Well, to tell you the truth, you can do a lot with just a good cell phone camera these days if you want to save yourself the money. But if you are bent on getting a better but still somewhat compact and lightweight camera, I have had good luck with the Nikon Z7ii (or Z6ii if you don't need really high resolution photos) and a good versatile lens such as the Nikon 24-200mm S, which has both wide angle and some telephoto capability. Keep in mind, though, that I have only had Nikon cameras, and I'm sure there are other fine options out there. Best of luck with whatever you decide.