@jwolf6589: you asked a very common and reasonable question for someone in your situation. While I agree with most of the responses, I think they weren’t as helpful as they could have been for where you are at regarding photography.
It is common and natural to assume that better gear = better pics.
”I don’t need a “professional” camera (because I’m not a professional photographer), but an entry level “real” camera will certainly take better pics than my Canon Powershot. And since a “stupid phone camera” isn’t really a camera (it’s a phone!!), those pics must be worse than what I’m already getting with my dedicated point-and-shoot camera. Because that’s at least a dedicated camera and not a phone with a camera added on as an afterthought.”
This is a common thought process. It’s not a crazy thought process. It turns out that it’s not the best way to frame the question however (but how would you be expected to know this?).
Photography is complicated. There are many, many elements that go into creating a successful image that one is happy with and/or proud of showing to others. Sometimes this does relate to gear. More often it relates to the skill and experience of the photographer. I will share a little truism from the medical profession: good clinical judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from poor clinical judgement. This is true in spades regarding photography.
If you aren’t happy with your current pics, the best bang-for-the-buck will be to keep using what you are currently using but spend some time learning about basic photographic principles such as composition.
If you catch the bug, you can expand your horizons to exposure and light.
A step-up to the next level of gear will give you more photographic options in taking creative control of your photos, but from your replies it doesn’t sound like that is where you want to go right now. Which is fine.
Take the tone of the replies with a grain of salt. I think some members were perhaps making unwarranted assumptions about your goals with photography. Not crazy since this is a photography forum, but perhaps not putting themselves in your shoes. I don’t think you are currently in a place to know the “correct” questions to ask. But honestly, that’s fine and expected. Your question was a normal question from a non-photographer. I regret that some of the responses, while helpful on one level, weren’t helpful specifically for you.
