Chances are, it's you..

If they are blue, you've got the white balance set wromg..

If they are overexposed, you've got the metering technique wrong, although probably not the metering setting..

You need to balance automation with technique, which is not all that easy..

Can you post a shot or two?.

BAK..

The previous poster raises some good points. You may want to trust the automatic functions of your camera to make the decisions, but it is good to experiment around and see what settings give the best results. Be sure to use the LCD to let you know what your photo is about to look like, when you half-press the shutter. If it looks too blue, you need to change the white balance by choosing "cloudy" or setting a custom WB. As for exposure, you can use Spot metering, and point the spot at various light intensities in your scene to see the overall effect on your image..

Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window..

Thanks for the info. I will give the white balance a tweakI have also looked at the difference between downloading with Adobe Photoshop and Nikon's NX Capture. There seems to be a considerable difference too...

I'm assuming you are referring to the P-5000, not the (much) older Coolpix 5000. I used the latter for about 1.5 years, and never had any real problems with either exposure or white balance, that weren't my fault. Nikon colors (used to be) well known for being natural looking. As a matter of fact, there were a lot of complaints about it, since the Canon overprocessed colors were thought to be more pleasing by a lot of folks..

The P-5000 is a descendant of the Coolpix 5000, I'd hope that Nikon made it better, not worse!.

I would agree that the most likely culprit is incorrect white balance. If you have set shady in direct sunlight, you will get blue shots. The older 5000 could set a custom white balance, hopefully the newer one can too..

Crime Scene PhotographyA small gallery of personal work: http://picasaweb.google.com/PID885..

You are right it is the P5000. The white balance can be adjusted. There are what I would assume the usual settings for white balance. auto, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, flash, and PRE..

I was using auto but have programmed the FUNC button so that I can easily access the settings and change them to suit the lighting outside..

I also downloaded my pictures again to a friends Nikon NX capture and the colors are what I expected to see especially in the fall. Golden browns and pretty intense blue sky (out here in the west of Canada). I would presume it has to do with RGB and Adobe...which would be what I am using without any difficulty with my Pentax K100D...