I wonder how close you are to your subject(s). Are these the original (not cropped) images? I have a 7d and love the results I am getting.

First two are in focus. The light is overwhelming. If either the back ground is too light or too dark, another step should be taken. Manually you can decrease or increase exposure compensation. Another option is to set light metering to “spot”. Then focus the spot on the flower.
Hope this helps.

PS: I meant to say SHUTTER button, not power button in my earlier post.

The first step should be reading the manual. The blurred vision is all about FOCUS, not metering. You have many setting options. First you might try FLOWER. You might try that before heading to manual settings. Most smaller cameras allow you to choose a focus point, compose you image so the flower is in the center, push power button halfway down, keep the pressure on the power button, recompose the image and then press the button all the way down to make the image. Below is a site I surfed.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/kodakp850

Here is the manual description regarding focus.
• Multi-zone, center zone, 25 selectable zones
• TTL-AF, hybrid AF external passive sensor
• Normal: 0.1 m - infinity (W) 0.9 m - infinity (T)
• Macro: 10 - 90 cm (W) 0.9 m - 2 m (T)
• Single AF, Continuous AF, Manual Focus

Lastly, visit with the store where you bought your p850. I’ll bet the sales person could give you a hands on demo of the camera.

Deleting files uploaded from your Canon to your iPad is not a problem. When uploaded via Canon to iPad, you can delete any ones you want to from your iPad. KEEP files on your Canon flashcard. Then upload to you pc later. If you upload (sync) them from your pc to your iPod they are not able to be deleted directly on your iPad. However, you can correct the list of images/directories on your pc, and resync the files to your iPad. The corrected sync adjusts to the exact list on your iPad to = pc.

Why do you NOT want to unload the images from your Canon 7D?

For 2 years I have downloaded directly from my Canon 7D to my iPad. I KEEP the images on my Canon flash card and download them to my PC later. Each day we traveled we look ed at the images taken that day. I did not take my PC with me.

Using the power/transfer cord that came with my Canon and adding a iPad connector was all I needed.

I had to learn the hard way too! BH is the best.

Windows XP is way outdated and so is your PC. If your budget can handle it the best answer would be to buy a new PC with a CD drive that both burns and reads. I held off for 7 years and find the latest Windows 7 to erase all sorts of issues I had with XP. First, speed! Canon, PSE and Microsoft all have auto readers for Canon RAW files.

Windows XP is way outdated and so is your PC. If your budget can handle it the best answer would be to buy a new PC with a CD drive that both burns and reads. I held off for 7 years and find the latest Windows 7 to erase all sorts of issues I had with XP. First, speed! Canon, PSE and Microsoft all have auto readers for Canon RAW files.

First try to open the *.raw files with the Camera (Canon is what I have)software. When you are finsihed viewing and editing, save the file first as*.raw and then convert it to *.jpg and you will now have two files. The original edited *.raw and *.jpg. You will be able to open the *.jpg files with all viewer programs. I you are more speific with the modle of your Camera others may have another solution.

Canon 7 D with Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L IS; TV 1/2000; AV5.6; ISO 2000 (image made in TV mode)

Narrative: It is most important to know HOW it was composed as well. Canon 7D on tripod. Set AF and composure of the bird feeder. Turned off AF and IS. Attached remote firing. Set low speed (3 FPS). Light set Sunshine (K-5200). Waited until the RTHB came to feed and pressed the remote (eliminated shake). I cropped the size some. I did not alter the image in any other way. Since a RTHB winngs are fluttering under 400 per second, I probably could have taken the image a a lower TV setting. I read a book and watched for the RTHB to appear. Took the best of several images for the psot.

Finally I achieved a tack sharp image! I am now trying to compose the image while the bird is feeding on Mother Nature’s flowers.

The first issue is how the camera is being held. Most hold the camera so the image recorded is “W” width by “H” height. The math is simple, 8x10 or 10x8 / 2 = 5x4. They have twisted the numbers anticipating you will hold the camera with the rectangle long on the horizontal and short on the vertical sides. If you have taken an image at 5x4 (8x10 is the same) and want it to be to be 5x7 later, it can be achieved by cropping the image. However you will be eliminating part of the image. If your assignment was to take images that would print 5X7 or 7x5, the way you hold the camera is vital. If it was of 5 folks, 7x5 would do it best. If it was of 2 people, perhaps 5X7 would be better. It becomes vital to know which way you’re your image will be printed. When I am on a shoot, I take images anticipating the crop factor, hence I don’t zoom in for it will prevent framing options later. Hope this helps.

On our beaches on Hilton Head Is, SC we have a street named "Spotted Sandpiper" named after the birds that seem to scurry away and towars the waves. That is my guess. Details of the feathers are not clear. The SS wings are longer than their body, they about the size of a sparrow.

I subscribe to three.
Outdoor Photographer - I rank this beginner level
Popular Photography - I rank this middle
Shutter Bug- I rank this advanced

Sounds like congestion prevents using a tripod/monopod. Speed at 1/200 should be plenty fast for hand held, might bump A to f/8 and ISO at 400. The fun is trying to make a tack sharp image. Good Luck!