Point and shoot cameras have much worse high-ISO performance than DSLRs -- your instructor may have been working from knowledge of DSLRs (where ISO 400 is perfectly normal).
Focusing can be difficult for any camera in low-light situations. Your camera usually can autofocus most easily on objects with clear edges, or lots of lines or changing colors. If you try focusing on those sorts of objects, it may help. You should also check your settings to see what sort of settings you can change related to focusing.
|