I'm an amateur/rookie when it comes to photography. I've had my 3.2 megapixel FujiFilm Finepix 3800 for about a year now. I'm pertty happy with it, about half the time. It takes excellent pictures when the lighting is ideal (outside and sun shining). Anything less and I have to use the flash. This is understandable and acceptable when indoors, but most pictures I take are outside. I hate using the flash outside, because in my opinion it makes the picture look... not very 'pretty.'
Example:
Perfect lighting- sun shining
Overcast, but still a decent amount of sun - with flash. Not good picture. Very ugly.
Overcast, but still decent amount of sun. No flash. Camera focuses, but becomes blurry from normal hand vibrations. It takes fine if I set the camera on a surface or use a tripod though.
Basically what i'm wondering is what kind of setting, if any, will correct this. I realize the camera can't take a perfect picture 100% of the time, but a lot of the time the lighting seems by far good enough for a picture. In fact I'd think that a flash should never have to be used outdoors during the day. Is this true?
Do all cameras have this same problem, or am I just not picking the right settings? I've tried using the "overcast" setting, but that doesn't do it. I've also messed with the F-stop settings, but theres only 3 to choose from and Auto doesn't work either.
Thanks a lot for your time.