hey all. some of you know i just picked up the gateway DC-M42. I've had it since last night but just today had enough memory to really play with it and upload pics to comp. heres the scenario:

took some candid shots on 4 mp, brightness and focus was pretty good.

then my g/f took a pic of me on my computer chair. phenominal quality pic, sharp as can be perfect lighting

then took one of my dad he sat in the same place same lighting and same settings on cam...and was very very dark and out of focus (soft)

repeated taking pics with constant conditions and same results.

understand all the while i have to continuously turn the cam on and off to upload and then take pics.

I let the camera sit and cool for a little, first and second picture taken great sharp and lighting was good...then quality dropped off a little and lighting is no longer an issue but it is still out of focus...

it seems as though there are certain conditions which make the camera take out of focus pics....HELP please. I want to see if I can solve/troubleshoot the problem myself...

I'm new to cameras, am I doing something wrong?