SD300 Shooting modes

[Markhpnc]

I just recently bought this camera and am new to photography. In the manual, the descriptions of the shooting modes are very vague and do not really say anything about what the camera is technically doing in the different modes. For example, this is what it says about the kids and pets mode "Allows you to capture subjects that move around, such as children and pets, without missing photo opportunities." I have heard some people say they "think" that this mode uses a faster shutter speed and this is really what I am looking for as I am shooting a lot of action shots of snowboarding off jumps and stuff. However this description "without missing photo opportunities" almost makes it sound like it starts up faster or reacts faster. Is there someplace where I can confirm what kids and pets (and other settings) actually do? So what would be the best way for me to get these action shots? For the most part the kids and pets setting is working as long as there is good light. However I have tried to get some night shots with no luck. I figured out it is impossible with the zoom because that puts the flash to far away, but even with wideangle, they all come out blurry. I have tried the kids and pets, auto, and night snapshot settings with no luck. I have heard that raising the ISO setting might help although it appears I can only do this in manual and digital macro mode for some reason. What exactly is ISO. Does it just have to do with processing speed? I understand raising it can increase noise, but this would be preferable to blurry unusable images. Also, in the manual is says that in the night snapshot, kids and pets, indoor, and underwater modes, the camera may increase ISO speeds automatically. So shouldn't it already be raising the ISO when I try to take these night shots in the kids and pets mode? And I forgot to mention, regardless of the settings I do try to follow the subject through the motion while shooting to avoid the blur. Here are some sample images.
good daylight shot (http://community.webshots.com/photo/279837767/279872483MhPfwM)
bad night shot (http://community.webshots.com/photo/279837767/279876830EELXFH)

And another thing, I can't tell a difference in the compression settings. I took sample photos of still subjects with the camera sitting on a table changing only the compression settings (regular, fine, superfine) and reviewed them at full size and even zoomed in and could not tell a difference. Should I be able too?

Thanks for the help,
Sorry for the long post,
Mark

[variozin]

by looking at the night shot that you have posted, it doesnt seem bad. may be there is a need of better timing and follow up of the snow border. These kinds of shots where the environment is dark, camera usually slows the shutter speed. this might be giving you the blurred photos. how about playing the trick. if u can do some simple rough calculation, try to judge the distance of the snow border from his position when u wish to take the shot. now point the camera to a bright and stationary object(not any source of light) which is at the same distance. Press the shutter release button half way down few seconds(10~15) before the arrival of the snow boarder to lock correct exposure. now quickly point the camera towards the snow boarder. follow him until he reaches the desired position, and press the button all the way down.
make sure that the flash fires. you can activate forced flash.

if this works then u would love to use the exposure lock function of this camera.

regarding the image compression: to judge the difference in quality its better to take shots of objects which have fine details and then look for the details in each shots to see the difference.

cheers
ashley