Pentax K-x focus problem?

[shruggy63]

I've had my K-x for nearly a year now & had been very happy with it, but...
Recently I've been taking pics with a need for a deep DOF & I'm not at all happy with the sharpness of the images. There's a softness right throughout the shot that shouldn't be there for a camera in this price range. Anyhoo, as a picture's better than a 1000 wotsits here's the exif & an image that's typical of what I mean:
Exif.
Aperture Priority
Metering: Multi-segment
Focal Length: 55mm
ISO 400
1/500 sec.
F9
So, is it me?
Is it the camera?
Or maybe Lightshop PP?

[i speak in math]

Originally Posted by shruggy63

I've had my K-x for nearly a year now & had been very happy with it, but...
Recently I've been taking pics with a need for a deep DOF & I'm not at all happy with the sharpness of the images. There's a softness right throughout the shot that shouldn't be there for a camera in this price range. Anyhoo, as a picture's better than a 1000 wotsits here's the exif & an image that's typical of what I mean:
Exif.
Aperture Priority
Metering: Multi-segment
Focal Length: 55mm
ISO 400
1/500 sec.
F9
So, is it me?
Is it the camera?
Or maybe Lightshop PP?

Sharpness is a factor of the lens much moreso than the camera/sensor. What lens are you using?

[shruggy63]

It's the Pentax 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera. The camera is still under warranty until 19th Jan. 2012 so maybe my best option is to send it for repair/re-calibration? Do you agree that the image quality is unacceptable? You're welcome to download the picture so that you can zoom into it to look at the details.
Thanks so much for the reply!

[i speak in math]

I don't see anything wrong with the attached image but its hard to make a fair assessment on a 740px image.

[shruggy63]

If I posted 3 small detail pictures of the image at 100% could you be bothered to look at them & give your opinion?

[i speak in math]

you could do that, or just post the original images on an image hosting site that allows full resolution uploads

[shruggy63]

Thanks Math! I've decided, after a fair bit of internet scouring, that as it's still under warranty I may as well send it for repairs. At worst I lose the camera for a few weeks but get a free check-up.