I got no clue what sort of info is in the supplied documentation.

Check out the "learn" section of www.dpreview.com for pretty much all the info you could want.

Here's a basic crash course that should get you a good idea of how to take reasonably good pics. Read in order.

Sensitivity (ISO)
Shutter speed
Aperture
Depth of field
Rule of thirds
Composition (read the articles in number order)

For more reference:
www.dpreview.com ("Learn" section on side menu)
http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/toc.html

 

thanks for your help