Focus issues on P&S

[BigScott]

I have been trying to take pictures outside but the focus is blurry a lot of the time. I have a Nikon L100 and it should focus when the shutter release is pressed halfway down. I press it halfway and it is out of focus, I release it and try again and it is still out of focus. I'm not sure what to do here. It may be just that I am inexperienced and if so that is ok, but I would like to fix it. Here are a couple of shots that I took for examples.



f/ 3.5
shutter 1/26s
ISO 800



F/3.5
Shutter 1/12.3s
ISO 400
Exposure Comp +0.3EV

[Nicole]

Are you using a tripod with your shots? The shutter speed might be your issue, especially in the second shot. Are the shots blurry in the middle of the day in a bright, well lit area as well? It seems like even though it was the middle of the day the area you were photographing in was a little dark, so the camera was trying to make sure the darkest parts of the scene were well lit, probably resulting in the slow shutter speed.