@ HDNitehawk, I tank you for your time, and ideas. as far as the sharpness foes, i shot manual mode almost always,so this may be the reason why my shots are uhh,not so sharp,and even blah at most times. I try to shot whatever,when ever possible. so far i have purchased the gray card so now im off to discover how to use it! it has the zone system of photography instructions, but yikes!