Cruiserlan2000,
Feel free to print this if you wish.
Good to see that you are still playing with your camera! Sad to see that you are still frustrated as ever, but we'll get you through this.
Here's the fixes to your original pictures.
You were in portrait mode in the first picture. What you did incorrectly was pressed and held the Av button while turning the thumbdial left to get -2.0. Do the same thing but get that number on the far right in your viewfinder to read "0.0" turning the dial to the right.
In your second picture, your shutter was way too fast (1/250). Turn that dial to the left until you see the number on the far right of your viewfinder reading "0.0". Watch your hands though - slower shutter catches more "shaky hands"!If your subject is too dark after the shot, you may have some lighting behind the subject - turn on your flash.
For your third picture - I think you did a fine job. If you want the background lit up, do the same thing as the first tip above.
For your last picture - Autopict mode but Exposure value is still -2.0. Do the same as the first tip above.
Knowing the camera you are coming from, if you want to see what the camera is seeing using your viewfinder, do this:
Menu > Custom Setting > Checkmark the custom setting > Preview Method > Optical Preview.
Now go back to your shooting. When you want to check what the camera is seeing, twist the On dial to the shutter icon and hold it. You will hear the aperture adjust and if you look through the viewfinder - voila! You will have to release the on/off dial to make adjustments.
Now I know that the guys here will correct me with the Aperture Value (Av) thing if I'm wrong (I always get high and low mixed up) but I hope you get where I am going with this.
Since you are playing with Manual mode a bit more here's a LOT more tips (using 18-55 kit lens as example):
Low ISO (eg. 200) + Low/Small(?) Av Value (eg. 5.6 or greater) = Slower Shutter (Tv) or more flash power compensation to get proper looking picture.
High ISO (eg 1600) + High/Big(?) Av Value (eg. 3.5 or lower) = Faster Shutter (Tv) and less or no flash requirement to get a proper looking picture.
Now knowing this tip, here's what you will see through your viewfinder, from left to right, in "M" Mode, depending on how your picture will be exposed and the basic steps to "fix" it. I can't really show a pic so hope you understand. In all cases you may or may not see a hand icon depending if SR is on or off.
"Perfect" (or what the camera's meter thinks is perfect) exposure:
(focus lock icon), Shutter Speed, Aperture Value (F), Exposure value = 0.
"Perfect" but subject is too dark - You may have to turn on your flash to fill in shadows - watch your White Balance.
"Perfect" but background is too dark - Turn off your flash, slow down the shutter and/or use a faster ISO. You may have to check your metering mode and set it for evaluative/matrix mode (Menu > AE Metering > top option).
"Underexposure" (picture is dark):
focus lock icon, Shutter Speed, Aperture Value (F), Exposure value is negative
OR
"Severe Underexposure" (very dark):
EVERYTHING IS FLASHING: FLASH, Shutter, Aperture, Exposure = -3.0
Fix: slower shutter (turn thumb dial left)
and/or
bigger Aperture value (press and hold Av while turning dial left)
and/or
higher ISO
and/or
turn on flash and try to get exposure = 0.0 (or as close to it as possible) before shooting
and/or
get more lighting
"Overexposure" (picture is bright):
focus lock icon, Shutter, Aperture, Exposure value is a positive.
OR
Severe Overexposure (very bright, blown out or white):
ONLY THE EXPOSURE VALUE IS FLASHING 3.0
Fix: faster shutter (turn thumb dial right)
and/or
smaller Aperture value (press and hold Av while turning dial right)
and/or
lower ISO
and/or
move subject somewhere else
and/or
try a different angle (shoot away from the bright light source)
Now I know that optical preview should help you a ton. Not quite like your MX, but hey not many entry level (who said entry level?! lol) cameras have this feature.
Didn't realize I just wrote a text book. Sorry everyone!