Not really. Other than paid commercial work, when you fine tune an image you are using your creative intent to do so, along with the tools available in software. The creative process starts when you previsualize the image and ends when you hand over a print or post it somewhere. Then there can be, and often are, versions that explore creative alternatives. As far as the question of how much post processing - no one cares about the process (other than photographers) - buyers, clients etc only care about the result. They are not concerned with whether the image was a jpeg out of camera or one that took 3 hours of post processing. If it looks good, they'll be happy and you will get paid. In common practice there are very very few images that are absolutely without fault - aka - PERFECT - straight out of the camera. This has been true since the days of wet plates and daguerreotypes. Photographers have always been self-critical and constantly looking for ways to improve images - for themselves or their clients/patrons. Those that are absolutely convinced that a perfect image can be reliably obtained out of a camera are probably not earning a living or even using photography as a side hustle.

Do you have an extra $99 to spend to find the answers to your questions?

It depends on what you are looking for as a result. Some programs like Photomatix Pro, can do extensive image manipulation - tone mapping, contrast, color saturation etc and others like Photoshop are best for more realistic effects without the sometimes outlandish color and tonal enhancement. Photomatix is really good at both.

This guy is called a pro by many. He uses a Ricoh GR1 or a GR21 and typically doesn't even compose in the viewfinder. I am pretty sure he uses his camera in full automatic mode. His prints sell for $1000s. In Japan, he is considered a Master of Photography. But you'd have to expand your definition of what constitutes a pro to wrap your head around his art and mastery.

https://www.hamiltonsgallery.com/artists/daido-moriyama/biography/

https://www.moriyamadaido.com/photogallery/

https://www.anatomyfilms.com/daido-moriyama-snapshot-art/

How a picture is recorded and processed is a workflow filled with lots of choices. Image manipulation for artistic effect is one of them. And no, creating a perfect image in a camera without post processing is not the mark of a pro. The final image is. Also a pro can be a commercial product photographer, a portrait artist, event photographer, wildlife and nature, sports, fashion, food, etc etc etc - and each have different standards for their specific piece of the industry. The only ones where the picture goes straight from the camera to print or publication are the documentarians - reportage, forensics, crime scene, etc. But these images are typically boring and not creative in the least. Not something you would see in a gallery or museum.

My "heavy" tripod that I use with 600mm lenses (and longer) and macro weighs 4 lbs. My light duty tripod, which I use for travel and landscapes/seascapes/cityscapes with wide angle to short teles weighs 2.5 lbs. I am comfortable using my "light" tripod with up to a 200mm lens on a full frame camera. When the focal length gets longer the result of vibrations increase correspondingly.

No need to buy a "heavy" tripod. Carbon fiber makes it possible for a light weight tripod to far exceed the performance needed to support long lenses or for high magnification work (macro) that you would expect from a 15 lb monster (I sold my 15lb Bogen 3051 with 3047 head in 2007 because it vibrated too much with a 400 or 500mm lens).

You can't believe everything you read on the Internet . . .

Where is that? I was a Flickr Pro customer since the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth - it was $25/yr. Then Smugmug bought it and the price doubled and they got rid of Pro. Then they bought Pro back. Then it was a one time deal of $100 for previous pro subscribers. Now everything I am seeing is $72/yr or $133 for two years.

No!

I'm not planning on it either - though I do use and much enjoy my RX10M4. But transitioning is not in the near future. Unless something breaks or I can get a really good one that makes better images than my D810. Yeah, I still use one of those.

Actually it does significantly limit the options for focus area settings and metering mode. AF area only works with the center point which expands to almost full sensor area, and metering mode defaults to [Multi].

In addition, you can't use it with the Drive mode set to Cont Shooting, Spd Priority Cont, or Bracket Cont. It also prevents the use of Face Detection, or when ISO set to multi frame Noise Reduction.

Uh - did you read the OP's first post? He's already considering one.

It's gotten a lot better to the point that on the newest cameras there is almost zero lag. You'll see more "lag" using optical stabilization waiting for the image to settle down, than you will with the better EVFs.

The Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) presents an eye-level preview of the scene. It has evolved since its inception into a very functional feature on mirrorless cameras. It shows the results of shutter speed and aperture adjustments and you can even have it show a histogram, along with focus peaking and overexposure warnings - all before you take the picture. These capabilities are mostly present in DSLRs, but it is mostly historically or when using Live View.

Optical viewfinders, typically found on DSLRs, also have evolved - at a glance you can see your exposure settings, exposure compensation, ISO, focus acquisition (a dot that shows when you have acquired focus), the number of images remaining, and metering mode. Cameras also can be set to show the metering area, focus points, etc.

The clear advantage that EVFs on mirrorless cameras have over OVFs on DSLRs is that there is no need to perform focus calibration. If the mirrorless camera shows something to be in focus, it simply is. When looking at a OVF, you are relying on a number of opto-mechanical components - all of which have to be perfectly calibrated - in order to get the image crisp and sharp. Deviations are quickly dealt with in the field using the ubiquitous focus shift feature that allows the photographer to make a focus shift adjustment to the entire lens - in order to get focus correct at a specific distance and in the case of zooms, a specific focal length. This feature was never intended to substitute for a proper camera calibration and a proper lens calibration - which can zero in on multiple distances and focal lengths. Anyway, this is not at all an issue with mirrorless cameras. What you see electronically is pretty much what you get - with few surprises.

As far as shooting active subjects I don't think there is a meaningful difference between them - except that in EVF you can zoom-focus, like you can in Live View - just faster and much less cumbersome.

I would say that you are missing something if you haven't tried a mirrorless camera in person.

Sounds like you need a tripod with a stiffness rating of at least 1000 -

https://thecentercolumn.com/rankings/

Manfrotto doesn't make anything that stiff and at your price point.

You don't mention what you are upgrading from . . .

And rarely do you see any pics taken with all that gear. At least not here . . .