I will never forget shooting with my first professional body. Once I connected to the computer and saw how sharp - and how many more images were in focus, I knew I was done with my older camera.

I prefer the first image. To me, the second is a barn and a fence. The first has a foreground and an amazing sky lost in the crop of the second. Whenever I see “God-beams” of light coming through the clouds, they are staying.

One other idea- whenever I shoot in bright light, I bring my Hoodman loupe along. It has saved me countless times, and I’ve had numerous photographers ask about it, then tell me how helpful it is. It’s small, light and a great tool.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Hoodman/Ntt/hoodman+loupe/N/0

I actually really like a fisheye for a unique look. To me, they offer a way to bring a different perspective to the viewer. I have had fun with them in stadiums and even in portraits. Practice with it and learn how the horizon line is key.

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Our little guy wonders the same thing

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Wow, that’s really nice

Both will take the picture you point them at, but what type of photos are you looking to capture? Is this predominantly for landscape photos? Do you need to haul a camera or just pull it out of the car and shoot? For me, sports and events dictate a need for performance in low light and faster frames per second. If you’re doing landscapes or wildlife- there’s a much different priority.

My first decent digital camera was the D7000, and I fought the same issue. It seemed I would get a handful of sharp photos, but most of what I captured just wasn't very crisp.

I shoot a LOT of baseball. It's a great sport, and a good challenge as well. After looking at the second photo, I agree with CO, this appears to be a back focusing issue. The seams in the ball in that image appear to be the most focused part of the photo. And I agree with you, it should be sharper. I took this at 1/5,000 @ f/2.8, ISO 320. Even at 2.8, while we can see the glove lettering or the front cleats aren't as sharp as the uniform, even back to the stitches on the ball seem to be sharp. You can see the focus on the mound - where it blurs, then is in focus, then blurs again as you look front to back.

Keep in mind- pitchers also move quite a bit from the rubber toward the plate- so If you focused before he started forward, you'd need to continue focusing throughout his delivery. I found focusing on the jersey through the entire pitch works better for me than trying to focus on the eyes.

Another is the gear. The first time I shot with a D4s, when I uploaded images to the computer, I knew my D7000 was toast. For me, the % of shots in focus was dramatically better. I tried to get the back focus issue under control by tweaking the settings, but was never able to get it quite right. I hope you have better luck- and let us know if you solve the issue.

1/5,000 at f/2.8, ISO 320

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That’s excellent. I’d say print and hang that one :)

Looks great! Print one and enjoy :)

Well done! I love the pano, and would recommend you get one (or more) of those printed.

60,000 LED lights. An amazing sight that has cars stopping along the side of the road to take it in.

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-- and, I apologize- it doesn't seem to like my attachment :(. I'll try again a bit later.

A friend told me a story about a family in the area, and I thought I'd share it- along with my first photo on this group. It just seems fitting for the season.

A man was fighting prostrate cancer as the holidays were approaching. His family decided to do something special for him. Their 10-acre ranch includes a beautiful, 150-year-old pecan tree. Over 60,000 LED lights later, they created a display that continues on, 12 years after it began.

A beautiful tribute that made me think about what's important and what this season is all about. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Beautiful photo! Really nice color and light.