The following two photos were taken at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were taken in similar weather and visibility conditions, at the same time at night, and from the exact same location, and exactly one year apart. From what I could see, there were no noticeable changes in the lighting of the actual building and park either. The only difference is that a new building was built that can been see in the bottom left of second photo. The only other difference in how the photos were created was with the equipment setups themselves.  

These photos are an example of the quality differences between a mid-level DSLR and lens, and a high-end DLSR and lens, and also the difference in angle of view and exposure between DX and FX.

The first photo was taken with old the Nikon D80, a crop-factor DSLR. This camera was built upon old digital technology.  Attached was the Tokina 11-17 wide angle lens.  This is perhaps one of the widest-angle lens available for a DX camera that is not considered a fisheye. The camera was purchased new for $950 in 2008. The lens was purchased new for $570 in 2013.

The second photo was taken with the new Nikon D810, a full-frame DSLR. This camera incorporates the newest digital technology. Attached was the Nikkor 14-24 wide angle lens. The camera was purchased new for $3,300 in August 2014. The lens was purchased new for $2,000 in August 2014.

As you can see:

1) There is a big difference between DX and FX in terms of field of view. 

2) Image quality has drastically improved over the years of digital technology. 

3) Purchasing a high-end camera and lens is sometimes necessary when it comes to producing shots in difficult lighting such as at night (granted this is not always the case depending on your situation). 

Crop Frame Factor - DX 

Full Frame Factor - FX

Nikon D80 DSLR Camera and Tokina 11-16mm DX f/2.8 Lens

Nikon D810 DSLR Camera and Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8 FX Lens