Photos are distorted/fuzzy

[Kevin McRae]

Recently I've been having some issues with my photos and I'm hoping you guys may have the answer. My photos have been fuzzy and kinda distorted...they're just not sharp like they used to be. It doesn't matter if I shoot in manual, shutter, aperture the photos come out the same. It's the same if I photograph landscapes or animals inside with plenty of light.

I'm not sure what setting I changed but I can't seem to fix it. I'm hoping it's something simple. Any ideas?

Here's an example of the problem I've been having.

[Gremlich]

camera and some exif details, perhaps?

[Mad Aussie]

EXIF for that image

Camera: Sony DSLR-A500
Lens: 18 mm
Exposure: Auto exposure, Shutter priority AE, 1/3,200 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1600
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Date: December 31, 2011 1:17:30AM
Color Space: sRGB
Software: Adobe Photoshop 7.0
Field Of View: 67.4 deg
File: 682 × 1,023 JPEG, 0.18 megabytes, Image compression: 91%6% crop of the 4,272 × 2,848 (12.2 megapixel) original

I don't see what the problem is with that photo ... other than being too dark.

[Runmonty]

Is it the noise from the ISO setting? What happens at a lower ISO?

[Marko]

I'm not sure I see a problem with this image either. What are you expecting? You shot this with a wide aperture..

Due to the darkness it's hard to judge this one. Show us one that's properly exposed where you focused on something specific like the petal on a flower or on newsprint..that way we judge focus and possible distortion.

[Andrew]

To evaluate it properly go back to some basics. A shot with some detail, properly exposed, tripod, lowish ISO, mid range aperture. Lets have a look at a photo with some of the questionable variables removed.

[Michaelaw]

I don't think it required 1600 ISO somehow. Did it really need a shutter speed of 1/3200? I would have been OK, I believe, with a 1/500 shutter tops and an ISO of maybe 400 but I wasn't there and can only guess at how I would have set it.