The Best Gear

The best gear is the gear you have.

If you have a camera (or a smart phone) you can take a picture.

If you don't feel you can take a picture until you have a better phone, a better camera, a better lens, better lights, better filters, or better anything, then you are not taking photos.

Sure, there are compromises. My Canon 650D with a kit lens will show a lot more grain in low light than a beautiful Leica SL. If I don't have a tripod I should not be looking to take longer exposure shots, or I should be using a brace of some type, a bean bag or something similar. Flashes can be great, or continuous lighting, but if you don't have them the sun is the most awesome source of light. If you need to reflect sunlight, you don't need the fancy folding pop-out 3 way gold / silver / white bounce reflector. I've used a piece of styrofoam and I've used a cardboard box with white paper stapled to it.

I think it is much better to be taking photos than obsessing over gear. When you work out your style and your preferences you will eventually reach a limit to what your gear can do, even with all of the best creative solutions and work-arounds. Then, finally, you will know if you do need a new piece of gear. You will also have a pretty good idea of how much further it will take you and if the expense is worth the extra opportunities. Most importantly, you will be in the habit of taking photo's to the limits of the gear you have so your new bit of gear will not sit around, unused, and gathering dust.