dmsM43

I shoot both Canon FD and Nikon F lenses on my Sony A7r, and while there are some subtle differences in color rendition, saturation, and contrast, both sets of lenses produce excellent results.

Johnlucas

My boss shot canon, i shot nikons. When it came to having photos picked to go in the various publications it was more about the photo than the camera. Our graphic artists never said a word about who shot what. Ive had photos on bilboards and major magazines and so has my boss. There are differences right out of the camera but after we goet to photoshop it didnt seem to matter. A good image with emotion and lighting wins every time. Ive seen award winning images that i would have thrown away if quality of the image was the sole judge.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Andy Andrews

I shoot Sony mirrorless with 36.4 mp sensor, which gives me more clean resolution than any of my medium format film cameras. Sony now supplies Canon, Nikon and the majority of makers with their top level sensors. I feel the sensor, like film, sets the character of the picture and limits what post production can be done. The 7200 and 7500 Models of Nikon cameras use a later design sensor and processor engine than the D300 and will perhaps give you the tonal latitude, resolution and freedom from noise that your pictures may lack. Of course, they are more costly but may prove their worth to a serious worker such as yourself. For casual snaps, there's not much difference in the performance of dslrs made during the past ten or so years. And, of course, as Henrycrafter opines, the final deciding factor is the operator.

therwol Loc: USA

I've seen a few comparisons between medium format film and a 36 megapixel camera, and all of them favor the film, however that's irrelevant unless one actually shoots medium format film and knows how to handle it. Digital images have a "different look" from film, and while film may capture the details, it doesn't look as "sharp" as digital images in enlargements, and that's an advantage. My Nikon D810 uses a Sony 36 megapixel sensor, and I would agree that much care is needed to really see the advantage over say 24 megapixels, but with that care, it really does make a difference. You're not likely to see it in hand held walkabout snapshots.

Andy Andrews

I agree. It is only where you choose to apply all of your skill to capturing a subject that the limitations of the your gear steps in. Some of this is psychological. If you feel your vision is being warped by the limitations of your tools, you may not persist nor focus in solving the problem. I am an artist and found an expensive sable brush was the only way to get the look I wanted. The old saw that says it isn't the camera, it's the photographer is less and less true today. Camera manufacturers have spent a lot on programmers who work with thousands of algorithms, just to achieve in a program what took photographers years to learn. You could hand a modern digital camera to a six-year-old and that youngster could come up with technically near-perfect images I couldn't have captured with my large format gear of forty years ago. There are even programs that second-guess your composition and give you two versions. The camera's opinion and the one you chose. Yes, the robots are snapping at our heels!

NorthPacific

i am reposting this since I put it under the wrong name and not yours........it is under somebody else's comment below....



sorry for the typos to come....

Try shooting in black/white for a while or part of what you do in B/W....and/or converting your color images to B/W....I use Alien Skin Exposure 7 to create some interesting effects in B/W and in color.......

I have many cameras and one of my favorites is my Canon 40D..That is one awesome camera and I bought it around the same time I bought my Nikon D300 which is also a solid and very capable camera that I use quite a bit!!...

..I use mostly Sonys these days like the A6000 and a new Sony A77 II that i just got...

You have purchased from the reviews I have read one heck of good piece of gear re the Nikon D7200 which is supposed to have some extreme ISO settings that only can use monochrome.....so you right now have a piece of gear able maybe to do some interesting dusk/night B/W street photography with (though I have no idea of what the quality of those images would be at some of the astronomically high ISO's you have now at that new Nikon of yours).

Sometimes going back to B/W can give you a brand new perspective on your color work as well..

Doing some 35mm film work might get you out of your current discomfort zone as well....Have fun with this place you seem to be stuck in. Come out of this with a smile!!!

The use of Polaroid filters is helpful....the Singh-Ray Blue/Gold filter though pricey can ignite all kinds of brand new capabilities you never thought possible!!! Get to learn to use gradual filters to experiment with using some sort of Cokin filter arrangement which are abundant and cheap now as 3rd party suppliers have really flooded the market in that regard.

Don't know where you live or what you photograph, but going to Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico for starters will do wonders for any of us.....

Your instincts to have very good equipment means you have the ability to get the quality you have in your mind's eye.

Get out and experiment a bit....try some new techniques with PhotoShop.....use new types of filters...do some B/W....

