How to take a specific photo shot with my camera...

[DLL_4ever]

I was wondering, whenever i take a picture of a fast moving object, the image always gets messed up (blurry, i guess..)

Like this one: I wanted to take a picture of my cat with his tongue out, but he was too fast...

i'm guessing this has something to do with my shutter speed setting? I dont know... all i know is that the "Slow Shutter" level is set at "1/8", the camera setting is at Micro, and so on.
Is my compact DC (Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2) even able to take the kind of the shot i'm looking for, or am i just doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Big Mike]

Yes, this 'blur' is caused by motion and too slow of a shutter speed. 1/8 is very slow and should only be used when on a tripod & with a still subject. Try using 1/60 or faster...1/90 or 1/125 would be better...but you may need more light to be able to use those speeds.

Does your camera have shutter speed priority mode? In that mode, you would set the shutter speed and the camera would use the most appropriate aperture. Also, you can try using flash, which will help to 'freeze' the image.

Also, those digi-cams have quite a slow shutter lag. So when you push the button to catch the moment...the camera thinks about it for a moment...and then snaps the pic. That drives me crazy when I use one of those cameras...and that's one big reason why I have a Digital SLR camera.

 

[DLL_4ever]

/\ thats another reason why i desperately want to get a DSLR... just dont have the money at the moment... anyways, you're right, these cameras suck. I'm not able to use 1/60 or anything faster than that without more lighting. And i cant really get any more lighting than what i get from my lamps and the sunlight that comes through our windows. I can't really use flash either when taking close-up photos of cats like that, it would be way too bright.

Oh well... thanks anyways