SD600 taking blurry photos?

I just bought an SD600 because it was supposed to be a major upgrade from my old 3.1 Kodak. But almost all the photos have a 'blur' and I can't zoom in nearly as far on images as I could in my old, cheaper Kodak.

I'm a novice to camera settings, but I was hoping for at least the SAME quality as my old camera, since this has twice the mega pixels. I have a couple of days before my time is up to return it. Can anyone suggest any settings or such that I might be doing to cause this?

Lighting seems off, photos are blurry in things up close and far. I've gotten a couple 'okay' shots, but even they didn't compare to the clunky old 3.1 cameras.

Any help? I really know nothing about settings. I've got everything, I think, on auto right now...

Oh yes. the photos are also much DARKER, like the flash isn't lining up right or something.... none of them are bright at all

Post some sample pictures to show what you mean perhaps?

It could be that you have your micro setting on. That would cause your normal distance shots to be blurry. Or the focus beam could be turned off. Check trobleshooting page 97 in your owner's manual.

Under what situations are you shooting? If you are shooting under poor lighting, the camera-chosen shutter speed will tend to be low. Without stabilization (such as a tripod, firm surface, IS etc.), blurry shots may ensue.

As for the pictures being darker and the flash not firing properly, are you sure your subjects are close enough to the camera? The SD600's flash head isn't the most powerful of sorts, so subjects too far away from the camera often end up underexposed.

I agree with aLFaDaRK - you should post some example shots.

Collin

Thanks for the responses. I'm shooting under all conditions, indoor and out. I'll post some images here:

This image was taken several times, all but one was this bad - and even that one had blurry edges around everything. This blur is a little worse than normal, but still happens around 1 in 15 shots usually. Tried with flash on, and off.
http://img300.imagesha​ck.us/my.php?image=203​891603eu.jpg

An example of my 'typical' blur effect. This is what is in almost all my photos.
http://img157.imagesha​ck.us/my.php?image=362​372475hc.jpg

Another example of typical blur. Our old camera never had this effect on it, and it was a cheap Kodak 3.1 megapixel.
http://img259.imagesha​ck.us/my.php?image=831​425992hr.jpg

As I said above, all the photos have a blur around the edges of subjects, and are darker. I don't have any of the old camera photos here, but I'll upload one when I get home. They're just sharper and brighter.

(My focus beam (the red/orange light, right?) is on, and I've got it running on auto.)

Thanks

ALL of those looks like camera shake blur. Chances are the shutter speed was simply too slow - as expected for the first two shots since they're indoors. Not so sure about the third one, there looks to be sufficient ambience light around for a decent shutter. From my knowledge, the IXUS cameras tend to prioritise high shutters over stopping down the aperture, but perhaps your shots demonstrated a few exceptions.

What shutter speeds were all those shots taken at?

Not so sure about the pics being dark though - the first two indoor pics seem adequately exposed. Perhaps you had your flash on? If your camera prioritises foreground exposure when flash is enabled, then your background may end up more underexposed. But then again this explanation has it's drawbacks since it would imply a high shutter was used (which should of prevented the blur in the first place). What time of day was the third pic taken in?

All of the pictures were on auto. My camera has an ISO of 800 max, and I think 400 as a 'normal' setting? I don't know much about it, but I'm pretty sure my HIGH iso is one of 800.

If this is camera shake blur, then I need to fix it. Maybe because my last camera was bigger it didn't shake as much when I held it? We NEVER got shots like these on the old camera. If this is the fault of me, does anyone have any way to tell? Maybe set it on a table and take the picture?

Can anyone recommend a small camera (I wanted one to go in my pocket) that won't be blurry like this if it IS shake blur? I can still return this one and pick up another.

As for darkness, I'll post another photo when I get home, but the old camera may have had a brighter flash or something, because the photos were all bright, these are almost like underdeveloped 35mm photos...

those were taken at 1/20 or slower it looks like (EXIF) so there is the problem. The shutter speed is just too slow.

Rabidcow,

What can I do about it?? I've already tried taking some on ISO 800, and they still had the blur...

are you using the flash? if so then you might have a problem in full auto in regards to the camera meter, or you might just have bad batteries that cannot charge the capacitor fast enough. I have little experience with point and shoots, so my advice will not be all that great, I just know that your slow shutter speed is the cause of your blurry images.

My husband bought this camera a few months ago as a "take along" camera he could keep in his pocket. Although our photos aren't as severe as yours, I think the quality is lousy. I haven't been able to get a good shot out of it yet, no matter what settings I use. Terrible red eye, mostly out of focus, noise, dark, etc. I really do not like this camera at all. The first Canon I ever met that I didn't like

SMS Photo,

Thanks for the input. I guess I'll mess around with it a little tonight, and then send it back tomorrow for a refund if I can't get it working satisfactorily.

Can anyone recommend a high-qualty small take-along camera?? I really wanted something that could slip in my pocket.

Your pictures were taken at shutter speeds as low as 1/13. That's just too slow for handheld use. The same would be true with any camera. I have the 600, and I can get fantastic pictures with it. They are not out of focus, they are very clear and sharp. I have blown several up to 8X10 with great results. However, the flash is very weak, and taking inside pictures with low light is somewhat of a challenge. The SD600 is a good camera that takes good pictures, but if you plan to take many indoor, low light photos, it may not be the camera for you.

Just Shootin,

The camera is on auto though, so how do I increase the shutter speed? You say yours turn out fine, and the shutterspeed in my problem - but how do I fix it? All I do is take pictures with auto settings...

Is there another portable camera with stronger flash? Maybe the 700, 800, 900 or a Nikon model?