Why do Sony A7 Flickr photos often look better than Sony a6000 photos?
Asked 4/20/2014
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I'm comparing images from Sony A7 and Sony a6000 Flickr groups. The A7 photos often seem to have more "pop," even though both cameras have similar megapixel counts. I realize the A7 is full frame and often paired with higher-end lenses, while the a6000 is APS-C and commonly used with the kit lens.
Is the difference mainly due to the camera and sensor size, or is it more because A7 owners tend to be more experienced photographers who use better lenses, lighting, composition, and post-processing? If I switched from an a6000 to an A7, should I expect a major jump in image quality right away, or are the differences in real-world results usually much smaller than Flickr pools make them appear?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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I think it's more the latter of your two reasons: the experience, talent, and care of the group who are willing to spend more on higher-end gear, vs. the format size alone, that creates the impression that better cameras make better pictures all by themselves.
Someone who's willing to spend $2000 on a camera body and another $3000 on glass in a brand new untried system is probably someone who's also willing to spend $1000 on an airline ticket, hike three miles in the dark to get to a vantage point by dawn to take the amazing landscape shot that's going to require a tripod, filters, and three hours of post-processing and specialized HDR software to produce.
As you noted, great images can come from any camera. The difference between a snapshot and a photograph, IMO, is the amount of time, energy, effort, and skill that a photographer is willing to bring to bear to get the shot. Whenever I observe a good professional photographer in action, I'm usually astounded at the sheer blooded-minded determination they can display to get the shot, whether that means post-processing allnighters, pre-planning for months, lugging gear, or trying and trying and trying and never being satisfied to just get a shot--but utter dedication to getting the shot.
If you switched to a full frame, would you immediately get great images? Well, when you switched from a P&S to a dSLR, did you immediately get fantastic images? Or did it take a lot of practice and learning? It's like that. Better cameras can remove limits, but moving past those limits still depends on you. It's one of the reasons the more experienced voices will always say use what you've got until you know your technique is the best it can be and you've hit a hardware limit.
We all gear chase. Photography, unlike most of the other arts, is technology-dependent. We moved from glass plates to celluloid to digital. We've gone from viewcameras to TLRs and rangefinders and SLRs to dSLRS and mirrorless. And the best photographer in the world can't take a picture without a camera, lens, and a light-sensitive medium. So, yes, the gear really really matters. But the photographer is still always going to matter more.
One sidenote. Test your ability to discern the effect of format size on an image by going to guesstheformat.com. The results might surprise you.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
12y ago
0
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Flickr pools are a poor way to judge camera bodies by themselves. The bigger difference you’re seeing is likely the photographers, lenses, shooting conditions, and editing—not just the A7 sensor.
Higher-end cameras tend to attract more experienced users who also invest more time in planning, technique, and post-processing. A lower-cost body like the a6000 reaches a much wider range of users, so its Flickr pool naturally includes a broader range of image quality.
Yes, full frame and better lenses can help, and the A7 may offer some image-quality advantages. But those differences are usually much smaller than what a casual comparison of two Flickr groups suggests. Since you already see excellent a6000 images, that shows the camera is capable.
So no, simply switching to an A7 will not automatically make your photos look like the best images in the A7 pool. The biggest gains will usually come from practice, technique, lens choice, and learning post-processing. As you improve, you’ll also be in a better position to judge whether the benefits of moving to full frame are worth it for your needs.
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