To me, the progress in photography involved with smartphones has been amazing. Dedicated Camera companies put out a new camera every three or four years with incremental improvements. Smartphone cameras are upgraded every year. At this rate, it won't take long for smartphones to have parity with dedicated cameras in a relatively short time. Just as film photography was replace with digital photography, smartphones will replace dedicated cameras eventually. Progress changes things.

Ask Kodak how the film business is doing. The DSLR killed the film SLR business and the smart phone camera killed the point and shoot digital camera business. That is how progress works. Phone cameras are getting better each year while DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras make incremental improvements every three years, four years or more. Mathematically, it does not look good for dedicated camera manufacturers and users. Within a few years the photography hobby will be in decline while phone photography will be increasingly popular. Even professional photographers will see a loss in business due to the proliferation of smart phone cameras. As the market shrinks, profits also diminish and existing camera manufactures will cut back on R & D and even incremental improvements will lag even further. It is a slippery slope. Mathew Bradey and Ansel Adams took spectacular photos with primitive equipment. What matters most in photography is the content and the technique to capture the moment. No one cares what equipment was used to take the photo. Who cares what brand of paint brush Leonardo DaVinci used to paint the Mona Lisa.

If you are a professional photographer, you need a good camera with good glass. If you are an amateur photographer, you can get by with a less capable camera or a good smart phone to get the shots. What counts in either case is the images captured rather than the gear used to take the photo. It has been said many times, the best camera is the one you have with you when you need it. Since most of us always carry our smart phones everywhere, that is the best camera in a lot of situations. My iPhone 12 pro Max rarely takes bad photos and videos. It has it's limitations but will do for 90% of what I shoot. It is not good for low light, wild life and sports. I rarely shoot in low light or sports but do have a lot of white tail deer around that I shoot when walking the dog. I wish I had a good camera with a telephoto lens with me when the deer appear but I have only my smart phone with limited telephoto lens.

No cell phone camera can match the quality of photos from a dedicated camera with interchangeable lenses. That said, cell phone cameras take very good photos with or without the clip on telephoto lens. The cell phone camera is the only camera that you always carry and have available whenever the opportunity arises.

Every year, cell phone cameras get better and better. "Real Cameras" get updated maybe every five years. At this rate it will not take long for cell phone cameras to perform better than most "Real Cameras". My Iphone 12 Pro Max has wide angle, telephoto and image stabilization. It will even focus in complete darkness using the Lidar sensor. In many instances, it takes spectacular photos. Can it match a full frame camera with great lenses for wildlife and sports photography, No. But for most other types of photography, it's pretty good. It even shoots Raw. Also, the phone software includes Lightroom like post processing features to enhance the images. I was originally going to get a new camera to replace my 11 year old Nikon D5100 but decided to get a top of the line cell phone instead. I am quite happy with my decision.

My IPhone 12 Pro Max has wide angle and telephoto lens to 2.5x. It also has in body stabilization. In good light, all photos are tack sharp. In low light, stationary subjects are also in focus. But moving subjects will blur. My philosophy is that the best camera is the one you have with you. Since I carry my phone with me at all times, I am never at a loss to take the shot when the opportunity arises.

Marketing is a factor in the camera business as in the car industry. We buy the shiny new object even if we don't need it. People with deep pockets buy a Ferrari that can go 200 mph even though there is no road in the US that will allow it to legally go faster than 80 mph. Why? Because they can. Amateur photographers buy Professional level cameras and lenses to take photos of their grandkids or their vacation trips. Why? Because they can.

When digital photography began, the cameras and photos were no where as good as the film versions. DSLRs have improved greatly over time. Most point and shoot cameras were and are mirrorless. The point and shoot camera market was killed by the iphone. Most camera manufacturers are now making mirrorless cameras that exceed the capabilities of their DSLRs. The camera market depends on progress. If they do not come up with new and improved units, they will go out of business.

I own an Iphone 12 Promax. When I take photos of my grandkids and travel (after Covid) this is what I reach for. Every year, the digital phone cameras get better and better. Camera manufacturers only change their cameras every 3 or 4 years. At this rate, it does not look good for the camera business.

I look at the camera as a tool like a hammer. In the hands of an expert, the tool can produce wonderful things.

An iPhone 12 proMax. It takes great stills in lower light conditions and shoots 4K video with hdr. It now records in pro raw that can be post processed with PS and Lightroom. Fits in your pocket and even works as a cell phone.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Good glass on a good camera can take beautiful photos but in the hands of a bad photographer, can also take lousy photos. Post processing can heal some bad photos but not all of them. The final product is dependent on the glass, camera, post processing and the photographer. In many cases, the skill of the photographer is most important.

Sensor size is a relative thing. 35 mm is called "full frame" because it is the same size as 35mm film. When 35mm film was developed, it led to smaller, lighter and more portable cameras. There are larger sensor cameras out there like the Hasselblad and even 8x10. Crop sensor cameras are no less capable of capturing images than full frame cameras. What is different is that larger sensors can capture more light than a crop sensor. In low light situations, a full frame camera will produce lower noise images than a crop sensor camera. Also, the full frame camera will provide a wider angle for a given focal length than a crop sensor camera which may be important in Landscape photography. Full frame cameras will produce better bokeh for a given focal length. However, these advantages come at a cost of higher costs and larger and heavier construction. In sports and wildlife photography, crop sensor cameras are cheaper and lighter and require smaller lenses. For all around photography, lighter, cheaper and smaller is usually better. In good light, a modern smart phone with it's small sensor can get some terrific photos. You have to decide what type of photographer you are and what type of photographer you want to become.

My problem is not attracting deer, but getting them to eat someone else's plants. In my part of New Jersey, deer are everywhere. Over the years, I've hit four deer with my car. NJ only allows hunting with shot gun, bow and black powder. My neighbor has a blind for bow hunting. Every few days, deer come walking across my front lawn. Getting good photos of them is easy and I have taken a bunch of them from my front porch.

A tripod is one of the simplest pieces of photographic equipment. It just has to support and hold steady the camera and lens. Under most conditions that an amateur photographer will encounter, many lower priced tripods will suffice. When you want to take photos in a hurricane or hike 20 miles carrying your gear, only a few tripods will work. In most cases, an amateur buying pro gear, with it's accompanying high cost, is overkill.

Mac vs PC? Either way, you can't make a mistake. However, Apple infuriates me in certain ways that make me side with a PC. Almost all PC laptops are touch screen while no Mac is. Apple iPad and iPhone are touch screen but their iMacs and Macbooks are not. Why is that? The MacBook keyboard is also not as comfortable to my fingers as the keys on my PC laptop. Cost vs Power also favors the PC. Another issue with Apple is that older Macs cannot be upgraded and are not supported after a few years. My old Mac Pro became a door stop when Apple switched to Intel processors.

As I said, either way, you can't go wrong but all things considered, stick with a PC laptop.

Apple makes good laptops but for some strange reason known only to Apple, they do not have touch screen. iPads and iphones do but their laptop and iMacs don't. Many PC laptops do have touch screen that makes it easier to zoom in and out while editing. Most modern laptops will run PS without problems. I find Windows 10 to be a stable operating system and so the selection of Apple vs PC comes down to features and cost for me.