Faster shutter

[millyb]

I have got the panasonic DMC FZ5 and when I want to take pictures of my kittens jumping in the air to catch things it comes out blurred. So I looked in the manual and it was going on about increasing the shutter speed so I increased it to 1/400 and when I took the shot everything was incredibly dark (you couldnt make out the kittens at all) is there anything I can do to stop this. By the way I was taking the pictures in the morning

 

[JOAT]

When increasing the shutter speed you get less light. I'm guessing you were indoors? If you can adjust your ISO to 400 as that is the max i believe, that may help but most likely using a flash may have better results indoor.

 

[markc]

When you increase shutter speed, you also need to increase ISO or increase aperture size (lower number). If you aren't used to dealing with exposure, try using shutter-priority with a high ISO set. The camera will then pick the aperture for you.

Flash is the easiest way to freeze that kind of action, though. Depends on the look you want.