I am using a Nikon D80 with a Nikon 18-200 VR lens. The problem I am having is that if I take a picture within 20ft it is very sharp but my landscape shots seem to always come out soft. Does anyone have any suggestions for me so that all my pictures will come out sharp?

I leave the VR on all the time, could this be a part of the problem? I Think that my hands are fairly steady when I'm shooting and I'm wondering if using VR on wider angle shots with VR on is the problem. I have read to turn off the VR if on a tripod. Could holding the camera very steady give the same problem as when you use a tripod? Any suggestions on settings I might check or anything else to eliminate the softness problem would be greatly appreciated, Jeff

I do have some pictures in the Photo Critique Forum if you need examples. All pictures were hand held.

Don't be tempted to shut down the lens to f/22 or f/32.
Diffraction will soften the image.

I've never owned a VR lens (hoping to remedy that soon), but I don't think you need to turn it off unless it's on a tripod. Are you waiting a second or so for the VR to stabilize itself (or whatever it does)? I think the technique is to focus, then wait for VR to kick in and then shoot - but Harrison will know a lot more about this.

Small apertures like f22 and f32 can soften an image due to diffraction. I usually don't stop down past f11 unless I really need to.

Are you doing any sharpening in photoshop or other?
I read a lot about sharpening here and elsewhere and now always sharpen my shots after any other editing I might do.
I generally just use the auto sharpen feature and they come out fine.