The photos you see use many techniques to enhance the appearance: rapid exposures to freeze the atmospheric details; averaging of multiple exposures (taken within seconds of each other) to increase signal-to-noise; digital enhancement to make the colors slightly more vivid. Still, you should be able to see more detail on a good night. I can often see bands on Saturn's surface, and can always see them clearly on Jupiter's. Only on the best nights is the red spot clear. On good nights I see detail (brief glimpses as the atmosphere settles down for half a second) within the bands of Jupiter.
Do you let your scope cool down to ambient temperature outdoors for 45 minutes or so before you observe? Have you tried higher or lower powers? On any given night there's an optimal magnification, and it's different from night to night. Tell us more about where you set up your scope. That can make a difference.
Your view probably won't quite match the photos, but on good nights you should get brief glimpses that show lots of very good detail.

• Encouragments - chrisdeceu - February 28, 2003 - 14:58 UTC
  • Planetary viewing - danieldgj - March 1, 2003 - 14:15 UTC