Digital bright light difficulties with S50 Powershot

[Flasher]

I am using a Canon Powershot S50 and I cannot seem to take pictures outside in bright sunlit conditions. All I seem to get is a picture that is terribly over exposed. If in fact, that is the right terminology. What sort of settings should I have on the camera to try and avoid this?
Any advice to this photo illiterate would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, do you know the settings that your camera was set to? What mode were you in? Did you perhaps manually change a setting like shutter speed, aperture or ISO?

 

[Flasher]

Hi and thanks for the welcome.
I have tried shooting in the auto mode and then I have tried setting the auto white balance to the daylight setting to no avail. Besides that, I have not changed any other settings.
I am really quite ignorant when it comes to cameras and the manual that came with it does not seem to be very informative except to explain basic functions.

 

[Big Mike]

Well, typically exposure is controlled by three things. Aperture, shutter speed and the ISO (sensitivity) of the film or digital sensor.

The aperture is the size of the opening in the lens. It is adjustable and represented in F numbers. The lower the number; the bigger the opening.

Shutter speed it the time in which the image is recorded. Your camera probably doesn't have a shutter but the sensor will record the image for a precise amount of time that would be the same as a shutter opening & closing.

Digital cameras usually have a few ISO settings that correspond to typical film speeds. 100, 200, 400 etc.

Try your camera in different modes and with different settings. Try aperture & priority modes and set different values. Try manual mode if you have it. Try changing the ISO setting.

Some digital cameras have trouble with highlights (very bright areas). Maybe it's that your scene has some areas that are mid toned or dark and the lighters areas are just getting blown out. A camera can only record a certain range of light values. Digital sensors are typically not as good as color film. You have to figure out what the camera's meter is doing and which part of the photo that you want to be properly exposed.

Or maybe you camera is acting funny and need repair. Maybe you could post an example.