You may want to try taking some pics outside when it is sunny to better test whether it is a deficiency in the camera itself, or just a confused-while-in-low-light autofocus like the other guys suggested.

 

Most every point-n-shoot camera does that all the time in every mode. If you do that for all your shots then the camera should focus properly.

 

Do the half press to get it to focus then complete the shot.

Another thing I noticed in your second picture that wasn't in the forst picture were the foreground items which the camera may be focusing on and then the rest of the image goes out of focus

 

Thanks everybody for the added replys. I used the pre-focus while in auto mode and thats when it was a bit blurred. Then instead I simply pressed the button all the way immediately (only in auto mode) and they became better. But I still believe theres another factor here which is contributing to the soft picstures.

I am going to go outside a snap a few to compare.

Oh and nightshade, I see what you mean in a way...like in that picture there are a lot of things in the foreground, that came out blurred but if you look at my blue jacket to the left, its pretty sharp. That may be the prob. But when i took a pic of my dad b4 sitting in the same seat as I am in that one pic, it was still blurry.

I think its more of an inconsistency in auto-focus mode than anything else. I just hope its not something wrong with the cam.

Thanks again and I'll keep trying...

 

Heres an outdoor taken on manual mode using the pre-focus then snapping the shot. Pretty good focus.

my pos beater with no heat

 

I dont' think you'll have any problems taking photos in the daytime outside. Like I said, it's in really low light situations that the camera just doesn't find anything to focus on. Mine does that. It'll focus in and out a few times looking for something to focus on and eventually stop on something which may or may not be what I want. Using the half pressed shutter only makes it hold the current focus so you can move the camera and still keep it focused at the depth you want. Anyway, best bet would be to used manual focus or more light.

 

what is this pre-focus thing you are talking about? pressing the button halfway is getting the camera to do an auto-focus. :thinking:

and that picture of the shelf, the camera should have focused on the shelf. not the blue thing that is off centered and on the bottom edge. unless you focused it and then moved the camera...:thinking:

 

gateway camera sucks?:dunno:

 

Going to Gateway country tonight to get an exchange for another. If the same thing occurs then unfortunately the price of the camera directly coincides with the performance/quality. In which case I'll be looking again and having to spend more money for something better. But if the same problem occurs with the exchanged one, then I'd rather spend a little more money and have a quality product. I'll keep you guys up to date.

Thanks again for all the help.