There is obviously the right tool for the right job, ie. Moving car and you're looking for a clear photo you need a camera that can shoot at a high ISO and produce little noise. But the reality is you are either a poor or lazy photographer. Part of being a good photographer is working within the constraints of the tool that you have at the time.

I had an olympus C-2 Zoom which was dramatically worse than the Sony and it captured many great photos. I can see some good sample photos here ofthe F717 https://onfotolife.com/camera_sample_photos?camera_id=4527&p...

Those are amazing locations in bright sunlight. Most of those pictures are also edited to death. None make me say “wow”.

I had the same experience. At gorgeous locations in good light I could get okay photos — but only with a lot of editing.

Looking through some sample photos [1], I would say the biggest issue with the F717 is the inability to blur the background and isolate the subject. That's more a limitation of the lens than the camera - but since the lens is integrated in the F717 it's totally fair to say it's a limitation of the camera too.

I had a similar issue with a Panasonic micro four-thirds camera where I was just never happy with the photos I got out of it. I much prefered the results I got with my prior inexpensive Canon APS-C DSLR, and the Sony Full Frame mirrorless camera I upraded to afterwards. No doubt a better photographer than myself could have gotten some great photos out of the Panasonic - but yeah for me just upgrading the camera made a big difference in both my own satisfaction and also the feedback I was getting from others.

[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/dscf717