There aren't any real secrets.
Good lens quality is very important. However even some of my less-great lenses that are soft wide open (Tamron 70-300mm I'm looking at you...) sharpen up very nicely once stopped down a notch or two. So learning the sweet spots of your lenses - eg what focal lengths and apertures produce the highest resolution images - is extremely useful. The lens tests at sites like
Photozone will tell you exactly what you need to know here.
Another important tip is NEVER use any filters (eg UV, daylight, protector etc filters) unless you really need to (ie you are in the sahara or spending all day on the beach etc). Even the best filters can sometimes have bad impacts on image clarity, and there are lots of stories about how even the best quality, sharpest lenses have had their output turned to mush by lens filters.
Photography basics also apply, like getting the depth of field right so that you get a useful amount of your subject in focus without having to rely on having the focus exactly right down to the millimetre, as well as camera stability (steady hands, tripod, leaning against something etc), and using a fast enough shutter speed relative to your focal length or subject movement.
Applying some sharpening on image output, especially when resizing for the web, can also be useful, as resizing can often soften images.
Originally posted by Sara Hanna 
), they all look sharp to me.
Post #739 by dummysf
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