Because, photography! ( pic heavy )

Today, most phones have cameras the equal of anything you can buy with the name "camera" on it for a layperson to use for routine, everyday pictures. Only a professional photographer really requires an actual camera anymore, unless you require long range shots or specialty filters. Even the cheapest digital cameras are as good or better than cameras used for professional photography as recent as 10 years ago.

Wehner Homestead said:

I use a Canon Rebel when I can make myself carry it. All of mine were taken on my iPhone. My SIL is a photographer and only uses Canon cameras.

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Ah thank you!

Latestarter said:

Today, most phones have cameras the equal of anything you can buy with the name "camera" on it for a layperson to use for routine, everyday pictures. Only a professional photographer really requires an actual camera anymore, unless you require long range shots or specialty filters. Even the cheapest digital cameras are as good or better than cameras used for professional photography as recent as 10 years ago.

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Oh okay, thank you!

@Hybridchucks I started with a Canon EOS Rebel T5 but just graduated to a Sony A6500. I haven't used it a lot as I got it for Christmas but I will share some pictures once I finish editing them! It is an amazing camera but expensive, the lenses are expensive too which sucks. But I needed a mirrorless because I do a lot of backpacking and needed a lighter camera.
What kind f camera are you looking for?

These two were with my Canon:



And this is the only photo I have completed with my Sony A6500:

Its my neighbors little guy Creek!

Alexz7272 said:

@Hybridchucks I started with a Canon EOS Rebel T5 but just graduated to a Sony A6500. I haven't used it a lot as I got it for Christmas but I will share some pictures once I finish editing them! It is an amazing camera but expensive, the lenses are expensive too which sucks. But I needed a mirrorless because I do a lot of backpacking and needed a lighter camera.
What kind f camera are you looking for?

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Oh okay! Well I'm not very familiar with camera types but i think probably canon... cheaper the better

Alexz7272 said:

These two were with my Canon:
View attachment 45550 View attachment 45551


And this is the only photo I have completed with my Sony A6500:
View attachment 45552
Its my neighbors little guy Creek!

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They are gorgeous!!

It has gotten to the point that the number of megapixels is irrelevant unless you plan to print big format pictures as most cameras are capable of very fine detail. You sure don't want to post big files on a forum, it would take a long time to load. Plus some people have limited data/month, you would not be their friend . As @Latestarter said, lots of people are posting pictures from their phones. What you lose with those isn't detail but the ability to zoom. 2X is OK if the subject is 20' away, but of no real value at distance. They are good for those "wish I had my camera" fairly close photos though. I don't have a camera on my phone (nor do I carry it around most of the time) so I do miss some "would be nice" photos.

My requirements are primarily a long OPTICAL telephoto number. Digital zoom just copies pixels and makes the picture fuzzy as you enlarge it. My camera is a Nikon CoolPix P610, got it a couple of years ago. Telephoto is 60X of the MINIMUM focal length. I think 3X is about what you see with the naked eye so max optical telephoto is about 20X "normal".
This picture was taken from the kitchen window, a bit fuzzy because of the screen. If you click on it you get a bigger picture. If you right mouse on that you can open it in a new tab and make it even bigger. The boys are about 150' away. Focal length 48.8. File size 508K.


This one is "normal", from about 12'. Focal length 11.6. File size 487K

Dimensions are 1600x1200 in both cases - 2 megapixels. The camera will do up to 16M (4608x3456) but the file size would be substantially larger. I just took a nonsense picture at 16M, the file is 3.4M it would be a lot more detailed but that is unnecessary for many things.

What @Bruce said is very true for those that are not looking to do photography professionally. If you are taking photos for your enjoyment, there is no real need to spend an exuberant amount of money on a fancy camera. Also, a camera is only as good as the person behind it. There are several people who can do iPhone photography but they definitely use attachments & Photoshop and/or LightRoom for post production.
If you are looking to have prints blown up, the pixel number will affect that. If you plan to do video, that also is an influence. Do you want to learn to use Manual mode or the auto settings? It all comes down to what you plan to use it for.
For me personally, I worked in a photography studio through high school that taught me alot. While it is just a hobby of mine, I do sell prints to others, I do the photography (and video) of products for my partners engineering company and document back-country locations and trails for the local park services as I do extensive back-country backpacking that many cannot access. For those tasks, it made sense to spend a decent sum on a good camera & lenses, I will make the investment back overtime. Photoshop & LightRoom are another factor to consider, almost EVERY photo out there is altered in post-production. There is a HUGE argument among many about these but if you shoot in a raw file, it allows you to bring forward the colors you actually see with the human eye, it does not create unrealistic imagery (unless you make it so).
Sorry for the long reply! Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions too, I kinda like photography

I'm not much on altering pictures except for cropping.
However , I once won a photo contest by thinking outside the box, where the specified subject matter was simply "A horse".
My entry of my old rawboned paint horse, to howls of protests, won.
I'd post a picture of it, but the member that facilitated the contest has all the old contest pics held hostage by Photobucket.
(It was just an old paint stained sawhorse I had left in my cowpen one day)

But spring is officially here in East Texas!

Sometimes originality pays off!

@greybeard I am jealous of your spring weather!