Kimbo, you're right, I hope my attempt at humor didn't offend. They aren't really rebadged coke bottles. but there was also an attempt to add some (hopefully) useful info there too.

I beileve rikenon was an inexpensive richoh kit lens. They may have been rebadged coca-cola bottles...I'm not sure... find a good sales clerk that'll let you slap on a better lens and fire some shots out the store window and see if that solves your problem.
Also a hoya, tiffin, or b+w multicoated circular polarizer may help you out to a fair degree.

I had a photo shoot prospect from London, had to decline. Legal/custody issues tie me to the home front right now.
I can't say I'd miss the chance to enjoy the lovely London weather, or the jetlag.
Would've liked the chance to meet some of you guys for coffee though...maybe I'll get another shot next year.

Kimbo, Matt your points are taken. As a former film shooter, I don't think my camera handled the difficult shots as much as "print film" lattitude, which I considered as another tool, when doing weddings. The switch to digital meant going back to "slide film" rules and techniques.
Perhaps the digital cameras are switching to err on the side of underexposure- and computer software fixes as opposed to blowing out highlights. I'm not sure. I as a matter of habit I add the +-ev adjustment and use flash for fill, when snapshooting, and a flashmeter for important shots, so I've not really come up against that problem.

Your camera should be able to tolerate a moderate amount of backlight, in the multi segment metering mode. ( green mode, access thru menu)
a+.5 to +1.5 ev compensation adjustment should help with more pronounced to severe backlight with +1.5 to +2 for severe backlight plus water/snow reflections.
I don't have the same model as you but my camera has a little Av button beside the shutter hold that down and scroll the wheel on the camera back left or right to increase/decrease the ev compensation.
I'm a big fan of spot metering, but not when i'm in a hurry. I prefer to use spot meter for taking multiple readings and averaging them out, as opposed to using the spot meter for rapid shots.
bracketing shots should solve your problem also. acess thru the Fn button on back.

Where ya been hiding and when do we get to see one of your images shot with the "new" camera?

Manesty said:
You obviously didn't catch that fiasco recently where Bill Gates got cauhgt running a presentation of the "new" xbox 360 gaming system from 2 Mac g5's !!!

if by other you mean Mac then yes I like Macs...but now I see Macs can run both windoze and mac osx, my world has become a dark and sinister cold place....javascript:emoticon('')

ive tried it in safari and firefox and it looks good to me!
my 17 emac crt is set to 1024x768
like the rollover effect

Pink flamingos bring back some happy memories...
Alcohol infused teen-aged boyz with raging hormones, trying to impress party girlz by running through the neighbourhood trying to hunt and catch pink plastic 'mingos on the neighbours lawns...getting a young nurses phone number at the E.R...failing to realize it did me no good as I couldn't dial the phone with broken fingers...

Nice shot by the way.

I hate flamingos...these days.