Nikon D5000, need help with sharpness settings

[Meumerke]

After posting pics, I often get to hear that my pics are soft.

My D5000 has been set to sharpness factor 5, NR normal.

I started off with the D5000 about 7 months ago after a 25 year break from Photography. See my signature for info about the lenses I use. I thought that in the beginning my pics were sharper.
When I increase sharpness on the cam, so does the noise. I am in a merry go around and getting frustrated with photography and certainly do not want to spend more money on better cams or glass since I am not sure if it is the photographer or the equipment used.

Here are a few examples of pics shot today, please look at the exif and see if you can see anything out of the ordinary.



Width 1600
Height 1063
File Size 87517
Camera NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D5000
ISO 200
Exposure 1/1250 sec
Aperture 9.0
Focal Length 400mm
Flash Used false
White Balance 1
Metering Mode 2
Exposure Program 3
Exposure Bias 0.0
Date and Time (Original) 2011:01:06 12:57:08
Color Space 1
X-Resolution 300.0
Y-Resolution 300.0
Resolution Unit 2
Software Ver.1.00
Date and Time 2011:01:06 12:57:08
YCbCr Positioning 2
Date and Time (Digitized) 2011:01:06 12:57:08
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 4.0
Max Aperture 5.3
Light Source 9
Subject Time 00
Sub Sec Time (Original) 00
Sub Sec Time (Digitized) 00
Sensing Method 2
Custom Rendered 0
Exposure Mode 0
Digital Zoom Ratio 1.0
Focal Length (in 35mm film) 600
Scene Capture Type 0
Gain Control 0
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Sharpness 0
Subject Distance Range 0
Interoperability Index R98
Related Image Width 4288
Related Image Height 2848




Problems? We're doing maintenance, but things should be back to normal soon.

My Photos > Photo > Exif

Date Jan 6, 2011 4:56:49 AM
Width 1600
Height 1063
File Size 95925
Camera NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D5000
ISO 200
Exposure 1/1250 sec
Aperture 9.0
Focal Length 400mm
Flash Used false
White Balance 1
Metering Mode 2
Exposure Program 3
Exposure Bias 0.0
Date and Time (Original) 2011:01:06 12:56:49
Color Space 1
X-Resolution 300.0
Y-Resolution 300.0
Resolution Unit 2
Software Ver.1.00
Date and Time 2011:01:06 12:56:49
YCbCr Positioning 2
Date and Time (Digitized) 2011:01:06 12:56:49
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 4.0
Max Aperture 5.3
Light Source 9
Subject Time 00
Sub Sec Time (Original) 00
Sub Sec Time (Digitized) 00
Sensing Method 2
Custom Rendered 0
Exposure Mode 0
Digital Zoom Ratio 1.0
Focal Length (in 35mm film) 600
Scene Capture Type 0
Gain Control 0
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Sharpness 0
Subject Distance Range 0
Interoperability Index R98
Related Image Width 4288
Related Image Height 2848




Width 1600
Height 1599
File Size 196856
Camera NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D5000
ISO 200
Exposure 1/500 sec
Aperture 9.0
Focal Length 380mm
Flash Used false
White Balance 1
Metering Mode 2
Exposure Program 3
Exposure Bias 0.33333334
Artist Picasa
Date and Time (Original) 2011:01:06 12:25:55
Color Space 1
X-Resolution 72.0
Y-Resolution 72.0
Resolution Unit 2
Software GIMP 2.6.11
Date and Time 2011:01:07 16:38:09
YCbCr Positioning 2
Date and Time (Digitized) 2011:01:06 12:25:55
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 4.0
Max Aperture 5.3
Light Source 9
Subject Time 50
Sub Sec Time (Original) 50
Sub Sec Time (Digitized) 50
Sensing Method 2
Custom Rendered 0
Exposure Mode 0
Digital Zoom Ratio 1.0
Focal Length (in 35mm film) 570
Scene Capture Type 0
Gain Control 0
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Sharpness 0
Subject Distance Range 0
Interoperability Index R98
Related Image Width 4288
Related Image Height 2848