There's a statement that a lot of photographers hear or are told by others that I say is completely false. The statement is; "You have a nice camera so you can take nice pictures." When I hear this I usually just politely just thank you but honestly when I hear this it makes me to say, yes I have a camera but I'm the one that takes the nice pictures. My problem with this statement is that it acknowledges the camera rather than the photographer. Most photographers may not take offense to this and I don't either my point is that this statement discredits all the time and effort that photographers put into their craft. And basically basing the skill of a photographer on what camera they are using.
However my belief is that no matter what camera you use, base on your experience and skill set you learned over the hours, months, and years that you have invested into the craft, you can take an awesome picture. The thing to remember is that a camera in its most simple terms is a tool that you use to capture images. But it you the photographer that creates the images.
It is true though that a advanced camera can help you capture images that you could with other cameras. For example certain camera do not have the dynamic range to capture the huge range of light between the shadows and highlights in a scene. Some camera will either lose the detail in the shadows and it will be completely black and you can not recover anything from it, likewise on the highlights. But advance cameras will allow you to preserved that information in those areas.
It is with the investment in time and dedication into the craft that you will learn these fundamental knowledge that will keep you better informed for when you should advance into the higher end cameras.
When I first started out, my first digital camera was a Canon S50 point and shoot. I used that camera to limit and for two years before I got my first DLSR which was Canon Rebel. And I photographed with that camera for nearly 3 years before I got another camera to help start my photography business and also to help help take the pictures that I wanted. The type of pictures that I wanted to take was landscape images that required a little bit more dynamic range than what they Rebel offered. So I got a Canon 40D and with that I was able to learn further and take the pictures that I wanted at the time. Eventually I moved to a DSLR that could film video with the Canon 7D and the latest camera was the Canon 5D Mark II. And the main reason with that upgrade was it provided me the dynamic range and features that help me capture and tell the stories.
So you see, it is you the photographer that creates the pictures and it is the camera that helps you capture the picture. And with investment and time you will figure out for yourself what work and when it is time to move on to a newer camera to help you capture and tell the visual stories that you want to tell.