No doubt it does. I'm not someone who carries a camera everywhere and waits for inspiration to strike. I either take out a camera, in which case I'm LOOKING for images and hyper-aware of the possibilities, or I don't and then I only occasionally see something that makes me wish I had a camera with me. I have an iphone for those occasions but very rarely end up using it for photos. We had a photo per day with cell phone cameras last November I think and I had my new iphone 4s with me all the time. And I usually had to force myself into "shooting and looking" mode in order to make sure I got a shot each day. Only one of my better shots came through that process. The other ones came on a couple of days where I went out shooting, but decided to shoot with the iphone instead of another camera - THOSE days I came back with some images. I'm just either ON or OFF, for the most part. Its a recreational activity for me and I'm either out doing photography or I'm out doing something else. And rarely the twain shall meet.
That said, even when I'm out with the purpose of shooting, I don't like to carry a lot of stuff and my choice of gear is pretty specific to how I'm feeling. Very often its just one camera and one lens - often an X100 or GXR-28 or EPL3 with the 12 or 14 or 45. Sometimes I'll take a small bag and either carry the X100 and GXR or I'll take the EPL3 and maybe 2-3 extra lenses. Once I have the OMD, I'll probably do a lot of this kind of shooting again for a while, taking it out with a few lenses - still in a very small bag. When I travel I take a somewhat larger bag usually with a couple of bodies and a handful of lenses. Having two bodies available with a range of focal lengths already mounted seems to work for me. Two m43 bodies with the 14-150 on one and the 9-18 on the other seems to cover the waterfront pretty well. And then I'll stick a fast prime on one of them for street shooting or low light work. That's my ideal travel setup. But most of the time, I just take one camera and one lens and within a few minutes that focal length will be all I'll see with.
I've tried carrying larger cameras that all but force the use of a viewfinder and it honestly seems to stifle the way I see stuff - I can't say why, but it does. I sometimes use an EVF or OVF and love having them available but not if they're the primary way the camera makes you want to use it. The GH2 felt like that to me even though its objectively not notably bigger than other m43 cameras I've had, but something about the design of that camera made me always want to use the EVF and I never enjoyed shooting with the rear screen. I THINK it was the way the EVF hung way out over the screen at the back of the camera, or the way the controls were laid out that just felt more natural with the camera at my eye. I'm hoping the OMD doesn't have that effect - from looking at the design I don't THINK it will, but if it does, I'll probably sell it as soon as another Pen model comes out with the flip screen and new sensor - an updated EPL4 or something. And the size and weight that makes you want to lift a camera to your eye just to steady it and balance the weight forces me to shoot in a way that feels un-natural to me, so small cameras are basically all I shoot with. The X100 is my largest camera at the moment and, unless I get something like the X-Pro someday down the road, will probably remain my largest camera.
Just like some cars feel staid and steady and solid while other cars feel light and quick and toss-able, I find the same with cameras. And the light and quick and toss-able ones feel right to me about 99% of the time and seem to work with how I shoot, which has absolutely GOT TO be tied into my personal philosophy on some level.
-Ray