I'd say you have excellent equipment especially that Nikon D7200. We all need a periods of Renaissance and Restoration... You can over-compare what you do vs other people which can cause you to become paralyzed.....

I make it a habit to go to art museums to look at paintings vs always looking at photographs. I gain so much inspiration from paintings....it is all there from landscapes to portraiture to still life to abstractions and forms.......I find it an adventure looking at a paintings to understand there was a person "behind the brush" with a very precise focus and idea of how to place things and color things...Kind of a game for me...and like photographers, the painters freeze frame a moment...

Therefore paintings are a great source of information.. Most paintings are perfect HDR photos if you will...and your Nikon 7200 has that capability so maybe that is something new you can try out?

I love to purposely go out on dull days....hazy colorless days doing mundane subject matter and forcing myself to get make "something of it".....like sitting in one place and taking a cheap 500mm mirror camera and focusing and refocusing it on the white creosote bush parachute blooms just a few feet away for example....coming up with a zillion looks with infinite amounts of bokeh effects and patterns as you twist the focusing ring...nothing in the desert is more hodgepodge looking than a straggly creosote bush but with a 500mm lens, the blooms glisten in the sun at the correct angle and it looks like outer space!!

Anyway..just some thoughts... You are doing this for yourself so just get out there and get enjoyment out of this craft. Best of luck to you righting your ship to where you want it to be again... There are answers all around us!!!!...
NorthPacific

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

as to the "more vibrant color" thing: a number of months ago I watched a youtube video in which they explore this topic. they used the Nikon and Canon equivalent cameras and shot a variety of photographs (portrait, landscapes, cityscapes), did minimal (if any) post-processing, printed them out, and asked professional photographers to give their opinion as to which photo was taken with Nikon or Canon based on the "more vibrant color" thing. They couldn't do it.

Andy Andrews

The distinction between the "signatures" of various digital sensors will blur even more, now that Sony makes the vast majority of CMOS sensor systems. Its acquisition of Toshiba's CMOS production facilities in 2015, puts it in a position to monopolize the market. Its nearest competitor, Techno System Resources, held but 16% of the business before Sony's buy-out. Whether this is a good thing for the advance of digital capture remains to be seen.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

It appears that the fab facilities for sensor devices is following the model of the digital device fab business. The extremely high cost of state of the art facilities has led to consolidation of the large players to a small number of high volume foundry facilities. Sony and Samsung are emerging as the leaders in the sensor market. However, I don't know what we can conclude about the design of the devices. The Nikon D7000 and a Sony camera were reported that have identical sensor chips. Photos of the chips were published to support that claim. Supposedly that was a collaborative effort with some sort of non compete agreement. I would not conclude that the sensor itself is responsible for differences in image quality. The PP either in the camera or in your computer is likely to account for the differences. And that software is proprietary and tightly held.

Andy Andrews

Sony made the 36.4/3/2 sensors and sold them to Nikon for the D800/800E. Then, Sony introduced the world's smallest full-frame, interchangeable lens camera - the A7 and A7R models to the European market in 2013 and in 2014 launched it in the US. Currently, all the latest top end Canon, Nikon and Pentax cameras are fitted with Sony sensors. Each camera manufacturer creates its own processing engine with Sony as a consultant. I predict that in the near future all top of the line 35mm format and medium format digital cameras will have Sony CMOS sensors. The individual differences among these upper level cameras will remain what their respective processing engines can create and, of course, mechanical features and optical innovation proprietary to each maker. As the scale of production increases, the unit costs lessen and we may see medium format cameras become almost affordable! We live in an interesting era of photographic history.

Bill_de Loc: US

Do you compare your photos against other Nikon shooter's results? If not, you probably just want a change. But consider how frustrated you will be if you change systems and aren't any happier with your results.

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tdekany Loc: Oregon

Don't forget that Panasonic and Fuji are working together on an "organic" sensor that supposed to be something else - although it is a few years away according to a he last report. The future may not be a Sony dominated world, but I do love what Sony is doing.

Andy Andrews

The perfection of an analog sensor consisting of rods and cones in quasi amorphic display, as in the retina, would be a dream come true. But the processor required would rival the human brain. At least it would do away with moire. However, anything beyond 150 lpp/mm in the print, screen or display medium is beyond the accuity of normal, young healthy eyes. The more tools given by today's engineers, the more we greedy photographers want.