June,
inside shots on sports mode, sorry but with P&S camera limitations youre burning the match at both ends. You are going to need higher shutter speeds to freeze the action, a good flash to go with it. A lens that can open wide and at the end of the Tele, and it needs to handle high ISO. Sorry, but P&S technology just isn't there yet.

I use dpreview.com

Joe

Joe is probably right, but you could try this. Get out of sports mode. Use aperture priority mode (AV) (you choose the aperture, cam chooses the shutter speed). Set the aperture to f2.8 (that is the widest that camera will go which is good). Bump the ISO up to 800 (that camera goes that high it says at steves), and see what happens. ISO 800 usually means noise on a p&s but it doesn't show that much in 4X6 prints and you could look at some noise reduction software like Noise Ninja or Neat Image if you get that far.

If that doesn't do it, you can set the camera to full manual, choose f2.8 for aperture, start choosing some higher shutter speeds and watch your lcd. I don't know if bumping the ISO up in full manual does any good or not, but you could try that, too.

You could do a little experimenting at home just to see what happens. Maybe you will end up with dark photos the same as you would get in sports mode. Your on-board flash will be practically useless, turn it off. People with more expensive cameras do use an external flash, and there are some faster lenses for this type of shooting that are very pricey.

If they aren't way too dark, you might be able to lighten them up some using levels in Photoshop, but you will be battling noise, hope I'm not talking over your head.

I fear it is not going to work for you unless your subjects are still, you have to have a high enough shutter speed to freeze the action. I see when I shot in sports mode outside, 1/400 shutter speed stopped the action with some runners; usually I like to get a little higher.

The only other answer is to buy a dslr and a very fast lens and learn the right settings. My Canon sometimes I have to bump the ISO up to 1600 (some noise) or 3200 (a lot of noise), but sometimes it's better than not getting the photo at all. I haven't started with indoor sports yet, but know it can be done because I've seen lots of indoor shots by people who have the right equipment and know what they are doing.

A little slow in getting back to you but thanks a lot. I did learn a few things about my camera, Aliska. I went in and did some of the changes and it worked great. I still want to be able to take good pictures in a gymnasium ( and my camrea doesn't do too bad) but I would like a recommendation for a camera that would take good shots at night like on a football field. My next camera will have a hot shoe on it and possibly I can put some accessories on it?
My shutter speed for the sports mode is about 1/353 and aperture about f3.2. I set a different mode to 1/500 shutter speed but forgot about the aperture( it was f3.2)
but that didn't help for the football pictures. It did stop the action an a fast turning windmill!!!
Any recomendations would be greatly appreciated.

If it makes you feel any better I took a dSLR camera class last week the instructor who'd been a serious photographer for almost twenty years said if you can master gymnasium shots you can master anything.

He also said what Aliska did to set your aperature to the lowest possible setting and boost the ISO as high as possible even up to 1600 but may drop down to as low as 800. He said if you're above 1/60 you should get sharp shots.

He also said not to use a flash and recommended you may want to use continuous drive mode. He mentioned how continuous focus may help in those low light situations. Those might be things to keep in mind while doing your research for another camera.

Well, fwiw, I bought my first digital camera for my son's senior year in high school a couple years ago. Lots of inside the gym shots. Nightime sports shots.

HA. Tons of bad shots. But, its nice to hear now what my rookie mistakes were 2 years ago. :)

Its also a little bit of a comfort to hear a 20 year vet photog has issues still.

Fortunately, now days, most of my subjects are usually a little easier to capture.

I never use a flash in a gym. Usually gyms are really bright and there isn't a need for a flash. If I do use it, the pictures are dark. BB games will start soon and I am going to use some of the info that Aliska and Zoloblue gave me.
I do have Photoshop elements and also Picture It Platnium and between the 2, I can do a lot to sharpen and lighten up pictures.
I have noticed when I zoom in the pictures aren't as bright. Apparently zooming takes away some of the picture qualities.

Higher ISO will give you a LOT of noise in the picture, whenever that is the case for me I like to convert them to B&W. B&W pictures a good at hiding technical problems.

Zoom - if you are using digital zoom, you arent realy zooming, its just a crop of the original frame. That might be why you notice a considerable difference in Image Quality. Another reason is that when you zoom in, the aperture of the lens changes. This will allow for less light to pass through the lens. If you are in aperture priority mode then the camera will compensate by adjusting the shutter speed to a slower speed. Which will give motion blur, that is where you want to pump up the ISO.

Nightime football - if you are expecting results like you see in the papers, then you are going to need some serious equipment. Most powerful outdoor flashes are pricey, mine was as much as the camera body. However, after reading what everone and myself have written, I say just take some pictures. Show us the results, ask some questions if you have any and we can make suggestions from there.

Have fun.

Joe