All the pictures that I took at a cheerleading camp in an indoor football field are grainy. I had the setting on P and iso on 1600. What did I do wrong

In general, you will have to play with the functions as each camera and indoor lighting situation is different. Sometimes, cameras have some nice presets (like candlelight) and I have had some success with presets.

Otherwise, depending on the indoor circumstances you will need to play with ISO - 800 or 1600 is typical for low light settings. However, I have heard that graininess appears with your camera at around 1600. It is a problem with your model of camera.

You can also try playing with the white balance settings as well.

Good luck!

ISO refers to the sensitivity your camera has to light when taking a photograph.

A lower ISO value is generally better as a high ISO value can reduce the quality of an image and cause it to appear grainy or noisy. Therefore, you should always aim to use a low ISO value. When outdoors in a bright light, an ISO value of 100 or 200 should be fine.

Higher ISO values can be used in situations where, perhaps, you are indoors, there is low light or you cannot use a flash. A higher ISO value such as 800 or 1600 can be used to compensate for the lack of light and it will brighten the image for you. A high ISO value can also be used if you wish to create a grainy effect in the image but this can be easier to achieve afterward on a computer.

Try shooting with ISO value of 200 or less; or set to "Auto".

If you're missing the manual, you can get it in English, here. Page 76 briefly discusses ISO settings. This camera can select an ISO as high as 1600. ISO has to do with graininess of film - the higher the number - the more grainy the images. Higher ISOs are selected when light levels are low and no flash is used or is usable (such as when the subject is too distant). Some photographers use higher ISO settings with high shutter speeds to stop fast moving objects (like wheels on a race car). The grainier the film, the quicker it captures light. Fime grained film takes longer to capture light.

Generally, pictures taken outdoors in sunshine look best when ISO is 100 or less. 100 is a good choice for well lit indoor pictures, too; but may be better with an ISO of 200. ISO works like this:

If a picture can be properly exposed with an ISO of 100 in 1/15 sec, it would require only 1/30 sec at ISO 200, or 1/60 sec at ISO 400. When you double the ISO value, the exposure times are halved. What's the big deal about 1/15sec, 1/30 or 1/60 sec you might ask? Easy! the picture will probably be blurry at 1/15 and even 1/30 sec exposure time, due to the camera recording even the slightest movement of your hands. You'll need to supply a tripod or do something else (such as increase the size of the opening of the aperture or f-stop) to get a properly exposed image.

I hope this helped - if it isn't an ISO problem - let me know. Good luck!

The flash has a range of up to around 10 feet at the wide end of the zoom, down to 6.5 feet at the tele end. Maybe you are using it on to big a distance or at to low ISO? Try setting the ISO to 800 and see if it helps. images get a bit more grainy at 800 ISO but are also less prone to camera shake, if you use it without the flash. The camera goes as high as 1600 ISO, but images get very grainy at that setting.

Are you sure you have the shutter speed at 1600 or do you have the ISO at 1600? If it's the ISO as I suspect, the photos will probably be grainy with digital noise. I would take a few just to check and maybe back it down to 800 ISO. Don't use your flash. Set both your focus and exposure meter to spot. If you have a monopod or, at the very least, anti-shake control on your camera, you should get some great shots. If you have an external flash and you're on the sidelines close to the action, then you can use flash.

Depending on how far away you are from the action, the flash is most probably not strong enough to be effective...in fact, it's probably making your camera underexpose every shot. Turn off the flash and turn up the ISO to 400 or even 800.

Most likely, you've set the ISO value higher than necessary for most circumstances. You may have done this deliberately to catch some fast action, or you accidentally hit the ISO button without realizing it. If you reset to lower ISO settings, your graininess problem will probably disappear.

The faster the "film speed", whether you're using real film or a digital camera, the more grainy the pictures will be. ISO is the film speed. The ISO speed is set by pressing the ISO button (just above the "FUNC SET" button); it cycles thru AUTO, HI, 80,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, then back to AUTO. If you've set the camera to AUTO on the control wheel opn the top of the camera, then you can only select ISO of AUTO or HI (which is slightly faster than AUTO).

The higher ISO settings are useful in low light conditions or to catch fast action, but those higher settings should not be used otherwise because of the increased graininess.

I hope this helps you.

If you can adjust the ISO sensitivity to a lower number then the graininess will be reduced.

However, by reducing the ISO, you will need a slower shutter speed and a larger aperture. A tripod, table or other support may be necessary.

The "noise reduction" setting on the camera can also be adjusted a step up.

Taking pictures at full resolution and fine compression will also help.
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Overall, at least try lowering the ISO, and using the flash brighter.

Noisy pictures = High ISO in almost all cases. Select ISO manually (select a manual mode where you can control the ISO) and set it to the lowest possible value. To avoid camera shake, place the camera on a tripod or another sturdy surface; or use the flash

it could be a problem with CCD, and that can just be replaced in a service centre.