Advice on what kit next

[Wazza]

So I finally got serious about photography as a hobby in lockdown and to my surprise I’m pretty good at it.
Currently I have a canon EOS 2000d which is their entry level dslr. With this I have 18-55mm kit lens, 50mm ‘nifty fifty’ and a 50mm-200mm zoom lens and I’ll be getting a decent set of filters shortly.

Now obviously I know the biggest way to improve is to keep working on my technique but considering I’m using an entry level dslr that has been out about 5 years already would I gain anything by buying a better camera long term (talking some time next year), looking at the 850d or 90d or am I better of sticking with the camera I have and investing in better lenses.

Sorry for long post, but any advice greatly appreciated

[Stu]

Having been the victim of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) myself on a few occasions my advice would be to stick with what you have for now and grow in to the style of photography that you like. Then you would be in a better position to decide what upgrades fit your style/liking.

I normally find a new lens provides better value than a new camera body.

I had a similar camera to yours some years ago but was never quite happy with the results, I eventually upgraded to a full frame system but it still didn't really give me the results I was expecting/looking for. It wasn't until I sold the full frame system and invested in a Micro Four Thirds system (Olympus) that I started to develop my photography and realised it wasn't the camera it was my skills that were lacking.

Having gone through various camera systems and various genre of photography from portrait, street, still life, macro and landscapes. I now have a much better understanding of the style of photography I enjoy and as such have purchased/upgraded the equipment I have to suit my style.

When I look at my photo's that I have on my wall, most of them were taken with my lower resolution (20.4MP) Olympus camera even though I own a Nikon Z7 Very High Res (45.7MP) Full frame system.


If it helps here is my 'GAS' story over the last 10 years.

my progression and my reasons for changing gear...

Although I have had many cameras over the years I'll start with the Canon system similar to yours...


Canon EOS 350D crop sensor:
Great camera and I got a lot of use out of it including studio work that I was considering at the time making it a profession.

I was always hankering after a Full Frame camera though and when money was available I purchased a Nikon Full Frame

Nikon D610 full frame:
Again a fantastic camera but I found the size of the lenses associated with full frame meant that the system was more cumbersome than I liked which meant it stayed in the cupboard when I went on holidays.

I wanted DSLR features in a smaller body and after much deliberation I part exchanged all my Nikon gear for a new Olympus camera.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 mft sensor 16MP:
I was concerned with the downgrade in sensor size but the benefits outweighed any negatives by far.
I loved this camera, it was small, the lenses were small, it felt like a DSLR in the hand and had all the functionally of a DSLR but also had the benefit of being mirrorless.

I liked this camera so much that it got me out in to the towns for street photography and out in to landscape which is where I learnt that these were the genres that I prefered to photograph.

I upgraded to the OM-D E-M1 MK2 when it was released and wow what a camera that was.

Now though Full frame mirrorless cameras that were around the same physical size as my Olympus were becoming more mainstream, especially the Sony cameras.

The mft sensor had a couple of limitations that I was noticing more and more. One was the low light performance and the other was limited ability to crop final image before noise became apparent and required more post processing.

Having a full frame camera the same size and weight as my Olympus but would give better low light performance and allow more cropping really appealed to me. I just didn't like the Sony cameras, they just felt awful when hand holding them.

Eventually Nikon came out with their Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras and after a test drive at a local camera store it felt great in the hand so I bought the Z7

Now I had two systems the Olympus with an array of Pro lenses and a Nikon z7. The Olympus was great for street photography and holidays and the Nikon for landscapes.

I was always in a quandary as to which camera to take with me on various occasions and running two different systems did cause issues with things like remembering the different menus and custom settings.

Nikon released a Z50 crop sensor camera and after talking to someone that had the z50 and looking at many reviews, etc. I came to the conclusion that I would be better off with one system so reluctantly I sold my olympus system and purchased a Z50.

I now have a Crop sensor Z50 for everyday use and holidays and a Full Frame Z7 for landscapes.

[Wazza]

Originally Posted by Stu

Having been the victim of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) myself on a few occasions my advice would be to stick with what you have for now and grow in to the style of photography that you like. Then you would be in a better position to decide what upgrades fit your style/liking.

I normally find a new lens provides better value than a new camera body.

I had a similar camera to yours some years ago but was never quite happy with the results, I eventually upgraded to a full frame system but it still didn't really give me the results I was expecting/looking for. It wasn't until I sold the full frame system and invested in a Micro Four Thirds system (Olympus) that I started to develop my photography and realised it wasn't the camera it was my skills that were lacking.

Having gone through various camera systems and various genre of photography from portrait, street, still life, macro and landscapes. I now have a much better understanding of the style of photography I enjoy and as such have purchased/upgraded the equipment I have to suit my style.

When I look at my photo's that I have on my wall, most of them were taken with my lower resolution (20.4MP) Olympus camera even though I own a Nikon Z7 Very High Res (45.7MP) Full frame system.


If it helps here is my 'GAS' story over the last 10 years.

my progression and my reasons for changing gear...

Although I have had many cameras over the years I'll start with the Canon system similar to yours...


Canon EOS 350D crop sensor:
Great camera and I got a lot of use out of it including studio work that I was considering at the time making it a profession.

I was always hankering after a Full Frame camera though and when money was available I purchased a Nikon Full Frame

Nikon D610 full frame:
Again a fantastic camera but I found the size of the lenses associated with full frame meant that the system was more cumbersome than I liked which meant it stayed in the cupboard when I went on holidays.

I wanted DSLR features in a smaller body and after much deliberation I part exchanged all my Nikon gear for a new Olympus camera.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 mft sensor 16MP:
I was concerned with the downgrade in sensor size but the benefits outweighed any negatives by far.
I loved this camera, it was small, the lenses were small, it felt like a DSLR in the hand and had all the functionally of a DSLR but also had the benefit of being mirrorless.

I liked this camera so much that it got me out in to the towns for street photography and out in to landscape which is where I learnt that these were the genres that I prefered to photograph.

I upgraded to the OM-D E-M1 MK2 when it was released and wow what a camera that was.

Now though Full frame mirrorless cameras that were around the same physical size as my Olympus were becoming more mainstream, especially the Sony cameras.

The mft sensor had a couple of limitations that I was noticing more and more. One was the low light performance and the other was limited ability to crop final image before noise became apparent and required more post processing.

Having a full frame camera the same size and weight as my Olympus but would give better low light performance and allow more cropping really appealed to me. I just didn't like the Sony cameras, they just felt awful when hand holding them.

Eventually Nikon came out with their Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras and after a test drive at a local camera store it felt great in the hand so I bought the Z7

Now I had two systems the Olympus with an array of Pro lenses and a Nikon z7. The Olympus was great for street photography and holidays and the Nikon for landscapes.

I was always in a quandary as to which camera to take with me on various occasions and running two different systems did cause issues with things like remembering the different menus and custom settings.

Nikon released a Z50 crop sensor camera and after talking to someone that had the z50 and looking at many reviews, etc. I came to the conclusion that I would be better off with one system so reluctantly I sold my olympus system and purchased a Z50.

I now have a Crop sensor Z50 for everyday use and holidays and a Full Frame Z7 for landscapes.

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Thanks for taking the time to post. Good advice indeed