Disappointing A70 results

[neutron]

The results from the A70 do not compare well with my previous Nikon 775. When used on auto in good light outdoors (subject various garden scenes) the A70 produced poor depth of field and a slightly fuzzy images - not sharp and as good DOF as the Nikon. The auto mode displayed f2.8, 1/400 sec which seems a very poor choice for the conditions. Could there be a problem with the camera? I have read quite a lot about the A70's "soft" images - is this the problem?
Any advice would be appreciated.

[stopbath]

I have the A70, and I noticed too it's penchance for exploring speed/fstop combos that were kind of odd. Why did the programmers plot it that way instead of gaining more depth of field in favor of faster shutter speed, I don't know.

I do wish the A70 had a program shift available, but it can be simulated by just using aperture mode. That is the mode you want. Since you are after a certain depth of field, instruct the camera of it, so it doesn't go about guessing other settings.

As for the soft focus, I think this is related to the AI and camera shake. I have noted camera shake (easy on such a low mass camera) and also sometimes it will take a picture without ever locking focus (low contrast/poorly lit subjects) or focus is not in the intended area (using multiple focus areas)