Help Virgin K10D user

I am a complete novice to the world of digital SLR, and was swayed towards the K10D by the many great reviews.

My camera turned up yesterday and i have set it up. Tried to take some pictures around the house using the integral flash and the automatic exposures etc. All i get is almost black images.

I have now tried longer exposures and probably just about every setting available, but the best i can get are dark images of far lesser quality than my point and go camera. I am now waiting for the sun to come up so i can get outside and see if the problem is limited to flash photography.

Is this likely to be a fault with the camera, the flash or the lense.

I am using the DA 18-55 lense supplied with the camera

Help as am off to Tanzania on wednesday?

Lens-cap??????

Stupid i am but not quite that stupid!

The sun now coming up and i have been outside now have some images but they are very dark even with the brightness set ay +5

OK that's good, it was a bit tongue in cheek - but not impossible. Are you sure that you do not have the meter set to spot metering? It is not a big problem to have images under-exposed, that can be easily corrected, but over-exposed that is far more work.

As a test just now - Manual Mode F8, 1/180 ISO 100 inside with window light right now gives me a black image. So it could depend on your Mode and meter settings.

Also just to make you laugh, I left my white balance on flash and took some images in Luzern last evening. The sun's light quality was super!!

http://www.ephotozine.com/u41221/gallery/806178

What "brightness"?

Display brightness.

Have got to the bottom of it local dealer from where i have just returned has confirmed the camera is faulty.

Problem is now where to find a replacement cheaply preferably today. original purchased by mail order will return on Monday, but am going on holiday Tuesday!

The screen brightness will do nothing at all for the pictures. You have to change the sensitivity, exposure and aperture, not the screen :S

What did the dealer say? What were their suspicions?

Check that no exposure compensation is set (unless you want it). Check the jpegs on your computer, not just on the camera screen.

Where are you Robbo? You might be able to meet up with a fellow forum member who could check to make sure there's not something simple that the dealer missed.

Dan