I need help with my Olympus E510, please only answer if you are familiar with this camera?

My pictures don't turn out right. They seem really dark around the edges and they are also grainy. Most of the time the subjects have dark shadows around them etc. I need to know what settings to have it on when taking normal pictures of my kids inside. It seems to flash many times before taking the pictures, so by the time it takes it, my daughters close their eyes. If I take it with the flash off, it is way too dark. So how do I take normal indoor pics? What are the settings for different types of picture taking such as outdoor, indoor, night, city lights, etc.

You will need to provide more information about the settings you are using on the camera. The repeated flashes you are getting are the focus assist, which indicates that your ISO setting is probably too low or the lighting is very dark.

Do not use the lens hood when you take flash pictures it will often cause dark shadows because it partially blocks the flash. It will also cause dark edges if it put on improperly. There is a symbol similar to a backward L with half of an arrow head on the hood which should be at the top when you are putting the hood on, then twist it into place. For most of their lens hoods you should be able to read the words "OLYMPUS LENS HOOD LH-###" (where ### = the part number of the hood) when looking down from the top of the camera if the hood is installed properly.

Is the camera brand new? If so you may have inadvertently made a setting adjustment that is incorrect. You can review the settings by pressing the "Info" button on the back of the camera, if it doesn't say "Auto" near the upper left corner try changing that setting with the adjustment knob on top of the camera to the blue "Auto" setting and try again.

Also, can you take pictures outdoors during the day? If you are having trouble doing that in normal daylight you may have a problem with the lens being mounted correctly or a camera that needs repair. It should be covered under warranty.

HTH. Email me if you have more specific questions.

Also go to this user group for help.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Olymp...

dark images are "under exposed" and always result in grainy images... read manual on +/- ev... if that was accidentally hit all images will be to dark or to bright

also if images are dark with flash then they may be to far away

turn off red eye reduction and af assist to get rid of multi flash and have it flash only when the picture is taken

make sure your in full auto mode, if you are in av, tv, m, or even p mode then the camera expects you to be telling it what the iso and shutter speed should be and wot do it automatically