The picture above is a picture of my actual camera. It's a Nikon. A D7100 to be exact. I like it. It's a good camera. It has knobs and buttons and dials and a pop-up flash... I think it has a pop-up flash. It's definitely not the best camera out there. In fact your camera is probably technically better than mine. The thing is, and not to be rude but I don't care.
So many new cameras come out every year that it could make a persons head spin. There are full frame and crop sensor cameras. SLR and mirrorless cameras. They shoot High Definition video and now Ultra High Definition video. They shoot RAW and JPEG(never shoot JPEG)and of course you can buy good cameras from Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Fuji and Canon and of course Apple - nearly everyone has a camera right in their pocket or purse! They all claim to do different things and have better features from the previous version or their competitors model and they all claim they will make you a better, more efficient, more proficient photographer. And it's BS. It's marketing. Your camera does not matter.
Ok... You caught me, maybe it does matter. But not as much as the camera manufacturers want you to believe. There are lots of great cameras out there and I'm not saying buy the cheapest one because they're the same - they're not. I'm simply saying do your research and realize that the camera is an important part of the equation but not the most important part. In your entire workflow your camera may possibly be the least important piece of equipment. We are just simply lead to believe that it's the most important piece of equipment. If you have bad lenses - your camera does not matter. If you have poor processing skills - your camera does not matter. If you have something as simple as a bad tripod or unreliable buggy memory cards - your camera does not matter. And most importantly if you do not have good creative vision - your camera does not matter.
“There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.”
In my line of photography, landscape photography, there are 3 main components that are necessary to create a good image. A beautiful or intriguing scene, a camera and the photographer. Of those main three components the camera is the least important. Focus on more important things(no pun intended). Focus on your creative vision. Learn to look for light. Learn to look for shapes and designs that are organically appearing in your compositions. Learn how to use your camera but know that you are the most important piece of the puzzle.
Yes, we all want the latest and greatest technology(myself included). It even has a name -G.A.S. - Gear Acquisition Syndrome. But please try your best to avoid it. Make the best of what you have and once you reach it's limits - and you can afford it - then go get the new camera. And when you do want to upgrade do it wisely. Remember that a lens is almost always more valuable than the camera it's connected to, so make sure it's a good one. Steadying your camera when composing that shot is so very important so get a good tripod. And most importantly YOU are the most valuable part of the "workflow". Invest in yourself. Take courses on processing. Learn Lightroom and Photoshop. Buy a book with great photography in it and study it. Buy a book about marketing and small business so you can sell your work and feed your hunger to create beautiful images. Photography is so much more than a camera. Now get out there and create some beautiful photographs - no matter what camera you have.