moving objects suck

I've been having a problem trying to take pictuers of moving objects like birds and such and was hping that you might be able to lend a hand. One of my first problems is one I'm sure that is just lack of experience and that would be my hard time of keeping the moving object in center though that is getting better. though one other question related to that though would be how to get a good zoom on the object. would it be better to have the lens zoomed and then bring the object into the field of vision of bring the boject in and then slowly zoom into the object?

my other problem though is one I'm not sure how to fix and that is getting the focus down. the manual focus on my S5 seems a little sketchy and slow as is sometimes even more so in lower light conditions. then the problem of the object while moving through my field of vision is also changing it's distance from me focusing is almost impossible so far. any tips/tricks here?

There's a reason SLR's have an advantage over LCD point and shoots for action photography. SLR viewfinders are far better at finding a target than even the best electronic display, and SLR lenses are easier to adjust on the fly than a point and shoot's fly by wire lens.

Unfortunately, the best solution is going to be more practice, to get used to the S5's limitations. The more experience you get, the better you'll be able to deal with the camera's ability to track a small moving target and then change the focal length. From experience (I use a Fuji S7000), you'll be able to get better that that task after some work. Even with a SLR, the typical technique in the situation you describe is to find the general location of a small moving target, then zoom in to tighten the framing. That's not easy with a point and shoot with an electronic viewfinder, especially since there's going to be a short time lag between what you see in the electronic screen and what's really happening.

I'm assuming even using the eye piece view finder is going to cause the same issue as the large LCD screen?
for the most part keeping the target in the frame and then zooming in isn't too bad (well more or less) but keeping it in the focus zone is causing me all sorts of issues.
though one thing I have yet to try though is upping teh aprature as I'm using I believe 3.5 for it. would using a smaller one help this a little bit so the focus can be "fudged" a little more or would this be more of a crutch then a help?

rx7speed wrote in post #5746904
I'm assuming even using the eye piece view finder is going to cause the same issue as the large LCD screen?
for the most part keeping the target in the frame and then zooming in isn't too bad (well more or less) but keeping it in the focus zone is causing me all sorts of issues.
though one thing I have yet to try though is upping teh aprature as I'm using I believe 3.5 for it. would using a smaller one help this a little bit so the focus can be "fudged" a little more or would this be more of a crutch then a help?

The S5 has two electronic viewfinders, but they'll show the same image.

Point and shoot digicams aren't strong on manual focus because you need to depend on a electronic screen that doesn't offer the fine detail needed to get exact focus all the time. Your best bet is to look for a way to preset the camera to some sort of infinity focus and hope that the camera's focus is consistent from wide angle to telephoto. Not even some of the most popular SLR lenses can do that.

One trick I have found to help with my P&S, especially when riding in the truck, is to use the screen to frame the shot, but then look up and time the shutter based on what I actually see looking over top of the camera. I end up with a lot less shots of trees 2 feet away from the window that way. It wouldn't work for birds, but its something to think about.