Since we haven't seen any images yet, we don't know what the OP means by 'dull'. Some people prefer more saturation than others, more sharpness than others, etc, it would be a mistake to speculate further without further info.

So, these images can serve as poster boys for the repeated question, "Would newer equipment make a better photographer?" If the OP had newer equipment, he could get better pictures with heritage lenses.

'Quote Reply' enables us to pair your response to the post you're replying to. Appropriate unless you're making a general comment.

Are you one of those "I didn't bother to read the rest of the thread" guys??
(1) Even in days of film, grain/noise was better than motion blur, or even no image at all
(2) Some times the user wants both to eliminate motion blur and get deep DOF, but sun won't cooperate

The pictures my mother took with a 110 camera were just fine. Then she got a Canon AE-1 program; I'm guessing it was the passage of time, rather than new equipment, but her composing was more adventurous .... but still got all body parts in the picture. She went back to P&S when she went digital, but her images were still well-composed.

I guess the answer is that I know how 'Sv' mode works, but I have no idea why someone would use it.

added: I get irritated when Nikon users seem to assume that the entire world is Nikon, so they launch into long discussions with nary a hint for the rest of us. I don't know how Program mode works on Nikons, so I put in the long review of how 'P' mode works on Pentax cameras to make sure nothing would be confusing to those who have never used Pentax.

I view subject isolation as a tool; some people seem to assume it is the only way to tell a story, but it seldom meets my goals. In 2004, our younger daughter was running track. One of the things I noticed right away was the fact that various events are going on simultaneously, and some people aren't paying attention to any of the current competitions, so when I took a picture of her receiving a handoff in a relay race, I chose a position to get a good view of the handoff but used a narrow aperture. Most people would have used a wide aperture to isolate the handoff, but my image also shows the general chaos, with all kinds of people ignoring that handoff so close to them, but instead doing something apparently more important to them at the time.

With 'P' mode, the camera chooses initial values for shutter speed and aperture, but the user can monitor those in the viewfinder and use the front e-dial to override the shutter speed choice {and camera will automatically adjust aperture to 'fit'} or use the rear e-dial to override the aperture choice {and camera will automatically adjust shutter speed to 'fit'}. In 'Sv' mode {'S' stands for 'Sensitivity'}, the starting point is the same, but now the rear e-dial controls ISO setting, the front e-dial does nothing, and the user has no direct control over shutter speed and aperture; I have never taken a picture using 'Sv' mode - and right now I cannot imagine ever using it.

Incidentally, reviewing my K-30 manual before writing this, I noticed a footnote which says something like, "When the camera is in 'M' mode under auto-ISO, it will operate in 'TAv' mode"

That all depends on what 'the subject' actually is. I use my 10-20mm {APS-C} when 'the subject' is a big section of the swamp around me, not when it is an object in the swamp, for example; that lens provides an intimate view of right where I am, rather than of something 50 away from me.

I don't know what they charge, but Best Buy's "Geek Squad" would be another source of help.

I see lots of opinion here, but even with that caveat, still no justification for the repeated "no sports or wildlife"

Do you understand the value of moving the shutter speed from 1/60 to 1/250, while leaving aperture the same?


added: in the days of film, I normally shot Kodachrome 25, but when I knew our daughters were going to be in a Christmas program, I would switch to something like Kodacolor 1000, or even Fujifilm 1600, and a shot that would be something like f/5.6, 1/10 became a much more feasible f/5.6, 1/250, and "good bye motion blur" {grain has always been much less of an enemy of sharpness than 'motion blur' is}

But old gear could cause you to miss a shot that could have been winner.

6. BEING UNFAMILIAR WITH NEW TOOLS.

Various tools would count, but right now I'm thinking of "focus confirmation" {DSLR} and "focus peaking " {MILC}. I know some people have issues with these methods; l tend to use deep DOF ..... maybe its different for those who routinely shoot at f/1.4. I still use my film camera from thirty+ years ago, and I find the "split prism / ground glass" from it to be less accurate than the "focus confirmation" from my modern digital camera.

ee
I was playing the old "find right compromise" game capturing the squirrel in my backyard, when I realized that TAv-mode enabled me to choose an f-stop like f/8 to get enough of the scene in focus and a shutter-speed like 1/750 to stop the animal, and the camera's automation would figure out what ISO would make this work.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-487131-1.html