As a Nikon guy, I'm using my Z50 as a webcam with little fuss. I've got a fake battery that plugs into AC power -- and my output is through HDMI to an Elgato Cam link 4k. It doesn't overheat even after hours of use (unlike most full-frame sensors), and I've got it capturing in monochrome because I just really like B&W. And because its face/eye detect autofocus is reasonably capable -- I can keep a wide aperture/shallow depth of field, which in turn, results in beautiful bokeh... So no Teams filters to blur my background -- I'm using optics instead.
Likes it
Great example of the primary difference here. I've said that the photos out of my mirrorless (also Z50, great camera) are true photographs in the sense that they capture light and show it to me. My smartphone however does not create photos, it creates digital art based on the scene. Your Pixel image is a perfect example of how algorithms (now called "AI") re-paint a scene in a way that resembles reality when zoomed out. Comparing smartphone and camera is really apples to oranges at this point, as smartphones aren't even capturing photos, they're entirely repainting scenes.
Likes it
No. That's a hill I'll die on. Ass end Nikon Z50, 250mm kit lens, hand held, no setup really other than shutter priority ... https://imgur.com/edCyNjV (very heavy crop!) And a Pixel 6a mutilating a shot: https://imgur.com/290gXkU I do not want android on a phone. I don't want to update or reboot it. I want to turn it on, use it and turn it off again. And I don't want someone substituting pictures of the moon for stuff online (hey Samsung!)
Recommends it
Yep. I’ve got an iPhone 13 Pro. Sometimes it absolutely mutates images to the point they are unusable. Bought a Nikon z50 because this was annoying me. Shooting JPEGs and it does a vastly better job and it will still go in my pocket with the 28mm f/2.8 or the 16-50 kit lens. The iPhone is embarrassingly bad in comparison.
Likes it
Nikon do very well with the Z series. I have a Z50 and it's closer to smartphone than DLSR. BT and WiFi work, decent quality viewfinder and articulated multi-touch screen. Also with the 16-50 lens it still goes in your pocket but is a proper camera. I disagree with smartphone quality. I have what could be considered a close to best of breed in quality iPhone 13 Pro and it's crap. It's a 2009 DSLR with three crap prime lenses stuck to it. It's mostly usable if you shoot ProRAW with it but the processed images (HEIC/JPEG) are really quite fucked up.