Honestly, it would be rather nice to find 'gear Zen'. For years, I shot with a string of compacts, all better than the others at 'something'. But back then, I only carried one camera at at time, and it was a joy. No need to think about what lenses to take, or what camera to use. I just made do with what I had.
After a while, the compacts became complementary, and I carried two or three at a time. It was at its worst when I went on an interstate flight, and the security check people got me to take out the four cameras I had in my bag!
Then I moved up to a Canon DSLR, later went full frame, and ended up with a coterie of big lenses that I still have. The 5D Mark II went everywhere with me, along with a couple of compacts. The gear was just too heavy to carry on a daily basis, and I really enjoyed RF shooting, so I bought a Leica M9. Glory days. It was my absolute favourite camera for quite some time, and I still love it.
But I wanted something smaller, something less expensive, something weatherproof, so I bought a Fuji X100, a Ricoh GXR, an Oly EM-5. Then I wanted better video and bought a GH3. All the while, I was shooting with the Ricoh GRD III alongside everything else, so when the GR came out, I jumped on it. Was this the answer to my 'sound of one camera shooting' koan?
Unfortunately, no. The range of previous cameras showed me that my desires exceeded the capabilities of a fixed lens wide angle camera. I'm not Daido Moriyama, I can't work with a single focal length all the time. So I bought the Panasonic LX7, and they traveled together with me in lieu of much larger, heavier, and more expensive gear.
Tax time came and I needed to spend some money, so the Panasonic GM1 came to stay. And suddenly I was back to three cameras in the bag, albeit much smaller and lighter than a Canon 5D Mark II, a Canon G10 and a Sigma DP1. GR handles high quality images. LX7 gives me some reach and flexibility. GM1 with a fast prime gives me acceptable portrait and excellent video capabilities.
Even now, I search for another camera that does 'it' in one package. I've passed on the Leica X 113, the Sony RX1 (thanks for all your help, Ray), and am giving a bit of thought to the Fuji X100T. It feels like it never ends. But I do still muse nostalgically about the days when I had just one camera on my belt or in a pocket, and was happy with just that.
somewhat like an alcoholic saying no to a drink!
I guess it was. I must be on the path to nirvana.
