why so dark?

I'm new to the photography thing. I love the 30D, but the photos are coming out so dark, even outside. What am I doing wrong? Attached are some photos from today. I used the 100-400L lens.

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looking at the EXIF data of those photos, it looks like you have the exposure compensation set to -1.7. This, first of all, will darken the images a bit in and of itself.

Additionally, for the second image, you shot it at ISO 200 with a 1/1000 shutter speed and f/10 aperture. Shooting with such a fast shutter speed, with such a small aperture and such a low ISO, very little light is being able to hit the sensor. Start out by setting your exposure compensation back to 0, opening up the aperture (lower f number) and slowing the shutter speed down a bit. 1/1000 is great for freezing motion, but seems overkill for those 2 shots.

What elbirth said. You have to watch you dont accidently dial the exposure when your taking pictures. When I first started I messed up a slew of pics during a visit to a safari park. Its because I accidently dialed my exposure off. You may want to read your manual about this. I believe you can set your on/off switch to halfway to prevent this. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

You're absolutely correct. If, when you turn the camera on, you move the switch the white line instead of just "on", the thumb wheel will be active. You can inadvertently change the exposure setting by half-pressing the shutter and then immediately turning the dial in attempt to change the aperture size.
Putting the switch only at "on" will prevent this... I still prefer to put it on the white line to ensure everything is active in case I do want it, so it's just become something I'm aware of and am able to avoid.

I agree about the fast shutter speed. I was having the same problem until a friend of mine explained the fast shutter speed thing to me. If it's too fast it will be dark, my images looked much like the ones you showed here. I was perplexed at first because I was testing it and shooting at f/1.8 outdoors in good light but still getting dark images. I didn't realize it was because that forced my shutter speed up really high. I was also told to watch the exposure comp meter and it has made all the difference in the world. I shoot manual now too.

Dee Dee wrote in post #2816348
I was also told to watch the exposure comp meter and it has made all the difference in the world. I shoot manual now too.

This reminds me of an interesting point that will probably be helpful to some- when you half-press the shutter, take note in the viewfinder of the shutter speed/aperture. If something is blinking, then you know you're either over or under exposing something. Judging by your settings, you can get a feel for it and tell pretty easily which it is and adjust accordingly before even taking the picture.

I think an Understanding Exposure book might help you improve your photography.

Thanks for those suggestions. I think I'll get a book on exposure.

Its all in the settings...get the book, it will explain everything....LOL