Every vehicle can have its own set of rules for reading the dipstick. Some want the engine to be warm. Some want a cold engine. To that end not knowing what your vehicle requires, I'll describe for what I view as a "normal" way to read a dipstick. This may be what is at issue here.
Normally what I'll do to read the dipstick is to ensure the vehicle is on flat ground, completely warmed, and having sat after shutdown for a few minutes (5-10). Once the vehicle has rested, pull the dipstick and wipe it off, then re-stick it until fully seated. Immediately pull the dipstick and take a look at the reading. To get a clear "reading", look for a distinct line where the oil stops at. This should give you a good indication of where your oil level is at, though there is a caveat.
In a lot of vehicles, oil remains in the dipstick tube, so when you pull the dipstick for a reading, it shows too much because the dipstick is picking up oil as it travels down and back out of the tube. One of the ways you may be able to get around this is to look on the opposite side of the dipstick. Many times oil will show a distinct line on one side, but will be smeared on the other. It doesn't matter which side you look at, you'll see that line and know it's an accurate read.
It appears to both the top and bottom images show the actual level between the two notches. It appears in the third image the dipstick has picked up some oil from the tube where the twisty is at. To me there is that "distinct line" there as well as it matching up to the amount of oil said you put into the engine. IOW, it makes sense.
