Arun Venkatesan has lots of thoughts on photography gear:

The problem lies within the question itself. It’s one of those inquiries that cannot be definitively answered with anything other than “it depends.” It depends on who is using the gear. It depends on what they are using it for.

I genuinely enjoyed reading this entire post, thanks to Jarrod for sharing it. It reflects much of my own photography journey, especially the part about owning a Leica. Initially, I purchased all sorts of equipment, thinking it would improve my skills. To a certain extent, it did—I learned where I wanted to go and what I wanted my images to convey. Then, I scaled back, seeking something simpler.

After the X100V came an even smaller camera, the Ricoh GRiiiX. It fulfils my needs and truly fits in my pocket. However, this post isn’t about me; it’s about gear, and I believe it does matter to a point. An amateur with a point-and-shoot camera will not be able to achieve the same results as even a half-decent mirrorless camera will—but the question is more about the end result. Learning about what you want to achieve with the final image shapes the gear you ‘need’.

The issue with the realisation that you don’t need so much stuff often comes after purchasing all the things you don’t need. Buy all the things you want; it won’t necessarily make you better, but there’s a chance you might learn something along the way - it’s fun.