> What I'm wondering is if this observation is correct, or if this is a natural result of higher
> quality cameras/lenses.
I'm thinking it's more the result of both style (choices in colour correction -- contrast and saturation, especially) and format (HD vs. film). While not all shows are shot on HD, I think HD mastering and HD television sets have made people jittery about anything that's not quite sharp, so they crank the contrast to exaggerate the sharpness of the edges.
Style-wise, I think feature films started it; TV picked up on that style. At its extreme, that contrast-y look is associated with Latin American cinema (
Amores Perros,
21 Grams) and commercials. A more naturalistic, photographic style is becoming more rare. Most shows and films these days go for that hyper-manipulated (in stills it would be called "Photoshopped" ) look. Christopher Nolan is one director who insists on natural, clean looks; he's a big fan of Terrence Malick.
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