Thanks arthurking, I seem to be getting a consistent picture on all metering settings and A P S M modes and RGB luminance around 131 on my antique white USA walls.
looking at some pics I took after each other and one being brighter than the other, it looks to me the shutter speed is not being adjusted enough to allow more light in.(using aperture priority) I have one dark pic with a shutter speed at 1/4000(fastest setting)why so fast :/
I have only one spot metering pic of the pelican which is also on the darker side but think I will have to do some experimenting to see if spot metering helps. Was looking at pics of my dog which were taken on a sunny day and he also looks a bit on the darker side but not as bad as these pics.
thanks again for your help