Thanks for doing that test shot. Basically the Portrait mode mimics what you are trying to do with using a large aperture (setting the lens on 1.8 or 2.2). Since that isn't dark, it tells me that it will allow the camera to drop to a lower shutter speed. I can tell that the lens is either wide open or close to it by looking at how little depth of field you have. It looks good with the blurry background. It completely isolated the subject, which is what you want to do. You've narrowed down some of the problems that I am trying to look into.
I've downloaded the manual and also have been looking at Nikon's troubleshooting sites. I'll keep looking, but just give me a little time. Usually if I have the camera in my hand, I can figure things out very quickly by looking at the settings. It's more difficult this way, but I'll try. I have a friend who has the D3000, and it has a similar set-up to your camera. I'll ask her tomorrow morning if she can think of anything. I've had my Nikon D300 for over 2 years, and I'm still learning how to use it. I've used Nikons for 20 years, but this is my first digital camera and the learning curve was huge.
I don't know if I'll figure this out tonight. If not, I'll get in touch tomorrow.
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