I suggest that you set the camera to A for apature mode..
Set the apature for the depth of field that you desire for the photo and let the camera set the shutter speed..
This of course relies on the cameras exposure meter which should be OK for most shots..
If the shutter speed that the camera picks is too slow even though the apature is wide open then just set the ISO higher..
This is just a place to start.......next step understanding the histogram..
Clear as mud?A member of the rabble in good standing...
Get help from camera manual. It's MUST READ!.
Buy photogarphy field guide in area you love. (mine was John Shaw, Nature Photography) http://www.johnshawphoto.com/books.html.
I had same ptoblem 2+ years ago when switched from Olympus C-750UZ to Minolta 7D DSLR..
It really takes some time to get used to viewfinder, but seriously, can you imagine holding DSLR infront of you, without getting your image blurred by handshake?.
When you look through viewfinder your head is pressed against camera and works as stabilizer..
Since with PS camera I shot almost everything from tripod, when I switched to DSLR I found detail quality of my shots MUCH better. - use tripod..
Http://www.stan-pustylnik.smugmug.com..
DON'T RUSH..
Photography is sensual mode when you see the beauty, analyse it, think how to chapture it perfectly, translate it into lens/ISO/shutter speed/aperture and get it..
Http://www.stan-pustylnik.smugmug.com..
Yes, I agree photography is an art that takes time....
Perhaps i'm trying to get the same "good" shots I did with a P&S on a dslr. definitely will take all of your advice. and maybe I just need to be a bit more patient...
Stick it in A (aperture priority) mode with matrix metering. choose an aperture (high F # will leave more of the scene in focus). then check your shutter speed. if the shutter speed is too low (camera shake, unintended subject motion blur) then lower your F # and/or raise ISO. Repeat this exercise 10,000 times on as many different scenes as possible (both indoors and out at different times of day in different weather conditions) and then, most importantly, critically evaluate your pics on the computer against your chosen settings for that shot (and if you don't like the way the settings worked then adjust for the next time you encounter that type of scene). Shoot with as many different lenses and focal lengths as possible.
I think for photography to be fun it has to get fairly intuitive so you don't have to struggle over each shot agonizing about aperture, ISO and shutter speed...
I think it was Rod Laver who, when asked how one becomes a Wimbledon Champion, replied " "Oh ! It's easy, take a tennis racket in one hand and a tennis ball in the other, find a wall and hit the ball against it with the racket a million times !"...