Shutter speed on my digital camera?

The batteries are fully charged, normal settings, soo I dont know what its is, every couple of pics I take has a normal, quick speed, but then it slows way down to the point where I have to hold it steady for a good 5 seconds after i press the button to take a picture.

Its the newest sony cybershot...

it could be that the picture youre trying to take doesnt have enough light. try using the flash. if you could turn the flash power down then it wont white everything out.

read the manual.

Are you using flash with all of these shots?
If so it sounds to me that after 4 or 5 quick shots the flash has not had the time to recharge before you take the next shot. Low light will cause slow shutter speeds. Make sure the flash has had time to recharge before taking any more pictures.

The shutter speed and f-stop help determine how much light is exposed to your sensor and for how long. When photographing a darker scene, the shutter needs to open longer in order for the image to expose properly. If it's too long, try using a flash as someone mentioned, or see if you can change your camera's f-stop. The higher the f-stop number, the smaller the opening and longer the shutter speed. The smaller the f-stop number, the bigger the opening and shorter the shutter speed. For example, if you notice your camera is shooting a picture at f-16 (f-stop 16) and your shutter stays open far too long, change your f-stop to f-5.6 or lower. Most cameras will have shutter speed shooting priority in which you can set your shutter speed (1/60 is good as this will help freeze motion) and it will adjust the f-stop to compensate. Check your manual for info on how to set this!