TL;DR: A more accurate form of discrimination.
You're a professional OP, so you know one of the biggest differences between you and an amateur is not just skill, but speed. You can get the perfect shot on the first try while a rookie would need a few extra minutes fiddling with settings. Sometimes, the extra time doesn't matter, but for perfect shots, like at a wedding? You get one moment, then it's gone.
With metal detecting, it's about being able to get a better idea of what's in the ground without digging. Discrimination is needed because w/o it, you'll spend more time digging trash than doing anything else.
Most people don't have an unlimited amount of time to hunt. So the less time they dig (without giving up on a good target) the more opportunities they will have to find a good target.
Think about it, imagine you have 1 hour to hunt a large field. With a cheaper detector, you'll have more trouble figuring out if something is worth digging or not. But if you have a machine that discriminates better and allows you to avoid one 3 minute dig every 10 minutes, you just gave yourself an extra 18 minutes to hunt.
Of course, there are other benefits to paying more, like warranty, water/weatherproofness, build quality, backlight, adjustable settings, etc. And don't forget the importance of the skill of the operator.
I'm sure you are fully aware that I could give you a Nikon D40 with a kit lens while you hand me your D850 and a "nifty fifty" and you'd probably take better pictures than me, all else being equal. (I understand you might be Sony or Canon shooter, but you get the idea...)
You're a professional OP, so you know one of the biggest differences between you and an amateur is not just skill, but speed. You can get the perfect shot on the first try while a rookie would need a few extra minutes fiddling with settings. Sometimes, the extra time doesn't matter, but for perfect shots, like at a wedding? You get one moment, then it's gone.
With metal detecting, it's about being able to get a better idea of what's in the ground without digging. Discrimination is needed because w/o it, you'll spend more time digging trash than doing anything else.
Most people don't have an unlimited amount of time to hunt. So the less time they dig (without giving up on a good target) the more opportunities they will have to find a good target.
Think about it, imagine you have 1 hour to hunt a large field. With a cheaper detector, you'll have more trouble figuring out if something is worth digging or not. But if you have a machine that discriminates better and allows you to avoid one 3 minute dig every 10 minutes, you just gave yourself an extra 18 minutes to hunt.
Of course, there are other benefits to paying more, like warranty, water/weatherproofness, build quality, backlight, adjustable settings, etc. And don't forget the importance of the skill of the operator.
I'm sure you are fully aware that I could give you a Nikon D40 with a kit lens while you hand me your D850 and a "nifty fifty" and you'd probably take better pictures than me, all else being equal. (I understand you might be Sony or Canon shooter, but you get the idea...)