Nikon D3100 pictures not sharp?
I recently got this cam. On the monitor and on the computer, the images don't look very sharp even when i zoom in (thats how you usually check for sharpness right?). Yea. Its like 14.something megappixel. Is it the way i take pictures? Or would making the image quality to FINE make a difference? Thanks.
Added (1). 
my kind of abandoned flickr! I uploaded some 'sample' shots with the nikon…
its the recent first 3 with masses of people. I'm not too sure how to add all the focal length etc details though
thank you so much for replying. Yes i'm really bad at manuals, probably why i'm not too sure how the nikon works: P
Sounds like you may be using the camera in a low res jpeg mode, switch up to the highest resolution setting and get some pointers on how to shoot with the thing, if you are using the LCD viewfinder at arms length like a point and shoot you will NOT get sharp pictures.
There could be several reasons why your photos are not Sharp. You have not provided nearly enough useful information to narrow down the possibilities. It sounds to me like you really don't know what you are doing with your DSLR. Your best course of action would be to take a photography class.
Most likely you don't yet know how to use it. Examples would help pinpoint the problem
Avoid any camera shake in dim light or when using telephoto lengths.
The lower the ISO setting the smoother/finer the photos will be, but the more camera shake affect it.
If you don't yet understand Unsharp Mask, then download the FocusMagic plug-in.
Yes, set the image format to JPG FINE as a first step. There's virtually no reason ever to use less than that.
Other than that, could you show some sample shots, e.g. By uploading them to www.tinypic.com? Preferably include all relevant exposure parameters: shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focal length.
Edit:
I don't notice any unusual lack of sharpness. You took all shots with the aperture wide open. Most lenses don't perform perfectly that way, they obtain their best sharpness one or two stops down from the maximum aperture. Also you often shot at 55mm, which may have caused some slight unsharpness due to the depth of field.
Could you upload full size images to tinypic.com? It's difficult to judge based on the downscaled versions on flickr as we can't zoom in all the way as you could.
On the left side of your lens there should be a switch with an "A-M" label. Move the switch into the "A" position.