I'm a beginner and use my digital camera and computer all the time. I can design on the wall, take a pic and use that as reference. That way I can take the strips down, sew them, press them and then lay them out next to the laptop with the picture of the design on the screen to make sure get them together correctly. For me, I saves me a lot of pinning and marking.
I've also used my digital camera to help with laying out my design. Sometimes the camera shows things that I don't see just by looking at the design.