Why are my Nikon D5000 pictures dark outside?

I have a Nikon D5000 that I just purchased and it takes great pictures, when it's bright outside. Unfortunately, once it gets even slightly cloudy, the pictures begin to come out very dak. I have the shutter speed at 200 (for sports) and the ISO cranked all the way to 2500. Then I set the aperture to 4.3, and the pictures are still dark. The flash isn't on, because it wouldn't do me any good from so far away. I've used other people's cameras and they work so well that it makes it look even brighter than it really is outside. What am I doing wrong here?

Just like opening the aperture or increasing the ISO, reducing the shutter speed will result in brighter pictures. Do you really need 1/200s? Could you do with 1/100s or even 1/50s?

"I have the shutter speed at 200 (for sports) and the ISO cranked all the way to 2500. Then I set the aperture to 4.3"

It's no good plugging in random numbers, for goodness' sake!

Read the light meter & set the parameters for the correct exposure.

What does your exposure meter or histogram tell you?

Are you arbitrarily setting the exposure controls on your camera, or are you doing so while monitoring your exposure meter?

Realize that when your scene goes from sunny to cloudy, the light entering your camera will be less, and you will have to compensate for that by changing your exposure.

When you go to manual, the camera's exposure control is turned over to you, so it is your responsibility to ensure the exposure is correct. And even then, in some situations, your exposure meter can be wrong (beach, snow, black wall, etc), so you may have to manually figure out an exposure compensation factor to obtain the correct exposure.

I suspect you are not setting your camera up correctly, but I may be wrong.

Also realize that if you are using the kit lens, and if it is at 55mm, then f/4.3 is not a valid aperture as the 18-55mm kit lens is only capable of f/5.6 at 55mm.

Do some research on the "Exposure Triangle", or pick up Bryan Peterson's book "Understanding Exposure", and you will be well on your way to advancing your skill so that you can use your camera in manual.

Why on earth do you need such a high ISO of 2500?

In the first place the quality of prints will be cr*p!

I shoot everything outdoors at an ISO of 200 and my exposures usually f/16 @ 1/200th sec. I make 11x14's all day long with that combination.

I think you need a simple book on photography exposure, it will do you wonders and make that very expensive camera seem worth the money you paid for it.

Bradyn its me khyla you answred my question n said it might me meth or pcp… I don't use meth. So wat culd it be