requesting any advice, suggestions or links to online resources that you veterans and pros may have on hand.

Thanks all ^_^

Ashley, I'm in no way on a level as some here, but I will through my 2 pennies in.

When I take pics in places, I use manual mode almost 99% of the time. Does Your camera let You specify aperture? Can You set it around f8 - f9 and adjust Your white balance to Your desired exposure? I'm not sure on the Sony's but on my Cannon, I press the shutter release 1/2 way and it will give me an idea of the white balance on a meter, left to right. Middle being normal exposure. I have a wheel I can turn to adjust my shutter speed to bring the white balance to the middle, hence normal exposure. I also use ISO 100 or 200, if You can set that also. A tripod is a MUST! Also.. Does Your camera also allow You to set a delay? Its nice to set a delay of like 2 seconds allowing You to hit the shutter release and let the camera stabilize before taking the picture. In some places, taking pictures like this, Your shutter may be open for up to 30 seconds.

I hope someone else will chime in with a better explanation of this. This is just the way I got used to doing it.

Camera Specs I found.

Max resolution 3264 x 2448
Low resolution 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 640 x 480
Image ratio w:h 4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Effective pixels 8.0million
Sensor photo detectors 8.1million
Sensor size 1/2.5 " (5.75 x 4.31 mm, 0.24 cm²)
Pixel density 32 MP/cm²
Sensor type CCD
Sensor manufacturer Sony
ISO rating Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Zoom wide (W) 31mm
Zoom tele (T) 465mm
Digital zoom Yes, 2x
Image stabilization Yes, Lens
Auto Focus Multi-point 3 area (selectable)
Manual Focus Yes, 5 presets
Normal focus range 50cm
Macro focus range 2cm
White balance override 5 positions
Aperture range F2.7 - F4.5
Min shutter 30sec
Max shutter 1/4000sec
Built-in Flash Yes, pop-up
Flash range 9.8m
External flash No
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
Exposure compensation -2 to +2 EV in 1/3 EV Steps
Metering Multi-Segment, Center weighted, Spot
Aperture priority Yes
Shutter priority Yes
Focal length multiplier
Lens thread Yes
Continuous Drive Yes, 2.2 fps
Movie Clips Yes, MPEG VX (640 x 480, 8/16/30 fps, unlimited) with audio
Remote control Yes
Self-timer Yes, 10 sec
Timelapse recording No
Orientation sensor No
Storage types Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
Storage included 31 MB Internal
Uncompressed format No
Quality Levels Fine, Standard
Viewfinder Electronic
LCD 2.5"
LCD Dots 115,000
Live View Yes
USB USB 2.0 (480Mbit/sec)
HDMI No
Wireless No
GPS No
Environmentally sealed No
Battery Lithium-Ion NP-BG1 rechargeable
Weight (inc. batteries) 405g
Dimensions 110 x 83 x 86mm (4.3 x 3.3 x 3.4 in)

I have a Sony Alpha200 10.1 MP SLR. As a backup. And never had a problem with it.

Get a tripod
ISO 100
AV mode.
timer
EV -2/3
If it's a point & shoot, set it to the largest file, fine and set your WB on auto. You should be fine.