Bad focus when tacking pictures

Did you change (unnoticed perhaps) anything to the settings?
Be aware your camera needs a little time to focus. And when conditions are bad, like little contrast in the subject or bad light conditions, the camera needs more time to focus.
Please try to shoot in automatic mode. Then when you have a subject press the shutter release button half way. Look if you framed correct and then press fully. This way every time the camera should click.

Question : Why are my pictures out of focus (blurry)? Answer : This problem can occur for one or more reasons. Here are some common causes and suggested solutions.

• The lens is dirty. Use a soft brush to remove dust and dirt. Wipe the lens gently with a soft, lint-free cloth or an untreated lens-cleaning tissue. Do not use cleaning solution unless it is designed specifically for camera lenses.
• The subject was too close to the camera. Make sure that you are far enough away from your subject. Each camera has a recommended distance for normal, telephoto (zoom), wide-angle, and close-up pictures.
• The subject was not within the effective range of the flash. Each camera has an effective flash range.
• The camera did not focus or expose the picture correctly. For the best possible pictures, press the shutter button halfway and hold. When the Ready light or framing marks turn green, press the shutter button completely down to take the picture.
• The LCD screen Preview feature was not used to take a picture in Close-Up mode. Always use the Preview feature in Close-Up mode to confirm focus and to frame the subject properly. If the Preview feature is not used, the LCD will not display an accurate view of the subject.
• The subject or camera moved. Hold the camera very steady when taking a picture, or place the camera on a flat, stable surface. You may want to consider using a tripod or monopod.

It happens when the AF area is aimed at a part of the picture which has no contrast (white wall, sky, etc.) I don't know your camera but some have a special setting for when you are following a moving object. If you have this feature it should keep tracking the part of the picture you focused on originally...

There are two stages to the shutter release. The first stage is the focus stage pressed half way down and the second stage is the actual shutter release. Always press the shutter half way to get the camera focused first then press all the way down when the camera is ready to take the shot. Check to see how the settings are with regard to how it focuses (9-point, face recognition, etc). When the camera focuses you should get a green box or multiple green boxes depending on your settings. That tells you the camera is ready to take the picture. Pressing the shutter all the way down at once from the beginning will cause the pause you describe since the camera has to first focus then shoot the picture. Depending on the subject or subjects the camera may take a second or two longer to focus. With good lighting my G9 focuses pretty fast. Hope this helped.

I have the C740, which I believe works very similarly if not identically. Unless you have the camera in full time auto focus, I don't believe it actually focuses on the subject until you've pressed the shutter button half way. Until then, the subject may look in focus in the viewfinder, but is not. When you fully depress the shutter in one motion (rather than pressing half way first), the camera will attempt to focus before it takes the shot. If you are not careful about camera movement, you may inadvertently be focusing on something other than what you intended. My camera (and it seems all digicams) has trouble focusing in low light, so you definitely want to use the half press in such situations. Even then, I don't always get the focus correct. Thank the digital Gods for instant feedback! Personally, I almost always use the half press method. To get the 740 in manual focus, you hold the "OK" button down until you see the viewfinder display a focusing scale. It takes a second or so. You should also see "MF" and "AF" designations in the lower left corner of the viewfinder when the scale displays. Use the left and right arrows to select the focus mode you want (i.e. MF or AF), then use the up and down arrows to adjust the focus distance. You'll notice that the area you are focusing on is enlarged when you use the up and down arrows.

If the camera is having a difficult time auto-focusing, you can try the FOCUS LOCK feature. This feature allows you to focus on another subject roughly the same distance from you and then move the camera back to the intended subject and take the picture without losing focus. First, turn the camera on and locate the Autofocus Target Mark in the center of the LCD. The AF Target Mark resembles an open and close bracket [ ]. Position this AF Target Mark on a subject roughly the same distance away as the subject the camera is having trouble focusing on. Press the shutter button halfway enabling the lens to focus. While holding the shutter button halfway down, aim the camera at the original subject and press the shutter button all the way down.

If the camera is having a difficult time auto-focusing you can try the FOCUS LOCK feature. This feature allows you to focus on another subject roughly the same distance from you and then move the camera back to the intended subject and take the picture without losing focus. First, turn the camera on and locate the Autofocus Target Mark in the center of the LCD. The AF Target Mark resembles an open and close bracket [ ]. Position this AF Target Mark on a subject roughly the same distance away as the subject the camera is having trouble focusing on. Press the shutter button halfway enabling the lens to focus. While holding the shutter button halfway down, aim the camera at the original subject and press the shutter button all the way down.

1. Typical problem subjects for autofocus 1) Very low-contrast subjects 2) Overlapping nearby and distant objects 3) Very bright subjects in the center 4) Subjects moving very fast 5) Subjects through glass Focus on an object that is at the same distance as the desired subject, apply Focus Lock, and then recompose the picture. Or set the lens focus mode switch to (or), and focus manually. (Manual focus is only possible with cameras providing this feature.) 2. Attempting to take pictures out of the camera's shooting distance: When taking pictures out of the camera's shooting distance, the subject will be out of focus. The shooting distance differs from each camera model. Please check the specifications of your camera in the instruction manual to determine the shooting distance.

1. Typical problem subjects for autofocus 1) Very low-contrast subjects 2) Overlapping nearby and distant objects 3) Very bright subjects in the center 4) Subjects moving very fast 5) Subjects through glass Focus on an object that is at the same distance as the desired subject, apply Focus Lock, and then recompose the picture. Or set the lens focus mode switch to (or), and focus manually. (Manual focus is only possible with cameras providing this feature.) 2. Attempting to take pictures out of the camera's shooting distance: When taking pictures out of the camera's shooting distance, the subject will be out of focus. The shooting distance differs from each camera model. Please check the specifications of your camera in the instruction manual to determine the shooting distance.