New to Nikon...D3S

I'm a long time Canon shooter and recenly had a less than stellar experience wiht a couple of new 1D4s. They were great cams but, one I sent back because I thought it had a senosr defect, and the next one went back of multiple error codes. So, I decided to give Nikon a try. I shoot a Fuji S5Pro, so, I have a few f-mount lenses. I ordered a D3s yesterday and had it overnighted and received it today.

I just opened up the box and decided to take a few snaps with the camera before I fully charged the battery. The first thing I noticed is that all of the images seemed to be underexposed by a stop or more. Also, I noticed the metering was easily fooled by bright lights within the scene. The only f-mount lens I have with me at the office is a Sigma 24 1.8. It is a D lens and the camera is set to matrix metering. Are there any other settings I should be aware of or is the D3s finicky with certain lenses (does it prefer Nikkors per se)?

Thanks for any help
Evan