Is this normal for a digital camera that...?...

[Roscue2]

isn't very expensive? My camera(Vivicam X327) seems to not be able to capture the sky and has problems with light when I take photos on some occasions. By this I mean it either turns the sky completely white on cloudy days or produces a completely dark photo when the sun is shining on a clear day.The dark photos can be produced without the sky being in the photo. For example, if I took a photo of a stump on a sunny day the camera would possibly produce a dark photo. I would have to be in the correct position to get a good photo. Can someone give an explanation and a possible answer for these two problem. Are this problems happening because I've miss set my camera, because of the digital camera, or something else? Also, are there any photography forums that you would recommend out there on the web?

Some facts about the camera:
3X optical zoom
10.1 mega pixels

The 1st pic is of a white sky and the second is of a partially blue sky. I was standing in about the same spot, but at a different angle from the sun, when I took these photos. They were taken a few weeks after I got the camera.

 

[Sodbuster27]

Ahhh, you have found the problem with light.

Most camera users have seen this problem from one time to another. Do you happen to have a pair of polarizing sunglasses? Have you noticed that when you look at a stream with say goldfish in the stream that with the polarized lenses you can see the fish? Take the sunglasses off and you see a glare of sunlight and no fish.

People with SLR's will get filters for this to darken the sky and even the exposure out. Your other alternative is to be sure you are metering the sky when you take the picture and not the ground/people/scene on the earth.

Long and short, you have a meter that is measuring the main images in your picture (in image 1 the people) and the sky, which is more than 2 or 3 stops lighter, gets blown out and turns white. The second image, you have a slightly different level of lighting and so you can see the sky. I'll bet that the sun was at your shoulder on one of the pictures.

So, if you meter the sky and see a value that is much higher than when you meter the scene on the ground, you will get a white sky. If you can, get a circular polarizer for your lens. That will help you get a dark sky at least most of the time (at an angle to the sun).

Let me know if this helps explain what you are seeing or if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Sodbuster