Your lens should be sharper than that. Maybe you have a bad one. Have you ever run a sharpness test?
It is not always like this. I get much sharper images, especially on bright sunny days.
Don't use the LCD for exposure unless the part that you're looking at is just the histogram, & even that can fool you. Since you're already shooting in manual, read this: Need an exposure crutch?
Thanks. I will read that whole thread this weekend

