Why does my digital camera take blurry pictures?

Maybe the settings like focus or autofocus aren't right. Maybe the megapixels are low numbers?

bad pictures usually is because of the way the user is handling the camera

are you letting it focus before you take a shot?
are you in a low light condition, meaning, are you indoors? In low light conditions the camera will use a longer shutter speed, so if you move during that time, you will get a blurred picture.

the camera itself isn't the greatest ($100-200 for a camera is not much at all)

Blurry pictures are usually caused by one or all of these: 1) focus, 2) motion, 3) noise.
If you are out of focus, you need to either manually focus it or need more light on your subject. If it is caused by motion blurr, you will need a tripod. If it is noise, that mean your camera is a low end model. Noise is vaused by the lack of information. Color noise = lack of color info., and film grain is caused by lack of gray scale information...sort of. To reduce noise, you will need to set your ISO to very low, like 100. Without seeing your photos it is hard to tell which of these three is your problem. You will have to experiment with it.

Try holding the shutter button halfway down before you take a picture. This will usually focus it.
Try getting a tripod and see if that makes it a little better.
Try getting better lighting conditions when you take a picture
Play around with the focus (Usually the tulip icon is close up pictures and the mountains icon is far away)

The point and shoot cameras normally require you to push the picture taking button half way down for about 2 or 3 seconds, allowing the camera to focus. Then you hear a noise which indicates "I'm focused" then you press the button all the way down. You can't just aim the camera and press the button.

So go back to the Auto setting, and try focusing as recommended in your owner's manual.

You might be shaking too much when you take the picture. Or maybe you need to turn the focus on.

1

Unless you like the blurred look, better learn how to steady your hands while snapping. There is no magic cure for camera shake . You can use a monopod or tripod, but you won't be able to do that in every situation. There are image stabilization lenses that might help a bit. The fact remains, if you move the camera then you blur the picture. When taking a picture, hold your elbows close to your body, making a conscious effort to be still. Push the shutter button halfway and give it a second to focus, the smoothly finish pressing the button. It helps to hold your breath for a couple of seconds while doing so. It is harder to handhold if you are zooming to the long end. Just practice and you will get better pictures. Hope this helps!

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Auto-focus cameras will often focus on something in the background instead of the subject you are taking the picture of leaving the subject out of focus. That sounds like what your problem is. The trick of pushing the shutter release half way down locks the focus. So, put your subject in the middle of your viewfinder, push the shutter release half way down, than frame your picture and finish depressing the shutter release. This should lock the focus on your subject while you are framing your picture and give you a clear image of your subject.