Pictures not coming out as crisp as others

Hello everyone.I am really into taking pictures of cars.And recently have purchased a new camera in hopes of getting better quality pictures.But to no avial I keep getting the same quality pictures as I did with my old camera.
I want my pictures to look like this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2039/2109678917_cb8029e1b4_o.jpg

But im getting these:

I usually take my pictures on a tripod with an shutter remote that the camera brings.Camera In use is a Sony DSC-H9 with a sony .75 wide angle lense.

Is it the camera or is it just editing?Most ppl say I take great pictures and I know I don't when I look at pictures as crisp as the first one.

 

It looks like the background has been edited in some way and part of why the first picture looks so clean is becuase the paint is glossy and immaculate.Am I right in what I'm thinking?

 

The 1st picture definitely had some post processing done like Photoshop.

 

I apologize for that, thanks.

 

The shot you linked to has a saturation and contrast bump in post.

To ensure sharper images, you can start by removing your UV filter if you shoot through one, when you're not in adverse weather conditions. Then there are a number of processing techniques to increase sharpness (and not all of them involve sharpening).

 

i think that first shot is done with an HDR technique.

 

I do not know if HDR was used, but if you look at the lighting... there are at least 2 off camera strobes firing.

- One low to the ground on the wheel/tire

- One softer high that bouces off the car and the wall behind it.

Colour of the car also makes a HUGE difference. Dark colours have a higher glossy look where lighter colours are less reflective looking. Of course, if the car has a good wax or paint, it will look glossy no matter what:



No matter what, some post processing will likely always be needed to help get the most out of any photograph.

 

Did some editing in photoshop and I think I achieved the results I was looking for:

The colors from the store pop more and I tried getting the most of the paint.Especially the unpainted lip thats installed.What do you think?

 

The pic you showed has done some editing as the saturation looks like it was bumped up. Also, the car looked very shiny and new. I'm not saying your car isn't because your car is really clean but, that car has a shiny gloss to it. Probably also some photoshop.

 

hmm well the pic you posted will have probly been taken with some really nice glass and looks like theres been quite a bit of post processing done. A dedicated wide angle lens would be much better than a wide angle converter but for that you would need to buy an slr. You should really have saved your cash for a true slr, i made the same mistake with my first camera.