I'm going to go at this from a bit different perspective.
Based on a lot of experience in creative endeavors, including making photographs for a wide range of clients, and doing that for over 40 years, there is a lot to be said about
what sparks self-confidence in your work and what doesn't. Over time I've observed that personal creative satisfaction is a huge component in building one's confidence in the results one produces.
While clients, or casual viewers (and even other photographers) may not be able to tell the difference between one technical solution verses another, what counts more ... is whether you do, or
even just think you do! If you aren't convinced, it can undermine both the "joy of doing", and "faith in the results". Nothing succeeds like success!
If there is a debatable area technically, there is rarely a grey area regarding an instinctive response to a photographer that is confident in presenting themselves, their work, and they way they solve problems.
The tools used are the domain of the creative person ... clients, buyers of your photography, or the "interested" public at large, do not care what tools are used, they are results oriented ... and part of that reaction is projected by how confident one is in those results, and that the results back up that confidence.
I've found this to be true in every creative field I've been exposed to ... advertising, design, music, painting/fine art, and photography ... both as a buyer of creative work, and a producer of creative work. One common element for success in every field was the unshakable confidence on the part of the creative person. It is something you can
feel from both the person and the work.
That is why one responder here can confidently say they use a Leica Rangefinder for 99% of their client work. Their success with the M builds the confidence to stick with it and flourish ... even though a rangefinder is a limited system in the eyes of many others.
What my friend Irakly Shanidze produces with an "outdated" M9 is extraordinary, and his confidence in the tool and its use is apparent in the results. Even though I do not do work like Stuart Richardson, I greatly admire his quiet confidence and the sublime feelings he manages to evoke with his Leica S photographs.
IMHO:
Personally, I have creative confidence in some of my current photographic tools, and have come to understand both the strengths and limitations of each one as they relate directly to MY creative needs, level of skill, and any talent I may have ... not anyone else's.
I'm only interested in preserving those strengths and building on using them more and more effectively ... and am not willing to let go of those strengths, if they are undermined by the next iteration of that specific tool. So, I'm not particularly "concerned" by what may come since I'm both confident in my current selections, and the the level of success I've managed to achieve with them. I change cameras when my needs change, not because some new wonder cam hits the market.
Currently I use a S(006), mostly as a vessel to hold the CS and S lenses I find unique and satisfying. The limitations of this camera are of little concern to me since I don't need ISO 3200 to shoot with strobes, nor have I ever hit the buffer limit. I use lighting because low light is far to often ugly light ... even with color digital cameras that can shoot at astoundingly high ISOs, I rarely if ever go there for the same reason.
However, I also use the S to shoot available light at weddings and for portraits all the time ... IF the available light is beautiful. The S camera can do more than what most think it can ... but it takes practice and perseverance to develop the skills and techniques required ... which takes a little time, something that seems to be missing in our throw-away, jump from one-kit-to-another, market hype driven world.
Another favorite is my Leica M Monochrome Rangefinder ... always used for available light candid works where color temp issues of the low available light are non-existent. The M has been a continuous tool for me during the entire 40+ year span I've been making photographs. 99% of those images were B&W, so the MM was a natural choice.
The third tool is my iPhone 6 ... which I take with when shooting the MM to text no-brainer color snaps to friends and family since that stuff is "here today, gone today". I used to shoot those pics with a "real" camera which was just a big PITA to let people see quickly ... and they couldn't care less what was used anyway.
I have a Sony A99 and A7R system (and Nikon kit before that, and Canon system before that) that I never have had a whisper of attachment to, or care for, but they DID get the job done for some wedding work ... which I am retiring from this summer and will probably sell it all off since I rarely use any of it for any work I actually WANT to do.
- Marc
BTW, I have never sweated carrying lighting or a larger camera like an Pro Canon/Nikon or Hasselblad H/Leica S for 8 to 10 hours. That's why God made assistants and/or roller bags. It kills me when someone complains that it cost $100 to hire an assistant, while they use their $25,000 camera and bag of $7K-8K lenses